Lothlórien Cooperative House

  • Community
  • 0 followers

About the Community

  • Established
  • Urban

What we do

We are a community of about 30 people (both students and workers) and five cats (neither students nor workers) who share a large yellow castle on the shore of Lake Mendota. Since our founding in 1973, Lothlorien Co-op has striven to provide a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for people of all ages, sexes, races, and sexual orientations. Many of our housemembers are politically active in queer rights, labor rights, and environmental and feminist movements, and our home is an open resource to activist groups like Food Not Bombs, Stop the War, Radical Cheerleaders, and the Madison Art Collective. We often host benefit concerts, fiestas, coffeehouses, and other events providing the city of Madison with good times. Based in egalitarian ideals, house decisions are made through modified consensus at weekly house meetings.

The house features a huge living room and library with hardwood floors, four fireplaces distributed throughout the house, multiple decks, and one grand and one upright piano. Our backyard has terraced gardens, a lakeshore fire pit, a dock, and two canoes. All but one of our 31 bedrooms are singles. We have a great location within walking distance of the Capitol, UW-Madison and MATC campuses, and bus lines. Additional fun fact: Loth has one of the largest solar hot water systems in Madison.
We cook vegetarian meals with a vegan option nightly. Nearly all food at Loth is organic and most produce is also locally grown.

Our Vision

Vegie, Enviro, LGBT-friendly

Our Mission

Vegie, Enviro, LGBT-friendly

  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • 32 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
32

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Dinners:
All are welcome to join us for dinner Sunday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. or brunch Sunday at noon.

How to apply for membership:
Attend a minimum of three dinners, then give 48 hours notice before a membership meeting with current house members. Membership meetings consist of going over house policies and a Q & A session. Call the house phone and ask about our process for applying to become a member if you cannot attend dinners. Also feel free to email any questions to Eli (one of our membership coordinators) at [email protected].

Crashing:
We accept short-term crashers pending a meeting with members of the house. Crashing fees are $7 per night, including all-you-can-eat food; there is a possibility for partial work-job payment as well.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • 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

Join fee: $200
Labor required: Yes
6 hours workjob/week–ie: cooking, composting, dishes, recycling, etc; 1.5 hrs Maintanence/mo

One-time small due to: Madison Community Co-op (MCC)

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

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Hot tub or hot springs, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

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
    0.5 acres

Reviews

Location

  • Wisconsin, United States

Lothlórien Cooperative House

Promoted Needs and Offers

Need
12 months ago

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