Shared responsibility of house and community needs.
A coop in essence is a group of individuals wanting to tackle larger problems by empowering the collective in some way shape or form. In a living community, this means sharing in cooking, cleaning, and other house upkeep responsibilities.
A constitution ratified by a membership
A successful community needn't be overly formal. But especially as a community grows, having a shared framework to which members can reference ensures they enjoy shared expectations.
Democratically elected officers
Who handles the rent checks? How does the food get ordered? Who runs coop meetings? Collective consensus both empowers individuals to take on leadership roles and ensures that the community functions another day.
Make Space, Take Space
You've got your intro- and extroverts. Who is more likely to talk more? With all that talking, the introvert recedes further into listening. Actively monitoring the space your taking up empowers others to voice their opinions when normally they wouldn't.
Discuss ideas, not individuals
Squash bickering by making a conscious collective effort to discuss the matters in terms of effect on the community instead of how Joe Schmo over there always proposes idiotic hubub.
Sharing in good vibes and cost savings
Ultimately, you get what you put in. If you invest emotional energy into a living community, you'll learn about other people, yourself, and what it means to embody a cooperative soul.
President (May 2015 - May 2016)
MichMinnie's is a cooperative and democratic living community of 50 humans
Members complete work units to drive down collective costs and enhance the quality of the community.
As president, I facilitated monthly meetings, managed interpersonal conflict, oversaw ICC administrative duties, and acted as an example of cooperativity.
During the our Spring election meeting, in which new members attend and vote on the next year's president, we passed a a major overhall of the MichMinnie's consitution that symbollically joined Michigan Cooperative House and Minnie's Cooperative House into a single entitity.
