East Bay Cohousing is for people interested in creating intentional communities. 

We are a big tent for all manner of self-governing resident managed housing communities, such as housing cooperatives & collective houses, co-housing neighborhoods & eco-villages, co-living leaseholds and income sharing collectives, as well as community land trusts, cooperative loan funds.   Members come from every county in the Bay Area, and other parts of the US and the world.  

Check out the EBCOHO calendar, past and present. You will find many kinds of events:  socials, orientations, workshops, discussions, slide shows, movie nights, open houses, work-days, trainings, tours, and conferences.

Explore the Discussion Forums (for openings, forming groups, etc) contact other Members, and other features. 

Orientations for newcomers are every 4-6 weeks - this is where you can start meeting likeminded people, share ideas and resources.  If you are a do-it-yourselfer, this is a good way to get a lot of useful resources.  

Joining EBCOHO 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.  

This work is self-funded by the organizers, at a scope well beyond a typical volunteer.  

EBCOHO is not a quick fix to cheap housing, although members and the hosts do list openings in established intentional communities, both rental and ownership. 

Thousands of Bay Area residents already live in safe and stable housing where they share expenses,  decision-making, and ownership.  Across the US and the world, millions of people are living more sustainably, more democratically, more cooperatively - usually by sharing ownership of land and making agreements to step out of the booms and busts of 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! 

We are actively involved in this movement of movements, and count many friends and allies who are pioneers in cooperative culture, global ecovillages, urban homesteaders, slow money, social entrepreneurs, affordable housing developers, green builders, and creative visionaries.  We support all manner of progress including user-friendly and collaborative technologies, economies, and governments.  

Use the SUGGEST AN EVENT 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), always have time for members to share their personal visions, skills and experiences.   

Supporting Members and Coaching Clients help with overall expenses of this project -- We thank you with a free orientation, and discounts to future events hosted  by us and some of our sponsors/partners. 

MORE.... about the sponsors and hosts of East Bay Cohousing. 

EBCOHO and Cohousing California are projects of Raines Cohen and Betsy Morris, as is Planning for Sustainable Communities, an community planning, development, and research consultancy.  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, and a Masters and 20 years experience in  community development and planning, with public and nonprofit agencies.  Both of us love organizing events that share the feeling of good spirit and open up doors for people to find their dreams. 

In addition to hosting EBCOHO and CalCoho, we provide technical assistance and coaching 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/ .&nbs...;