1. Getting the
Work Done
Work Systems in Cohousing
Communities
© Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc. 2006
September 2013- Presentation Version

2. This slide show was developed by Kraus-Fitch Architects to educate cohousing groups about
cohousing design issues, before they begin the programming and schematic design of their
communities. It is part one of a series of presentations including:
Part 1 – What is Cohousing?
Part 2 – Cohousing Site Design
Part 3 – Common House Design
Part 4 – Cohousing Unit Design
Part 5 – Cohousing & Sustainability
Part 6 – Getting the Work Done
KRAUS-FITCH ARCHITECTS, INC.
HOME COMMUNITY PLANET

3. This slide show is being freely distributed by the Cohousing Association as a
service to Forming and Building Cohousing Groups. It was developed by
the private business, Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc. who assumes all
responsibility for its accuracy. If you want the Cohousing Association to
distribute media you have created, please email editor@cohousing.org
The Cohousing Association has many other resources useful to forming
groups and established communities at its website, www.cohousing.org. It
also offers Cohousing Tours, and an annual National Cohousing
Conference.
Cohousing Association of the United States
Building a more sustainable world,
one neighborhood at a time

4. Work is Love Made Visible
When we choose to live in a community there is an
underlying assumption that we will participate in the
care of each other and our common property.

5. Cohousing
communities are
usually self-managed
and maintained.
They are places where
people work together to
enrich their lives and
improve their
environment.

6. Children in cohousing have many adult mentors.

7. Pioneer Valley Cohousing
• 32 households, 23 acres, rural site
• 1994 move-in
• Work coordinated by central “Hub” committee
• Meal system included in general work system

8. Working together since 1994
The residents at Pioneer Valley
Cohousing have been trying out
new work systems, tweaking them,
and aging together since 1994.
We’d like to share the systems that
work for us, and the reasons why
others did not.
We hope that you look to other
communities for their ideas as well!

9. History of Work Systems
at Pioneer Valley Cohousing:
1. Volunteer Sign-up
2. Mandatory Work Teams (with
rotational tasks)
3. Affinity Teams
4. Multi-Task Teams
5. “Hub”-Coordinated Work
In addition to the everyday work,
seasonal work and large one-time
projects have always been handled
with Work Days.

10. Volunteer Sign-up
Pioneer Valley Cohousing operated strictly by a
volunteer system for the first year.
Most of the work got done, but some things fell
through the cracks.

11. Rotational Work Teams - mandatory
5 teams of 10 adults had a rotation of jobs,
with a different responsibility each week
including:
• Meal preparation
• Dishwashing,
• Table setting
• Cleaning the Common House,
• Special projects
• Quality of life items (e.g. stocking fire wood)
• Social event planning
• And time off.

12. Some problems with this
mandatory system:
• The small work teams provided accountability but…
• Not everyone enjoyed the type of work that was emphasized
• Some jobs were not given “credit” (e.g. Bookkeeping)

13. Affinity Teams
The Affinity Team System creates teams around a particular type of
work –
How did we make the transformation?
• By brainstorming
• A big sign-up chart was then filled in to see if there was the right
relationship of personal affinities to the actual tasks.
• An estimation of 61/2 hours per person per month was calculated
• Each person was then required to actually sign up for one or more
affinity teams, totaling approximately 61/2 hours per month
A number of folks envisioned something better. They believed that more
work would actually get done if members had more choice in the type of
work they would do, because it would give them “ownership” of the task.
They also believed that more socializing (and a stronger sense of community)
would develop between members doing work with others who had the same
affinity. They put forth a proposal for “affinity teams”

14. • The “Hub” consists of one chair and four work team
coordinators.
• Coordination of the 3-4 seasonal work days each year.
• Yearly review:
• Are things falling through the cracks?
• Are you having a hard time finding a way to
contribute work to the community?
•Do we need to bring the community together to
readdress the work load?
The Hub

15. •The “Hub”
•Community Support
•Steering Committee
•Facilitators
•Buildings & Grounds
•Landscape
•Garden
•Common House
•Kitchen & Meals
•Kids
•Finance
•Membership
•Design Review
•Social
•Communication
•Workshop
•Ad-Hoc: Retreat
•Odd jobs
•Clubs
The Affinity Teams and Committees:

16. Community Support
• Support to members in crisis.
• On-going education on consensus,
non-violent communication, etc.
• Listenings – sitting down to hear
from members about their
struggles.
• Conflict resolution

17. The goal of the Steering Committee is not to plan agendas for
meetings nor facilitate them. Rather, it is to help individuals,
groups, and the community as a whole decide the best process for
making a decision. Here are some of the options:
•Just go ahead and do that idea, it is not a “community issue”
•This issue/idea should be discussed in a “salon” and then go to
decision board
•This issue/idea is unlikely to be well received by the
community, perhaps you should not pursue it
•This issue/idea should be discussed in a series of “salons” and
then brought to general meeting for consensus
•This issue/idea is very complex, and we suggest the following
process…
Steering Committee

18. Facilitators
The steering committee calls on
facilitators when they think a
general meeting or salon is needed.
The facilitator(s) are then
responsible for planning the meeting
agenda.

19. The seasonal work of mowing and plowing is coordinated by the
Buildings and Grounds committee. The work itself is done by a list of
willing members.
Buildings and Grounds

20. Replacement Reserves

21. Landscape

22. Garden

23. Harvest is open to all community members, whether
or not they are members of the garden affinity team.

24. Common House

25. Rules around the scheduling
of private events were
created by the common
house committee.
The actual scheduling of
events is done by simply
reserving time on a calendar
hanging in the common
house.

26. Someone has to book the use of
the guest room. This is a perfect
job for someone not wanting to
strain their back.

27. The laundry machines need periodic maintenance and repair.

28. Kitchen & Meals
The Kitchen & Meals affinity
team is big. The work
systems are complex and are
addressed in more detail later
in this presentation.

29. Kids
The kids’ room needs
cleaning, and someone to
keep an eye on supplies: art
materials, first aid kit, and
toys
Repairing the playground can be scheduled
on a Spring Work Day.

30. Arranging child care for
meetings, work days, and
retreats is a job that
benefits the whole
community, not just
parents.

31. Finance
No community could survive without a
finance committee, but this is work that is
usually done alone and behind the scenes.

32. Design Review
Most of the changes have included the addition of larger front porches
and/or mudrooms.

33. Membership
• Maintain a waiting list
• Associate membership
•Manage house sales

34. Social

35. Costume Parades & Pumpkin Carving
Games nights on New Year’s EveGinger Bread Houses near winter solstice

36. Communications
Our communications committee is responsible for:
• Maintaining a phone and email list (constantly updating)
• Maintaining connect@cohousing.com and the email
connections for all the committees
• Maintaining an up-to-date phone tree
• Putting together and distributing a newsletter and events
calendar (monthly)
• Maintaining the bulletin boards

37. Workshop
• Setting policies for use
• Purchase and maintain equipment
• Rent space
• Safety

38. The annual retreat at Pioneer Valley Cohousing is a big
deal and it takes a small committee a lot of work to pull it
off.
Adhoc: Retreat planning
In short the retreat includes:
- A gathering ritual
- A slide show of the year in review
featuring at least one picture of each
member, and music (slide show
subcommittee and photographers
required!)
- Theme (e.g. conflict resolution
skills, celebrating 10 years in
cohousing, improving work systems)
- Group building exercises
- Food (breakfast, lunch and dinner
are served on both days to
encourage us to spend the whole
weekend together)
- Talent Show
- Great activities for kids
(not just childcare)

39. Weekly recycling is more efficient if handled by one or two people.
Odd Jobs

40. Clubs

42. Work Days

43. Not everybody can or wants to do heavy physical labor…providing childcare or
bringing hot cocoa to the work teams is just as valuable and appreciated

44. A typical Fall work day
and Spring clean up
Rural communities and winter climates
inherently have more site maintenance
Undoing all the winter preparation work
Fixing lawn areas
Pruning shrubs
Weeding flower gardens
Picking up trash along neighboring roadsides
Washing and installing screens in Common House windows
Placing and filling sand barrels
Attaching plow blade and sander to truck
Attaching snow blower to tractor
Installing snow stakes around driveways
Sending snow machines to shop for maintenance
Removing screens from and washing Common House windows

45. But thankfully, these taper off after the initial plantings take hold.
There are usually a
lot of landscaping
tasks that need doing
in the first years:
Planting and watering trees and
shrubs
Establishing flower gardens
Putting in patio areas (laying
bricks)

46. A typical late Spring garden work day
Composted manure to spread
Garden plots to turn
Compost to process
Irrigation systems to install
Seedlings to plant
Mulch to spread

47. •Taking inventory of kitchen
supplies
•Cleaning the range hood
•Organizing the kitchen
shelves
•Removing of accumulated
stuff
•Cleaning furniture
•Painting walls
Yearly Common House & Kitchen Cleaning:

48. Dinner, drinks, and relaxation complete a work day,
and keep the spirits up.

49. More on…
The Kitchen Team
•Kitchen Committee
•Set-up
•Cooking
•Clean-up

50. Kitchen Committee
•Master menu planning and posting
•Meal sign up
•Payment for meals
•Stocking dry goods
•Replacing equipment and dishes
•Repair of appliances
•Sanitation training and review
•Periodic review of all meal-related systems

51. Rotation of kitchen work teams

52. “swap request” handled by email

53. Menu planning and Meal sign-up
Three versions of each meal are
usually as follows:
1)main meal
2)vegetarian alternative if meat
included in main meal
3)child-friendly alternative (simple
foods with little spice).

54. Payment for meals

55. Set-up

56. Cooking
A typical cook team is one head cook with two assistants.

57. The recipes have
been typed out with
measurements
already calculated
for 24, 36, and 48
diners.

58. Clean-up
A typical Clean-up Crew consists
of three people working at three
stations: dishwasher, pots &
pans, and general clean-up.

60. Burlington Cohousing East Village
• 32 households on ~5 acres
• Move-in 2007
• Sign-up work system w/ specified expectations
• Meal system separate

61. • Sign-up system, jobs change every 6 months
• Chores lists posted by Cleaning Committee &
Land Committee
• Participation Agreement (for owners & renters)
specifies one job/month minimum
• Expected to serve on one committee
• Expected to participate in decision-making
process & on Board of Directors
Burlington Cohousing –
General Work System

63. • Mandatory participation (a few exceptions), 1 job/month
• Meals every even day
• Mon-Fri meals by cook teams, weekend meals potlucks
• 1 lead cook, 2 assistant cooks, 1 cleanup person
• ~24 people/meal
• Buffet style
Burlington Cohousing –
Meals System

64. WindSong Cohousing
• Langley, BC
• 34 households under one covered street
• Move-in 1996 (+/-)
• Work system was volunteer, now “pay or play”
• Meal system partly included, partly separate

65. “Community Contribution Service (CCS)”
•Guideline: 3 hours / month
•Tracking using quarterly online worksheet
•All adults have deposited $90 to CCS
system
•Pay $10/hour if haven’t met guideline
WindSong – Pay or Play

70. 1. Supper Clubs:
•Separate from main work system
•2 supper clubs: Wednesday & Thursday
•Each adult cooks once per rotation
•No payments, cook pays for ingredients
2. “Community Meals”:
•Part of main work system
•No regular schedule, approximately 3x/month
•E-mail notification
•Sign-up form in binder
WindSong –
Meals System

71. Catoctin Creek Village
• Taylorstown, VA
• 18 households planned, 9 complete
• 160 acres, rural site
• Pay or play
• Meals system separate

72. “Work Share” System:
•Has been in place 4 years
•Minimum 8 hours/month/household, 4 hr for single-
adult household
•Can “buy out” of work @ $10/hour
•Monthly dues include $80 buy-out
•Members report work at end of quarter to receive
reimbursement
Catoctin Creek Village – Pay
or Play

73. Catoctin Creek Village –
Work Days
• Once a month
• Morning work, followed by potluck & debriefing
• One way to fill work requirement

74. • Separate from main work
• Party system: someone decides to cook, lets people know the menu
• Diners can bring a side dish or wine (volunteer basis)
• No accounting
Catoctin Creek Village –
Meals System

75. Sunward Cohousing
• Ann Arbor, MI
• 40 households
• Move-in 1998 (+/-)
• Assignment based on survey of job preferences
• Committee work included
• Meals system separate (developing new system)

76. Sunward - Work Assignment
System
General Principles:
•Overarching goal is for people to be happy in their work
•6-month work cycles
•Jobs assigned based on preferences
Mechanics:
•Members complete survey of job preferences
•Reports generated by job & by name
•Small team reviews reports & assigns jobs
•First, Jobs Report used to fill hardest slots
•Next, Member Report used to fill remaining slots (different order of names
each cycle to make it fair)
•Last few people are called to negotiate jobs

80. Songaia Cohousing
• Bothell, WA
• 13 households on ~10 acres
• Move-in 2000
• Hybrid work system
• Meals system separate

81. Committees:
•Committees work as well as meet
•Each member expected to be one committee
•At annual meeting, members sign up for committees
Common House Cleaning:
•Tasks by assignment, quarterly
•Each member notes top 3 preferred jobs
•More people than jobs, get a sabbatical
Work Days:
•Expected to participate in work days
•~4 work days / year
Mowing:
•By volunteers
Songaia – General Work System

82. Affinity Teams and Committees
• Community Support
• Steering Committee
• Facilitators
• Building Maintenance
• Grounds
• Landscape
• Garden
• Common House
• Kitchen & Meals
• Finance
• Membership
• Design Review
• Social
• Communication
• Workshop
• Retreat
• Odd jobs • Clubs
• The Hub
Navigators
Ad Hoc Groups
FFF
Facilities
Biogaians
Community Works
Celebrants
( Space Care )
Celebrations
Ritual
Planning meetings
Association officers
Emergency
Preparedness
Kids

83. How’s It Working?
•Generally, the work is getting done
•All members not participating in committees
•Common house cleaning getting done, but sometimes a
volunteer covers work that wasn’t done
•Different standards of cleanliness
Songaia – General Work System

84. Summary:
•Separate from main system
•Voluntary participation
•Two options
Full-Time Meal Program:
•4 dinners & Saturday breakfast
•Common pantry available for home use
•Cook or clean once / week
•Approximately $120 / month / adult
•> 75% participation
Pantry Only:
•Access to common pantry for home use
•Take on a job that helps food program
Songaia – Meals System

85. Meals Work:
•Lead cook
•Second cook
•Kid slot – optional
•Team of 2 for setup & cleanup
•Weekly mopping, recycling, stove
cleaning
Shopping:
•Cooks submit menu list each
week
•Shoppers shop for all meals &
pantry
•Local, in-season menus keep price
down
Songaia – Meals Jobs

88. Songaia – Meals Job Sign-Up

89. Work Considerations:
General Work:
•What work to include as community work?
•What are the work expectations?
•Sign-up systems
•Enforcement
Meals Work:
•Included in general work system, or separate system?
•Does every member have to participate in meals work?
•How many meals / week?
•How to arrange meal jobs?
•Payment system

90. Is all this work daunting?
Well, yes! But it’s what built our community, and what
keeps us going!
Now, get to work!

91. KRAUS-FITCH ARCHITECTS, INC.
Home – Community - Planet
To purchase slide presentations contact Kraus-
Fitch Architects at:
110 Pulpit Hill Road Amherst, MA 01002
413-549-5799 www.krausfitch.com
Email- lfitch@krausfitch.com
This slide show was Part 6 in a series
including:
Part 1 – What is Cohousing?
Part 2 – Cohousing Site Design
Part 3 – Common House Design
Part 4 – Cohousing Unit Design
Part 5 – Cohousing & Sustainability
Part 6 – Getting the Work Done
Contact: Lyons Witten email- lyons@cohousing.com