What a year

December 2020 worldwide will likely go down as one of the darkest months in recent history. Still, at Kawartha Commons Cohousing (KCC) we have found several reasons to celebrate, light candles and get together (virtually of course).

We continue to meet for our monthly business meetings where we hear reports on the workings of our various committees (called circles), make decisions that affect our whole community, and generally touch base with each other via Zoom until we can meet in person again. We have had our first official AGM and nominated our mission circle (a.k.a. board). We have finalized how we will govern ourselves through sociocratic method in small working circles that report to the full membership monthly..

Keeping social while distancing

'Tis the season of difference This month we had a Discovery Event where we explored various alternatives when celebrating the holidays in these pandemic conditions. Kind hearts of KCC came together to suggest donations to food banks in lieu of travel. We talked about the value of planning ahead if things needed to be mailed, and the value of doing things simply. Listen to online concerts or start your own playlist of favorite tunes. One member suggested sending out “affirmations” to people we care for or who have cared for us this year.

We connect socially by:

virtual chatlines every Wednesday and Saturday mornings
bi-monthly “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” serenaded by Mathew and Arthur.
One of our explorers is starting a meditation circle (Did you know that 40% of households responded positively in the social survey to that idea!)
People are reaching out and having socially distanced walks through Jackson Park and in the pastures at Buckhorn and Lakefield. And we look forward to movie nights and snowshoe visits.

Though ‘virtual meetings’ are not the ideal way to build community, our group is nevertheless becoming more cohesive and we can’t wait to imagine what 2021 might bring. We are closer to an agreement with a well respected developer and a site he is holding for us.

A few updates

We continue to inform our 21 equity member households and 11 explorer households through a digest of all the circles’ work. We welcome Tracy as our Community Reporter, and Pam as our newsletter writer for 2021.
Our Sustainability team is eagerly studying Passive House standards and learning about Embodied Carbon in building materials. Individuals are starting to put to paper designs for the shape of our building. Our aim is to maximize sunshine and easy connections to each other and minimize cost, all sustainably of course
Best wishes to our former newsletter-writer Neil and his wife Mona, who are on to new adventures.
We have welcomed several new explorers these past few months, and look forward to their participation in our events. This year we will celebrate our third anniversary on December 27th.

What a year...