Sun to Earth Project is a vegan inspired Cohousing Community.
These are the defining features
1) Shared meals to be vegan. Residents encouraged to eat a plant based diet.
2) Car free residential area. Walkways and pedestrian streets will define the living area. Cars will be parked on the periphery.
3) The Common House will be the hub of the community. There is no enforced communality. The principle is that we can be as communal and as private as we like. We will use the common house for shared meals, parties, meetings and just hanging out to read the paper or stare at a screen. There will be a high quality laundry. Mail and post will be delivered to the CH. Both of these encourage incidental bumping into neighbours.
4) The houses and flats will be self build. That means they will be finished as a water tight shell with a front door. Each owner will need to fit them out with kitchen, bathroom, flooring etc. Each resident self builder needs to adhere to the Design Brief. This will specify materials and excellent ecological standards. Houses are expected to be net zero.
5) To join: You have to accept the cohousing principles (these defining features) of the Sun to Earth Project. You must be able to pay the plot fee and other costs and be able to manage the finishing off of your house or flat. More details here
6) Affordability: One third of the homes will be affordable units. The plot fees for these will be between £5,000 and £10,000. Their initial value will be linked to the housing index, so as to maintain affordability in perpetuity. You must be on Stroud's Housing Register (click here) to be eligible.
7) Common house meals are expected to be offered 5 times per week or more. They will probably be Bring and Share (Potluck) or have dedicated cooks, plant based of course.
8) A no pets policy. As part of a radical vegan philosophy, ownership of animals is not supported. Animals should not be owned or domesticated, should not have leads, or be locked in houses or tied up whilst the owner drinks coffee. Well funded animal sanctuaries are the place for rescued and freed animals.
9) Each adult will be expected to be on the meals and Common House cleaning rotas and partake in gardening and DIY around the site. This will be about 4 hours per month.
10) There will be allotments for growing food for the communal meals and to take home, surplus veg will be sold at the Coop shop on site.
11) Each dwelling is allocated one car space, extra spaces can be bought for £20,000 each. You can get a credit of £20,000 if you don't need a car space. There will be car chargers, secure spaces for bicycles and chargers for e-bikes.
12) Each dwelling will have a largish storage unit. This is not only useful but helps to avoid personal things being left in the Common House.
13) After the development is complete, decisions will be made by consensus, using coloured cards. Members are encouraged to have training in consensus decision making and conflict resolution. There will be no hierarchy nor elected positions. The community will own the land as commonhold.
14) The Commonhold Community Statement will be the governing instrument and can only be changed by unanimous agreement. Restrictive covenants in the title will preserve the Cohousing and Vegan ethos.
Sun to Earth will be the 1st vegan cohousing community in the world.
These are the defining features
1) Shared meals to be vegan. Residents encouraged to eat a plant based diet.
2) Car free residential area. Walkways and pedestrian streets will define the living area. Cars will be parked on the periphery.
3) The Common House will be the hub of the community. There is no enforced communality. The principle is that we can be as communal and as private as we like. We will use the common house for shared meals, parties, meetings and just hanging out to read the paper or stare at a screen. There will be a high quality laundry. Mail and post will be delivered to the CH. Both of these encourage incidental bumping into neighbours.
4) The houses and flats will be self build. That means they will be finished as a water tight shell with a front door. Each owner will need to fit them out with kitchen, bathroom, flooring etc. Each resident self builder needs to adhere to the Design Brief. This will specify materials and excellent ecological standards. Houses are expected to be net zero.
5) To join: You have to accept the cohousing principles (these defining features) of the Sun to Earth Project. You must be able to pay the plot fee and other costs and be able to manage the finishing off of your house or flat. More details here
6) Affordability: One third of the homes will be affordable units. The plot fees for these will be between £5,000 and £10,000. Their initial value will be linked to the housing index, so as to maintain affordability in perpetuity. You must be on Stroud's Housing Register (click here) to be eligible.
7) Common house meals are expected to be offered 5 times per week or more. They will probably be Bring and Share (Potluck) or have dedicated cooks, plant based of course.
8) A no pets policy. As part of a radical vegan philosophy, ownership of animals is not supported. Animals should not be owned or domesticated, should not have leads, or be locked in houses or tied up whilst the owner drinks coffee. Well funded animal sanctuaries are the place for rescued and freed animals.
9) Each adult will be expected to be on the meals and Common House cleaning rotas and partake in gardening and DIY around the site. This will be about 4 hours per month.
10) There will be allotments for growing food for the communal meals and to take home, surplus veg will be sold at the Coop shop on site.
11) Each dwelling is allocated one car space, extra spaces can be bought for £20,000 each. You can get a credit of £20,000 if you don't need a car space. There will be car chargers, secure spaces for bicycles and chargers for e-bikes.
12) Each dwelling will have a largish storage unit. This is not only useful but helps to avoid personal things being left in the Common House.
13) After the development is complete, decisions will be made by consensus, using coloured cards. Members are encouraged to have training in consensus decision making and conflict resolution. There will be no hierarchy nor elected positions. The community will own the land as commonhold.
14) The Commonhold Community Statement will be the governing instrument and can only be changed by unanimous agreement. Restrictive covenants in the title will preserve the Cohousing and Vegan ethos.
Sun to Earth will be the 1st vegan cohousing community in the world.