Sherwood Co-op :: Communities Directory

Established: 1934

This page last updated:4/4/2012

Sherwood Co-op

Seattle, Washington,

United States

We are 14-15 active and creative people with a colorful variety of interests and fields. We share vegan meals every night and each of us is responsible for cooking dinner twice a month. We each have a cleaning chore and are part of a work team—food, finance, maintenance, or membership. We have quarterly work parties where we do maintenance projects around the house. We do various do-it-yourself projects together, including tending to our garden, raising three lovely chickens, homebrewing beer, fixing up bikes, etc.

We run our biweekly meetings by consensus and use rotating facilitation in an effort to create a nonhierarchical system of governance. We are members of the Collective of Collectives, which is "a group formed for the purpose of strengthening our member collectives and the community at large through sharing resources, skills, and knowledge, and to promote cooperation, democracy, and social justice."

The Sherwood Co-op is the last organizational remnant of the Students Cooperative Association started in the 1930s by University of Washington students, which at its high point was on a level with the Ann Arbor and Berkeley campus co-op systems. The SCA sold off all of its holdings in the late 1950s. Sherwood rented our current house from the late 1970s until 2001, when we bought it. We take great pride in the accomplishment of a few students to finance and see through the legal work of purchasing our property. We received help from the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) in this endeavor and are still a member of this organization.

Since the purchase of our house, we have joined the Evergreen Land Trust (ELT) to ensure that our property remains a cooperative. Our long-term goal is for Sherwood to act as an economic and organizational engine for the development of other co-ops. Our short-term goals are to steward our house, to support and learn from each other, and to have fun while we do it.

There is so much more to say about our house and ourselves. If you would like more information about Sherwood, or if you are interested in membership or subletting, email us.

Website: http://sherwoodcooperative.org

Contact:

4746 18th Ave NE
Seattle, Washington 98105-4215 United States
Phone: 206-522-7872

Community location is placed at the center of the zip/postal code, city/state, or city/country (not based on street addresses)

Former/Other Names: The Sherwood Cooperative Association, The Allerlei House, Students Cooperative Association

This page last updated:4/4/2012

Visitors Accepted

(please confirm by phone or e-mail)

Visitor Process: We like having visitors, but we have limited space and energy. Please give us at least a week's notice. You can reach us by email.

Affiliations: Sunset House

:: River Farm

:: PRAG House

:: Emma Goldman Finishing School

:: Walker Creek Farm

Network Affiliations:

Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC-Michigan)

:: North American Students of Cooperation, Evergreen Land Trust

Statement of Housing Non-discrimination:

Our community does not discriminate in regards to housing based on race/color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, family status (i.e. having children, not having children, or being pregnant), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income, age, creed, personal appearance, political affiliation, HIV infection, military/veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, gender identity or expression, receiving public assistance, or being the victim of domestic abuse.

Population Members(adults and children): 14 Open to new members: Yes	Government Decision Making: By consensus Identified Leader: No Leadership Core Group: No (we all have equal power in decision-making)	Labor and Money Financial Style: Members have independent finances (we share the cost of food) Labor Contribution: Expected (weekly cleaning chore, 2 monthly house dinners, active work team membership, quarterly house improvement hours) Join Fee: Yes (deposit to cover last month, NASCO membership fee) Regular Fees: Yes (monthly share of house payment, insurance, savings, and shared expenses (food, utilities, etc.))
Land and Buildings Urban Area: 0.1 acres (0.0 hectares) (enough for a small garden and a 14 bedroom house) Land Owned By: Community-controlled land trust (Evergreen Land Trust) Number of Residences: 1 Cohousing: No	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: 1-5% Share Community Meals: Nearly all dinners Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Diet is up to each individual (all dinners are vegan or vegetarian with other options for dietary restrictions such as soy or gluten free) Dietary Practice: Primarily vegetarian Alcohol Use: Used occasionally Tobacco Use: Seldom used (smoking allowed outside)	Social Factors Common Spiritual Practices: No

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