On college campuses students often live in themed dorms cohabiting with fellow students who share common values and interests.  Sustainability themed dorms are gaining popularity on campuses across the country, as are cooperative housing with gardens, collective kitchens and a great sense of community.  But what about when students leave that cooperative bubble and are thrust into the real world?  Why can’t adults also form cooperative living situations?

The answer is that they can!  Cooperative living is becoming more popular all over the United States.  Some are simply built green and LEED certified, like the FishHawk Ranch Green Community in Florida, Brunswick Forest in North Carolina, Del Sur in San Diego.  Others are more cooperative in nature, like the Los Angeles Eco-Village, and the San Mateo Ecovillage.

In my neighborhood, we grow vegetables and make honey.  Our neighbor keeps chickens and shares eggs.  Two doors down Michelle knits and makes bread.  We trade goods and services, and share a CSA box.  Every Wednesday we have collective dinners.

What if you already live in a community and you’d like to make it more like a cooperative?  You can adapt your community to work together and work more collectively.  Here are some tips:

• Use the homeowner’s association (if you have one) to find people like you who might be interested in sharing an eco lifestyle.
• Talk to people about your ideas and what you can contribute.
• Lead by example.  If you have too many tomatoes than you can eat, start giving them to people in return for services.
• Don’t worry if some folks don’t want to be involved.  If you start with a few, more might join in when they see how great it is!
• Start small.  Start with simple trading, then move forward to community dinners and gardens.