

About us
Welcome! This Bay Area region-wide group started out as East Bay Cohousing , for people interested in intentional communities and creating ways of meeting our daily needs for shelter and livelihood through cooperative long-term relationships among peers.
We are a big tent for all manner of self-governing member-led "collaborative housing" communities, including housing cooperatives, student coops, collective and co-living households, as well as co-housing neighborhoods, urban and rural eco-villages, faith-based or service oriented, moshads, kibbutzes and income sharing communes! EBCOHO Members come from every county in the Bay Area, and other parts of the US and the world.
Check out the calendar and events descriptions, past and present, to see the range of events we produce or curate from among our members, friends, partners, friends, and movement allies for a more just, sustainable, and flourishing world. Look for socials, orientations, workshops, discussions, slide shows, movie nights, open houses, work-days, trainings, tours, and conferences.
Explore the Discussion Forums to post and search for openings, forming groups, call-outs from Members, and other features.
Orientations for newcomers are usually offered every 4-6 weeks. This is where you can explore current and long-term opportunities to join a community, ask lots of questions, share who you are and your dreams, and start meeting like-minded people. If you are a do-it-yourself learner or explore the big picture, you'll get lots of useful resources.
Joining this group also makes you part of Cohousing California. At http://www.CalCoho.org you will find other regional networks, a combined calendar of events, links to forming and existing communities we know, and links to our partners, networks we belong to, and groups we consider allies around the world.
Use the Suggest a Meetup feature if you'd like to see a particular topic addressed, or if you've got something you are hosting. Events we personally host (Cohousing Coaches Raines & Betsy, that is), almost always include ample time for members to share their personal visions, skills and experiences.
EBCOHO is not usually a quick route to cheap housing, although members do share openings and offers, and we do list and refer members to openings in established intentional communities, both rental and ownership, in the Bay Area and beyond.
Thousands of Bay Area residents already live in safe and stable collaborative housing situations sharing life experiences and living expenses, decision-making, and ownership. Across the US and the world, millions more of people are living more sustainably, more democratically, more cooperatively, and more cost effectively, out of the booms and busts of predatory real estate markets.
If you want to know your neighbors well, have a better life by sharing more, and live more peacefully and lightly on the planet then please join us!
This work is self-funded by the organizers, with a depth of knowledge and commitment that makes it unusual among Meetups (at least we think so!).
Thank you to Supporting Members and our Coaching Clients for helping defray some of the expenses of this labor of love. We thank you with a free orientation, and discounts to future events hosted by us and some of our sponsors/partners. You can track income and expenses on the Money page.
EBCOHO and Cohousing California are projects of Raines Cohen and Betsy Morris and our business partnership, Planning for Sustainable Communities. Each of us has lived in multiple cooperative living situations in the Bay Area before moving in together to Berkeley Cohousing, where we have been members since 2003. Raines has been deeply involved in technology user groups, tech for the social good, journalism and database consulting; Betsy has a PhD, a Masters in city and regional planning, and 20 years experience as a community development and research consultant. Both of us love organizing events that put people first, offer quality resources, and open up new doors and windows to the world that supports our visions and values.
As Cohousing Coaches and project consultants, we provide technical assistance and personalized support for individual members, forming groups, and existing communities. We connect a wide variety of kindred spirits and resources. Please find out more at http://cohousingcoaches.com, or http://www.AgingInCommunity.com/
You can visit our East Bay site at https://www.ebcoho.org/ and the statewide site at https://www.CalCoho.org/
Sponsors
Upcoming events
6
- Network event

The Commons:A Monthly Gathering for the Cohousing Curious (Virtual, National)
·OnlineOnline2 attendees from 6 groups- Curious about cohousing but don’t know where to start?
- Want to meet with cohousing newbies and experts alike?
This (free) monthly gathering, organized by the National Cohousing Alliance (Coho/US) will include a Cohousing 101 presentation and ample time to connect and ask questions.
We’ll share cohousing lingo, best practices and more information on how to continue your cohousing journey.
Can't make it this time? No worries. Join us once, or every time – we’ll be here every month on the 10th at 10am MDT. (9 AM Pacific, 11 CDT, 12 Eastern)
Here's a preview of the video that is shown in the first half hour.
1 attendee from this group 
Jack Sawyer Memorial (in-person, Berkeley)
Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA, Berkeley, CA, USPlease join me at an event to not just celebrate Jack's life, but empower and inspire all of us to follow in his footsteps. We're planning something lively and interactive and designed to help connect us. RSVP on this page, or contact us for more details or if you'd like to help plan it. We are considering a remote (Zoom) option if there's a need for folks who can't make it in person. You can RSVP on this page on MeetUp or here on the East Bay Cohousing website or Text JACK to +19252815643 to RSVP -- Raines Cohen, East Bay Cohousing
From Jeff Billings of the Parker Street Foundation, Jack's organization that funded many cooperative communities in the East Bay and beyond:
Dear Friends:
I would like to let you know that Jack Sawyer passed away [September 18]. He was 95 years old.
After suffering a stroke six years ago, Jack lost some strength and dexterity and his activity level slowed a bit. But still he continued his work, spending every day in his office. Then, about a year ago, he injured his back, which was quite debilitating for him, and caused him largely to retreat to his apartment at Parker Street Co-op.
During the past year, his body weakened considerably, he lost substantial weight, and his memory and cognition declined. In conversation, he would often take long pauses, seemingly searching for words or ideas. At other times, he would be fairly lucid. Finally, he had a fall about two weeks ago, which weakened him even more, beyond his ability to recover.
It seems to me that Jack had been slowly leaving us for some time. Now he is free of the binds of the physical form.
Like the many people who knew him, I am grateful for his friendship and for his tireless work in support of cooperative housing, animal activism, the environment, political reform, and a myriad of other causes that were dear to him.
Through his philanthropy, both individually and with the Parker Street Foundation, which he founded in 2002, he helped create affordable, communal housing opportunities for hundreds of people in the Bay Area and further afield. He has left quite a legacy.
May we all do our small part to further his example of dedication and generosity.
Warmly,
Jeffrey Billings
Parker Street Foundation36 attendees- Network event$25.00

Seniors in Cohousing Forum: Sharing Challenges & Best Practices (Boulder, CO)
Silver Sage Village Senior Cohousing, 1650 Yellow Pine Ave, Boulder, CO 80304, USA, Boulder, CO, US38 attendees from 6 groupsAs seniors living in cohousing neighborhoods, we've all come to experience the joys and challenges of community. We have homes, Common Houses, and physical and social structures designed, in some cases decades ago, for ourselves at an earlier age, with different priorities and needs than what we are experiencing today.

The realities of aging in community often unfold in ways that weren't anticipated. What are cohousing communities--both intergenerational and senior--doing to navigate these challenges and be resilient?
EXPLORE WITH US in a day-long interactive Forum featuring senior residents from various communities, sharing best practices, challenges and what we have learned about the important issues of aging in community.
For each key topic, we envision a circle of 8-15 speakers from a range of communities—plus interested listeners. Facilitators will bring in a variety of different communities' perspectives on key topics identified based on suggestions from participants and their communities, and by you, with the survey below, open to all.| When: | Sunday, October 25, from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM |
| ----- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Where: | Silver Sage Village Cohousing, Boulder, Colorado |
| Cost: | A $25 registration covers lunch and refreshments |We welcome folks in communities from the Front Range and beyond. Consider attending National Cohousing Alliance (NCA) Community-Rooted Housing Summit in Denver on Saturday the 24th and the tours before it Wednesday through Friday, and stay on for this intimate gathering that follows
11 attendees from this group - Network event

The Commons:A Monthly Gathering for the Cohousing Curious (Virtual, National)
·OnlineOnline1 attendee from 6 groups- Curious about cohousing but don’t know where to start?
- Want to meet with cohousing newbies and experts alike?
This (free) monthly gathering, organized by the National Cohousing Alliance (Coho/US) will include a Cohousing 101 presentation and ample time to connect and ask questions.
We’ll share cohousing lingo, best practices and more information on how to continue your cohousing journey.
Can't make it this time? No worries. Join us once, or every time – we’ll be here every month on the 10th at 10am MDT. (9 AM Pacific, 11 CDT, 12 Eastern)
Here's a preview of the video that is shown in the first half hour.
1 attendee from this group
Past events
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