Sunday March 24th, 2019 at 1pm

UNM Honors College

If you would like to meet us, learn more about our cohousing project, and find out how to join us as a future neighbor, we invite you to join our next information session. We will provide free childcare and refreshments and would appreciate it if you RSVP'd on our website if you plan to come.

Our community now has 11 committed households with people ranging in age from 2 to 82. We also have several more explorer households and are looking for more neighbors to fill up our 27 planned homes.

It Takes a Village...

The Advantages of Raising Kids in a Cohousing Community

You know that phrase “it takes a village”? Our Cohousing ABQ group is working together to create that village both physically and socially. The model is based on Danish cohousing communities: a group of people who want to live in an intergenerational village work together to design a community where people have private homes, but also share a lot of common space and resources. The way things are physically and socially designed creates the support system and sense of connection found in traditional villages.

Growing up in cohousing offers so many great opportunities for kids:

• Children are valued participants in a multi-generational village.

• Cohousing provides a safe environment to play and explore. Cars are kept at the periphery. Children can gain confidence by having complete freedom of movement within the neighborhood.

• Other kids of all different ages are around to play--like the big old fashioned family. The kids learn to watch out for each other.

• Play dates don't require planning or driving. Social life in cohousing is built in for kids and adults. Imagine the time, cost and emissions saved from driving less.

• Children can form valuable relationships with people of all ages. One of my favorite cohousing stories is of a young child who said to his parents, “I’m going over to play with my friend Bill.” Bill was in his 70s, and he wasn’t babysitting. The structures of community were more than enough to bridge the 7 decades of age difference and support an authentic friendship between two different people.

• Children can gain skills from trusted adults with different interests and skills. Penina can help with Spanish homework and Johnnee knows everything there is to know about growing plants in our high desert climate.

• Weekly shared meals, shared chores and resources make everyday simpler and less stressful for families. Imagine coming home from work, exhausted and too tired to cook. As you walk to your home you catch the whiff of a delicious stew from the community house. And since it’s not your turn to cook or clean up, all you have to do is sit down next to your neighbors and enjoy a delicious, home cooked meal with your family.

• Neighbors are available when a parent is having a tough day.

• Kids can grow up in a culture that emphasizes inclusion and treating people with respect.

• Social time for adults is easy. The village is set up so that you pass people you know well as part of your daily routine, and you don't have to go anywhere or organize child care to socialize.

• A children's forum supports the children's participation in the governance of the village.

• Contributing to the community in meaningful and empowering ways feels fulfilling to children.

• Greater freedom because we live in a “safe place,” so even small kids can roam the community safely and teenagers aren’t totally isolated when they’re home alone.

• An endless stream of hand-me-downs from older kids in the community: clothes, toys, bikes, skis. Once outgrown, all of these can serve several cohousing friends over the years.

• A shared  library of high-quality books and games to play.

Who wouldn’t want to have this kind of environment for their kids? It is priceless!