Westwood Cohousing

  • Community
  • 2 followers

About the Community

  • Established
  • Urban

What we do

Westwood is an intentional community in Asheville, North Carolina, nestled in a walkable neighborhood and wooded setting with 24 clustered dwellings and a common house in the center of the community. The buildings have central radiant-floor heating, a hot-water system with solar collectors on the common-house roof, and landscaping according to permaculture principles.

Our Vision

The Westwood Cohousing Community is dedicated to building a vibrant, caring, sustainable community where diversity, cooperation, trust and respect are valued and encouraged.

Our Mission

The Westwood Cohousing Community is dedicated to building a vibrant, caring, sustainable community where diversity, cooperation, trust and respect are valued and encouraged.

  • Community type
  • Cohousing

Gallery

  • 50 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
50

How to join

We require prospective members/owners to familiarize themselves with cohousing and with Westwood, including visiting and attending a community meal, a workday, and a community meeting. We have a Sales Team that meets with prospective members to answer questions and discuss expectations. Home sales need to be approved by the Community. For further details, please see our website.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We welcome visitors and are usually able to offer tours. Please see our website for details about how to contact us and arrange a tour.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Monthly fees/dues: Yes (amount not specified)
Labor required: Yes
Members with pre-existing debt: Yes
Assessments are collected for the operating and reserve budgets.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Property status

  • Privately owned

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%
  • Land area size
    4 acres

Reviews

Location

  • North Carolina, United States

Westwood Cohousing

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
Need
  • Communities with Openings
9 months ago

Seeking Couples Interested in Long Term Deep Connection & Farming (open to singles)

Description Our  sloped and terraced community farm has far more potential than we have time and energy to use to the fullest. We have been in community for 15 years now, but feeling pulled to the deeper nourishment we find in long-term residents over shorter-term interns.  We seek one to two couples (or super aligned singles) who are interested in conscious connection, intimate conversation, personal growth and healing, regenerative agriculture, and serious about a building a life in community.  Although we hold space and flexibility for shifts in needs, we desire humans who plan to stay for all or part of a season (1-3 months at a minimum), after which we would explore longer-term alignment and relationships.  We MAY also be open to folks wanting to live off-site, as long as we prioritize ample time to explore how we work together before we get too deep. Current Use Heart 2 Heart Farms is a small, forested, 10 acre Permaculture farm nestled in the fertile hills of the Willamette Valley. Between the quaint towns of Newberg and Sherwood, this oasis is in the middle of wine country, just 30 minutes south of Portland, has been an intentional community and teaching facility for over 15 years, hosting a myriad of community outreach, up-cycling, homesteading, and prepping workshops.  Although we have recently slowed substantially, residents should be prepared for both a busy environment, and shared, informal, mixed-use spaces. We are almost completely self-sufficient, producing large varieties of heirloom fruits and vegetables, and we breed, butcher, and sometimes sell heritage chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle. We tan hides, carve bone, save seed, occasionally blow glass, throw pottery, create alternative/green energy, dig root cellars, and build constantly. We have three large un/under-utilized areas available: The front hill is a terraced and amended south-facing slope that has LOTS of room and potential. We also have a poultry pasture is 2 acres of partially wooded Douglas Fir, an additional 4 acres of wooded mixed use browsing space and native habitat that’s virtually unused at the moment, two large greenhouses (including one set up aquaponically), and lots of space to expand the orchard and rotational grazing system. Additionally, we have a 20’x40′ healing center and sacred space we use for yoga, massage, reiki, ceremony (including traditional Lakota sweat lodge and grief/trauma work), and make available to local practitioners to offer their services to the community. If you are wanting to connect deeply, work hard, learn and expand your experience base, and participate in a small but established intentional community, shoot us a note and let’s explore. Owner’s Short Term Vision for the Property Our short-term goal is to find/train a few young/new farmers to assist with land stewardship and increase productivity of the existing space to spread out the work/responsibility and assist in overall streamlining and cleanup of the existing farm/operations. Owner’s Long Term Vision for the Property Our long-term vision is to continue to use this space as a teaching and educational facility, expanding the diversity and frequency of events we can host and services we can offer. Over the next few years, we hope to find an a couple interested in learning/independently managing most of the farm production, which will allow us to dig deeper into the training and certification we make available, to include natural building, basic and advanced Permaculture technique and application, beekeeping, horticulture, animal husbandry, food preservation, fermentation, plant identification/natural foraging, and primitive skills. Available Water / Irrigation Extensive rainwater collection on site, as well as a high-flow/capacity well. Soil Type / Quality Sandy loam with great organic matter, good clay content, and established vermiculture and mycorrhizal network. Buildings and Structures Available for Farm Use We have multiple barns and greenhouse space for use, or lease, depending on the particulars of use/situation. Farm Equipment Available for Use We have a skid steer on site, as well as rototiller, chipper, 26′ truck, and pickup trucks for use. Hand tools are also available, depending on the arrangement. Any Restrictions That Could Limit Agricultural Production Creating and supporting natural borders, food forests, and wildlife habitat (and incorporating these into a holistic/natural pest management strategy) is a very high priority to us, so intensive mono-crop/large machine harvesting and/or crops needing spraying/chemicals are not likely a fit on this site. County: Washington Total Acreage: 10 Acreage Available to Landseeker: 5 Current Farming Practices: Organic, Not Certified, Biodynamic, Dry Farming, Season Extension Farming Practices Allowed: Certified Organic, Organic, Not Certified, Biodynamic, Dry Farming, Season Extension Agriculture Types Suitable: Beans, Bees, Berries, Dairy, Fiber Animals, Flowers, Goats, Herbs, Hogs, Mushrooms, Nursery Stock, Nuts, Orchard/Fruit, Pasture, Poultry, Rabbits, Sheep, Vegetables, Vineyard, Other
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