I found this concept of "The Dreamery" on the WACCOBB community forum, and thought "hmmm, smells (a little) like coworking!" (and perhaps even ecovillage-esque), and thought I'd throw it out here for the benefit of seekers in the North (SF) Bay Area; the target for this vision is not far from Cotati/Santa Rosa/Petaluma.
Raines, Coworking Coach (who, based on the experience of Green City Gallery in Berkeley, plus other coworking spaces, would advise them not to commit to somewhere with a baseline rent of $5-10k (plus other expenses) until they had sufficient pre-paid members making serious commitments... perhaps starting smaller, more affordably or with temporary collaborative communities would make a gentler "on-ramp" to group formation) http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=49583#post49583 Message from LQUINNT: What do you think about having a community space where we can gather to co-create our dreams??? There is a potential for opening "the Dreamery" in collaboration with local citizens, businesses and groups in one of the available warehouse spaces in the Northeast Area to cultivate awareness, vision and action for a more livable community experience. This space will be a venue for classes, workshops, performances (circus!?) and events, as well as a drop-in space for people of all ages to connect, vision and create in passion and resonance. A regular event would be a cooperative market of local goods and services (in partnership with the farmer's market) that would offer incentives for recirculating revenues within the local economy (potentially the foundation for a local currency!!). Organizations and businesses contributing to local livability would be featured and participants will build models on-site to demonstrate sustainable designs. Cottage industries that incorporate recycling such as making compost tea, making paper etc. would be encouraged, and a library and tech/media center would support other entrepreneurs to share resources and get support. We can do this with a budget of between $5-10,000/month (depending on the size/location of the space), and many of the programs will generate revenues once they are up and running (that will be reinvested into community programs!). The foundation of revenues will be membership dues (on a sliding scale $10-100/month)-- with this math, 500 people at the bare minimum monthly rate could make it happen... Membership will have many benefits including free access or discounts on participation in the Dreamery's programs/events (potentially hundreds of dollars in savings). Members will also have a voice in designing the development of this collaborative community resource. Further benefits include influencing the redevelopment of the entire Northeast Area (see other posts on WACCO) in proactive community collaboration. There will be a city council meeting on 2/19 where citizens will be discussing planning for the redevelopment of this area, and it would be great for people in support of this vision to attend and express this as a possibility before the council. No matter what, people who are interested should email me, Lauren Thomas at [EMAIL PROTECTED] I am co-facilitating a holistic design course in Hawaii until February 25 with limited email access, but will be contacting people who are interested to help survey others about their interest. This idea is inspired by and in partnership with the Livability Project and is a localized reflection of the "Livability Center". Other influences are "Circle Center" in Fairfax, Green City Gallery in Berkeley and Portland's "Village Information Center" created by City Repair, among others.... These all reflect a growing GLOBAL movement to create community hubs that support connection and cooperation for a more sustainable world! If not now, when? If not here, where? If not us, who? EMAIL ME!! In passionate purpose, Lauren [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
