Nov 19 Meetup: Preparing for the launch of EcoVillagers Cooperative

The Nov 19 meetup (potluck at noon and discussion/updates at 1 pm) will continue our preparation toward building one or more Ecovillages in NJ!

Successful EcoVillages are built by people who understand what cooperative living is all about. To that end, we have formed small, local "Study Groups" to discuss readings, and begin to bond with one another. Study groups are meeting between sessions (let us know if you haven't been assigned to a study group, and want to participate, in a location near you). The first assignment is below.

At the November Meetup, these study groups will share their learnings, and we will get coaching from the EcoVillagers Alliance (EVA) to further our thinking and planning.

EVA is working toward the launch of the EcoVillagers Cooperative (EVC). The launch will take place in January, somewhere between Philadelphia and Baltimore, over a weekend. We are all invited to join this co-op, which will serve as the "Mother Ship" -- launching a multitude of cohousing co-ops over time.

At this point, New Jersey has the most advanced and cohesive Ecovillage community in the NorthEast, where EVC is focused. This means that we have a very good chance of being the first Ecovillage that EVC coaches through the process of building an Ecovillage.

So, all of you who have been waiting for the ground-breaking -- this IS THE TIME to get on board. Ecovillages don't happen like commercial real estate projects. Ecovillages are built by people who know and trust each other, and who work together to build the cohousing community of their dreams. If you don't get involved, at least to be known, we will miss your critical contribution. Even if you join once it's built, you, and we, will have a different level of ownership.

Co-ops are about ownership. EVA members are taking us through the necessary processes to build a successful Ecovillage. They are teaching us that we need to build the community even before we identify the location!

Study Group Assignment:

Our first reading will be the Introduction and Part 1, Chapter 1 of the book Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice by Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard.

Study groups have 3 questions to ponder (if you need them let us know and we'll send you the questions). If you don't have a study group and want one, let us know with a post, or an email to Victoria Zelin 908-507-3150, vzelin@CRCSolutions.org

“Why this book?” Dr. Nembhard’s research sheds light on how cooperative economic development has been used to build community wealth and democracy outside of the dominant exploitation-based system. This book provides the historical context of WHY we want to create shared-equity, cooperatively-owned communities, and a good organizational survey of HOW.

A sample (https://books.google.com/books?id=hDGnAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR3&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false) of the book is available for FREE as a Google eBook; if you want to purchase the Kindle or hard copy version, click here (https://www.amazon.com/Collective-Courage-American-Cooperative-Economic/dp/0271062177) to purchase Dr.Nembhard’s book on Amazon. [Note that there are some pages missing in the preview, so you may wish to purchase the full version.]

To get to the location, look for signs... the house numbers aren't in order on the road! 626 Montgomery Road, Hillsborough, NJ

For more information or to participate, please contact Victoria Zelin at vzelin@CRCSolutions.org (vzelin@crcsolutions.org) or 908-507-3150.