By Parker McKenzie
A workshop exploring cohousing opportunities in the Dandenong Ranges will be held at Selby Community House on Sunday 25 June from 11am to 12.30pm.
The presentation will include the opportunity for those in attendance to explore what a community living model where multiple homes clustered on shared land in the hills would look like.
Tanya Rao, who initiated the workshop, said after being out of the workforce due to having a child she felt isolated and was looking for support.
“I fantasised about being able to walk out my door and for there to be other families, other people existing and being able to have that immediate community at my doorstep while raising young children,” she said.
“From that yearning, I started googling away and found co-housing, which is a particular model of community living.”
She said she was initially interested in a co-housing initiative in Eltham, where they bought land and are now building townhouses, but eventually settled on the idea of bringing something similar to the Dandenong Ranges.
“Cohousing is a term coined by an American architect named Charles Durrett in the 1960s or 70s,” she said.
“He went to Denmark and observed the key features that community living had. The households are private, but the homes are clustered on shared land with communal facilities and cars at the periphery.”
Cohousing features small private homes with their own kitchens, complemented by extensive common facilities on shared land. The community is planned, owned and managed by the residents.
Ms Rao said the workshop would allow a small group of like-minded people to see who is interested in forming a group to investigate being able to start a cohousing community.
“I’m going to present how I came to this idea and what I’ve researched so far. And we’ve also got Tim from Property Collectives, which is a company that actually supports groups through the development process, so he’s going to speak as well,” she said.
“In this modern time, we’re just increasingly isolated and I feel like the cohousing model is a way to get back to our roots and a way to reconnect with each other.”
She listed some of the benefits of cohousing as saving money in the construction of houses, being able to have access to communal facilities that you couldn’t afford alone and social support through the community.
More information and tickets to the workshop can be found at eventbrite.com.au/e/hills-village-community-workshop-dandenong-ranges-cohousing-movement-tickets-634604688707?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb
