We all commit to taking care of each other
By Ruth Dowds
PLANNERS have given the green light for building work to commence next year on a groundbreaking model of community living that has never before been trialled on the island of Ireland.
Portaferry has been chosen as the location for an innovative co-housing project that will see 32 families and individuals living side by side within a mutually supportive environment.
Fay Ballard of Portaferry Co-Housing said it is a ‘really exciting way of living’ and being able to take care of other people, to live in a community sharing resources but also to still have privacy and a private life.
“It’s really going back to a way we used to live, where we knew our neighbours and we had much more connection with those who live around us and leading a less individualised life,” she said.
“We feel it is something that is not just of interest to a minority of people but most people when they hear about co-housing are really supportive and excited about it.”
The development will be made up of a common house plus 32 individual houses with communal gardens and growing spaces.
Three members of the organisation have paid for the land, which is located to the north side of Cloughey Road and to the rear of Rectory Wood.
It is intended that Portaferry Co-Housing will raise the capital to buy the land from the current owners.
“Portaferry Co-Housing will raise the finance against the value of the land,” said Fay. “Then Portaferry Co-Housing constructs the houses and we as individuals buy our house from Portaferry Co-Housing with a normal residential mortgage.”
Members of the organisation come from a variety of disciplines and have split themselves into groups, working to their strengths in order to develop the project.
One group is currently working on financing the development, others have sourced an architect and construction companies, with detailed designs for the houses currently being worked on.
Building work will commence in phases with 15 houses being built in the first stage.
“We are not just focused on the nuts and bolts of making this work, we also have to think about how we are going to live together as a community, what we expect of each other, what rules we might have and how we are going to reinforce them,” says Fay.
She adds, “We need consensus decision making which means everyone has to be in agreement. Even if it’s not a thing that you really want, if you feel you can tolerate the decision then you agree with it.
“It’s a very different way of making a decision. Rather than having a majority and then lots of people being unhappy with the decision, you have to keep working through people’s concerns until you reach a decision that everyone is happy with.”
As the mother of six and nine year-old children, Fay is excited by the prospect of being able to offer them an opportunity to live in a way which she believes will help them to flourish.
She said: “We know that children benefit from having an environment where lots of different adults are there and they are in a carefree environment. They can go out and play in an area where they are safe but they can also explore.
“The intention with co-housing is that it is intergenerational so children are benefiting from older adults and vice versa.
“It is a better method than sequestering away older people where people aren’t benefiting from their wisdom and knowledge.
“We all commit to taking care of each other and I know from other co-housing projects that people are able to live a lot longer in co-housing, before they would need any kind of support or residential care because their neighbours are looking out for them.”
The size of the community is crucial to its success, says Fay, explaining that the experience of other co-housing projects suggest that anywhere between 12 and 50 houses is ideal.
“Lower than 12 puts too much pressure on individual relationships because there will always be some people you don’t get on with in any community, but if the community is big enough you don’t feel that that relationship is really critical to your living in the community.
“Any more than 50 and that personal interaction can be too little,” explains Fay.
Those interested in becoming a part of the co-housing community are invited to attend meetings with other members for three months to help build mutual rapport and get a feel for the group.
Fay said: “Some people have come along feeling very wary in the beginning wondering if we are some kind of cult and quite quickly they realise we are just a bunch of people with all different belief systems but united by the idea of wanting to live slightly differently, living in more of a community.
“We are absolutely not about imposing any beliefs on anybody else. They tell us why they are interested in the community and the members can ask them questions.
“People self-select. If you come along and don’t feel it’s quite right for you then those people don’t become members.”
Fay says that members are aware that disagreements are likely to arise from time to time within the community, therefore measures will be put in place to help resolve conflict.
“One thing we do ask people who want to become members is that they do need to engage if they have a problem with another person.
“We ask that instead of turning away and refusing to talk about it, that people would be open to some kind of mediation. We have a lot of people with skills in bringing people together in difficult situations so we feel we can manage that as a group.
“Everyone knows that there will absolutely be conflicts and challenges but if people are open to resolving them then we will find a way forward as a community,” she says.
For further information go to the group’s website at www.portaferrycohousing.org or email portaferrycohousing@gmail.com
