Happy October! Here in Southern California the weather has finally gone cool. We've had some random heat waves every week or two that have split my nascent pumpkins and baked to death some of the bushes I planted for a client. We had highs in the low 100s a few times but usually in the 90s. We likely won't spend much time above 80 until next year. Now I can safely plant my winter greens!
Yesterday I went with a founder of the Ventura Food Cooperative to visit the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative. The tour was insightful with lots of great conversation on the walks between their 5 houses. Some buildings were multi-apartment style and others were large houses with private and shared rooms. All had shared common areas, like kitchens, gardens, and study halls for students to enjoy in community. The SBSHC has been around for decades and owns all their buildings. Members' rent and dues cover the costs of property taxes, repairs, two staff positions, and with the largest portion being the repayment of loans used to purchase properties.
Almost everyone I speak with is interested in cooperative housing and property ownership. Some folks dream of forming a rural intentional farming community, others a shared house for social activist-entrepreneurs, urban farmworker housing, and some an interfaith community like a kibbutz. Depending on the needs of the group, either a partnership of residents would own the property, a nonprofit (as in SBSHC) might own it, or the property is simply owned by locals.
My own dream is to found a farm and retreat center for service-members transitioning out of the military and chronically homeless veterans who want to learn to make and market value-added products and to be regenerative land stewards. I'm calling this project the Warrior Scholar Agroforestry Academy.
I've learned a lot in the last few months about community-financed bonds & investment, such as those by the Centre for Social Innovation, who arranged 100s of supporters to raise $1.4 million in 4 months to finance the purchase of a multi-use building in Toronto. That means locals own the building and reap the benefits of property ownership and giving a home to social-good organizations.
There's talk in our permaculture circles to similarly finance the development of agrihoods - sustainable human settlements. More on this as it becomes available!
Coming up: Lompoc Cooperative Development Project's Santa Barbara County Cooperative Development Festival (October 10th) and Ventura's Really Really Free Market (third annual! November 8th at Kellogg Park). Come celebrate the gift economy with us (we need more coordinators! that's you!)!
For more information on these topics, check out the following links, thanks to the staff at the SBSHC:
Lots of resources at the North American Students of Cooperation and registration for their Cooperative Education & Training Institute just opened. The event is from October 30th to November 1st in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
October is Co-op Month! Watch the video about what a Cooperative is at the Cooperative Network.
Thanks for reading and for growing with us!
Robert Barnett
Permaculture Designer at Ventura Coop since Dec 2014
Yesterday I went with a founder of the Ventura Food Cooperative to visit the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative. The tour was insightful with lots of great conversation on the walks between their 5 houses. Some buildings were multi-apartment style and others were large houses with private and shared rooms. All had shared common areas, like kitchens, gardens, and study halls for students to enjoy in community. The SBSHC has been around for decades and owns all their buildings. Members' rent and dues cover the costs of property taxes, repairs, two staff positions, and with the largest portion being the repayment of loans used to purchase properties.
Almost everyone I speak with is interested in cooperative housing and property ownership. Some folks dream of forming a rural intentional farming community, others a shared house for social activist-entrepreneurs, urban farmworker housing, and some an interfaith community like a kibbutz. Depending on the needs of the group, either a partnership of residents would own the property, a nonprofit (as in SBSHC) might own it, or the property is simply owned by locals.
My own dream is to found a farm and retreat center for service-members transitioning out of the military and chronically homeless veterans who want to learn to make and market value-added products and to be regenerative land stewards. I'm calling this project the Warrior Scholar Agroforestry Academy.
I've learned a lot in the last few months about community-financed bonds & investment, such as those by the Centre for Social Innovation, who arranged 100s of supporters to raise $1.4 million in 4 months to finance the purchase of a multi-use building in Toronto. That means locals own the building and reap the benefits of property ownership and giving a home to social-good organizations.
There's talk in our permaculture circles to similarly finance the development of agrihoods - sustainable human settlements. More on this as it becomes available!
Coming up: Lompoc Cooperative Development Project's Santa Barbara County Cooperative Development Festival (October 10th) and Ventura's Really Really Free Market (third annual! November 8th at Kellogg Park). Come celebrate the gift economy with us (we need more coordinators! that's you!)!
For more information on these topics, check out the following links, thanks to the staff at the SBSHC:
Lots of resources at the North American Students of Cooperation and registration for their Cooperative Education & Training Institute just opened. The event is from October 30th to November 1st in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
October is Co-op Month! Watch the video about what a Cooperative is at the Cooperative Network.
Thanks for reading and for growing with us!
Robert Barnett
Permaculture Designer at Ventura Coop since Dec 2014
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