How to Set up an ECOVILLAGE or CO-HOUSING COMMUNITY- Ep. 074

[@paysontom1]

I do like the concept as a whole but when he mentioned, if I understood it correctly, fees of 450 to 900 per month and that was just for one portion of the overall fees I backed off a little. It is why I always avoided any type of housing structure / system that had "fees". I can maintain my fee simple single family for far less that $900/month. I would have to spend some time penciling out those costs.

[@j2muw667]

It is in NY state though... so maybe could be more affordable elsewhere?

[@travelfeet]

We live in NYS and have a 200k 30yr mortgage @5% on a 1~1600 sq ft home. I see one of the units for sale (3 bedroom) today 11/5/22 for 340k. Our tax and insurance on our home is about $750 a month, and we are responsible for our own maintenance, plus extra for garbage and water to the city (who eventually plows the snow from our street, but rarely with any urgency). The ~$900 a month maintenance mentioned seems about on par. NYS taxes are on the high end and vary locally as well, but the math seems about the same as for us. Based on the description of these homes I expect utility cost would be very low, which woudl offset some of the other monthly costs. I can imagine less than $100 a month if the buildings/units are performing as well as they should.

[@Me97202]

What seems to be rarely talked about is the social aspect of these little communities. You have got to have great neighbors and everyone needs to be on the same page.

[@bettenotap4791]

Very interesting, this is the info I was wanting to see in a follow up video. This type of community seems to be very friendly to the planet. Too bad it wasn’t more common.

[@dragonmammma]

Great video! I have a question that I've never heard addressed about co-housing communities: What happens in the case of illness or aging as far as monthly obligations? Example one: Suppose someone gets cancer and is unable to work or attend meetings for a few months? Or a year? Or two years? Example two: Someone develops a permanent condition, like just getting extremely old and frail? Are they forced to leave?

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Liz touches upon this in the original video. Some folks, as she had mentioned, cannot be involved as much...they may be single parents working two jobs, for instance, and they just can't find the time. That's why she said they really value the older, retired folks at the ecovillage, because they (usually) can spend more time on committees and being involved more regularly in the community. I'm sure they have built in structures for dynamic governance and consensus decision making, but I know for us, if people are involved more in the day to day, then their opinions / choices hold more weight vs the ones who aren't or can't be involved as much.

[@creative227]

A fascinating concept. Certainly not for everyone but it’s well done.

[@creative227]

Shouldn’t” all of us focus on what we can do with the resources we have? The lifestyle of an eco village is not what I’d choose but I certainly appreciate the concept. There is much to learn from this concept. With so much negativity and division in our world presently, can we not see other lifestyles for their value to others, or takes pieces of that life and modify them to work with our life?

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

Detailed, useful, specific and clear info. Many thanks

[@jamiemclaughlin1936]

Answering so many questions in detail! appreciate you guys so much

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Glad this is useful.

[@starbucks7125]

Its always been worth of my time to watch informative vid like this.

[@sharonknorr1106]

Love your videos that touch on subjects that many others do not, and always with great care and intelligence. Used to live in the Finger Lakes area and it is nice to see everything that is going on there and the part you are trying to play.

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Thank you Sharon. Glad you are familiar with the Finger Lakes as well!

[@THEROOTMATTERS]

I, too, used to live in Finger Lakes area. Have always wanted to move back. Used to have a fair amount of organic farmland and pristine wilderness. Brooks and deer families that came for drinks 30' outside the kitchen window. Anyone willing to share how the area is now? Loved the 4 seasons

[@jesssantos8235]

Thank you so much for these two videos. We’ve been thinking about doing something like this and I’ve found this to be so informational. Thank you so much! It would be great if you did a series of this topic

[@AA-rc4zr]

Great video thank you. My partner and I are planning to start an Ecco village. What’s the possibility and process of finding a suitable land grant?

[@hardnackfarms1736]

Good Morning Rich. Don’t beat yourself up your garden is beautiful and it’s work that’s all there is to it. We had a ildfire back in 2014 it ruined the eco system and where the fire burned we had Bermuda grass, weeds, trees, and stickers emerge on steroids. So that’s why I am putting tarps down and doing raised beds for the most part, on the other hand it’s because I am older and hurt. Lol there is always hiccups I am still planting and it’s so late in our season. I just pray we have the latest freeze in the Fall ever. The heat is insane above average for this time and I am loosing stuff it’s so frustrating. Keep on going and prayers for abundant crops. Wendy🐞❤🌺🦋🌸🌷

[@reef-pi8353]

i hope we get to try out something like this. Im in process of starting my journey. Thank you so much for this content, i learned a lot. Much appreciated

[@FlockFingerLakes]

You're very welcome. Glad it's useful.

[@georgewhitehouse8630]

Good use for your time ❤

[@sarasorrell8476]

More of these please! This is so helpful!

[@pstanify]

Considering Cohousing on FB. Not your standard information but an essential read for anyone considering joining or already a member. This looks behind the usual claims about cohousing, based on detailed research and years of personal experience. Questions you should ask, and analysis of patterns across many communities. Regular updates. Check it out.

[@lumberingshenanigans]

Solid series of episodes, and I’m still watching through them. But in this video you touched really briefly on something I would be very interested to learn more about. Specifically Bill’s camping retreat LLC setup. I know it’s not your core subject, but for what I’m planning, it would be awesome to learn more about the specifics of that, even if it’s just a few sentences. Any chance we could connect on that topic?

[@sarahdavidtacy5098]

I’d like to know the same! Did you ever hear back?

[@andreafenise]

This was very informative. Thank you.

[@Michael8888G]

I want to create an eco village in the Adirondacks region. Franklin county. This place needs a retreat. And I have many friends of all types. But it takes some bookow bucks to start that. I would be a great fit. I've lived in a couple different cities. And I've experienced homelessness, I have also experienced farming. Gardening. And construction. And some marketing as well. I have a vision. And I will continue to make connections.

[@cefcat5733]

Just read the well-formulated answers to the comments in order to understand the whole deal here.

[@isakennedy4188]

Beautiful Concept! Does Any Know the next step after purchasing the land?

[@rons3236]

Excellent! Very informative.

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Glad it was helpful for you.

[@veganvocalist4782]

so what happens if a little child loses their parents ? they are not old enough to go through that process of applying for the home they already live in , whet do you have in place for them and any animals that may have also lost their family pack ? looks very well organised and a MUCH better way of living than what most of us are presently experiencing 🥰

[@siliconbuddha]

Are there legal documents, bylaws, member rules, checklists etc that I could review and base our own efforts on them? I looked on their website and couldn't find anything there, and am very interested in the cooperative models.

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Not that I know of but they do give webinars from time to time, which you can see here: www.thriveithaca.org/online. When we were coming up with our documents, we just bullet-pointed everything we could possibly think of that we may need to do in going into partnership in just plain speak. You basically have to build through every single scenario you can possibly think of (and you'll never think of them all). And then we built the legal framework around that. The EcoVillage legal structures are far more complex and involve more people, so I cannot speak for them. But it's important to find yourself a lawyer (within your state) who really understands these models to provide some direction/advice. But we found that by writing out what's important to you in the first place and presenting that to a lawyer is most efficient/effective. They're [the lawyers] not going to come up with the rules for you, so you have to make sure you feel comfy with those items that you draw up. And the legal documents will vary, of course, depending on what structure you do: HOA, LLC, joint venture, co-op, CLT, etc. .... there are a range of options to consider and to figure out what is the right one for you.

[@JoannaLouise200]

It's such a beautiful landscape to live in, but I don't understand why the homes are built so closely clustered together like an urban development. Is it to do with local planning regs? ie. percentage of homestead footprint allowed versus open meadow amenity?

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Liz addresses that in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5K1paBsbrWNqKs and the original video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pF7YeWZsrJ6rnZo if you want her full explanation. But basically instead of developing on 90% of the land, they wanted to do cluster-development so that 90% of the land could remain open for wild lands, corridors, farms. Additionally, it's important to them to have social interaction. A small town feel within a larger city. And she hasn't said this, but developing this way can be very cost-effective. You are basically bulk buying, not customizing as much, and are able to run energy closer together. It keeps costs lower, as they were aiming to make this affordable for middle class folks.

[@JoannaLouise200]

@@FlockFingerLakes Thank you Summer ~ yes I can see it makes sense now :)

[@paulveg8524]

Monthly maintenance costs seem very high. You must have a good income to live there. How would retirees pay that charge one wonders?

[@anhaicapitomaking8102]

The picture thumbnail is taken from an Italian eco village, it is a bit confusing

[@FlockFingerLakes]

The thumbnail is an image from the Ithaca EcoVillage in central New York. Perhaps the villages look alike.

[@hanknyc]

It’s unfortunate how much lawyering is required to set up one of these communities.

[@bboygavin]

awesome!

[@igneousidol]

someone needs to build something similar but with disability access, single floor and a drive closer to their door for example

[@igneousidol]

after reading some other comments, I just want to add I appreciate your videos and all the hard work that you put into them...I live in the fingerlakes area myself and one place you visited I literally drive very close by twice a week and did not know it was there, I plan on walking there now in better weather...I don't comment on every video, so thought I needed to add it to my previous comment which was just a random thought I had as a disabled person that had looked at many rental opportunities before I moved to this area after selling my previous home...the apartment I am in now is great for me for many reasons except for having a garden

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Thanks for your comment and you make such a valuable point in regards to building design. I heard a comment at one stage that I'm totally going to mince (so I'll paraphrase here), but it was something of the nature, "Anyone who is disabled can be enabled if the design around them allows for them to live their fullest lives." A simple example is a ramp for wheelchair access-or like you say, a single floor unit with wide doors. We'll be doing a little tour video through the EcoVillage homes, and actually the homes in the TREE neighborhood were designed for three main goals: affordability, accessibility, and sustainability. The TREE homes wanted to emphasize on aging in place with wide walkways that lead to the doors and wider doors, for example. I would imagine design like this would be considered for folks with disabilities too. The best I've seen of this was actually in Singapore. Though it's not exactly the same, they have spaces they have cultivated for multi-generations and for folks to age in place. An example of that is embedded within a video we had done a bit ago when all could travel more easily, if you care to see. This video is more on biophilic design in the city, but that's where I saw strong examples that take concepts like the ones you mention into great thought: kzbin.info/www/bejne/moConmqOasmpi5Y

[@georgewhitehouse8630]

Not for everyone “ but it doesn’t have to be hard for the people?

[@FairyRosee_]

Wow that's expensive....

[@annsosie1515]

Interesting idea 🙂

[@anniebell6846]

I wish I had the money to join a proper eco village but it’s not as friendly for people with not much.

[@healingjourneys4241]

There are sustainable communities for all socioeconomic classes. There’s one in Austin, TX that is awesome and serves a variety of people. I’ll post a link once I find it.

[@mutantmonkey2301]

That’s my outside view in the whole US 😅 not friendly for people with not much 🙊

[@anniebell6846]

@@healingjourneys4241 thanks unfortunately I live in Scotland

[@anniebell6846]

I would like to preface this with the fact I have been privileged and I do work so I’m not belittling anyone it’s just a reality that in order to get a truly off grid lifestyle you have to pay into it . I think it’s important that the right people who want to be there are . I dream of a day when sustainable housing can be an option for more.

[@healingjourneys4241]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5fIaIqYoNl9j68 This community has something for everyone.

[@Raz31337]

what is the hat you're wearing?

[@seedeangelo]

They should’ve handed him a cough drop

[@movingnaturefilms]

Corporate Eco-Village is an oxymoron.

[@katehawk8829]

why? the structure may be corporate but it's not for profit.

[@winstonsolipsist1741]

What new hell is this? Are they buying a house or joining a cult?