Page 19 - C.A.L.L. #27 - Summer 2006

ROBERTS CREEK, B.C. - It's a sunny day in Roberts
21st-century Creek, and Kurt Grimm is helping landscape the new

common house. He takes off his gloves to shake hands,
commune then heads to a conical pile of fresh topsoil and sits down

on the dirt. An associate professor of earth and ocean

From the Globe and Mail, Canada sciences at the University of British Columbia, Mr. Grimm
doesn't miss a beat when asked what drew him to Roberts
26/05/06 Creek Cohousing (RCC).

"Climate change and ecosystem collapse are a symptom of
a deeper social problem," he says, squinting into the sun.
"The highly individuated lifestyle we're leading is driving
the problem. It's the huge-footprint lifestyle of the
wealthy north, and we moved here to get away from it,
toward authentic rather than material fulfilment."

He considers for a moment, then smiles. "Of course,
that's not what everyone would say we're doing. My wife
would say we're doing this because it's great for us and
Roberts Creek Cohousing our kids."

The Grimm family is one of 31 at RCC, an intentional community in Roberts Creek on the Sunshine
Coast. It's the first rural co-housing project in Canada, and one of about 40 such communities
established in North America. Completed in December of 2004, RCC is also one of the newest
developments.

Homes are clustered to encourage personal interaction, in this case on 35- by 98-foot lots around
a 2,900-square-foot central common house (with a kitchen, children's room, guest suite, office,
laundry and - last but not least - a movie room with a big-screen projector). Decisions are made by
consensus, and houses are privately owned in a bare-land strata, fee-simple arrangement.

"We thought once we had everything built, the hard work was behind us. But the real big job is
sustaining the community, so it doesn't fall back into that abyss of just a bunch of houses and folks
not communicating. It takes work", says Gary Kent, an instructor at Inside Passage, a fine
woodworking school based in Roberts Creek. Natives of the Sunshine Coast for close to 30 years,
Mr. Kent and his partner Stacia Leech were the originators of the RCC project.

The central neighbourhood lane is mandated as car-free, and on this weekend afternoon is alive
with people wielding shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows, as well as kids returning from the Sunday
hockey game in the lower cul-de-sac. While the presence of neighbours is delightful, says Mr. Kent,
it can be challenging.

"The balance of individual and community is always in your face here. We used to live on a
property by ourselves, so it was a challenge to adjust, looking out our front window seeing people
all the time. It's not for everyone; it's quite cheek by jowl."

Ms. Leech agrees that living in co-housing is not always a picnic, but is confident the work will pay
off. "People are dealing with the major stress of moving and coming into an alien community. It
really skews the first couple of years. But we're beginning to see the potential now that those
ripples are settling out. The rewards are as intense as the challenges. That's what keeps me here,
and keeps me in community."

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