We envision Cantine's Island as a collaborative community on the model of cohousing, a housing type developed in Denmark that "redefines the concept of neighborhood to fit contemporary lifestyles - combining the autonomy of private dwellings with the advantages of community living".

It is a diverse association of homeowners working together for mutual benefit. Extensive common facilities are an integral part of the plan, supplementing private living areas in daily use. The community is resident-managed, and all residents are expected to contribute in some way to its operation through some combination of labor and assessments, to be agreed upon by the association. To the greatest extent possible, decisions are reached by the consensus process or be delegated to committee, as the association sees fit.

There is no discrimination on the basis of age, race, disability, lifestyle, or religion. This community expressly does not have any prescribed political orientation. It is not a "commune" or a "spiritual community". Other than the commitment to cooperation described here, our only shared ideology is that of environmental stewardship. Where factories once stood, there are now gardens, lawns, and trees. We intend to continue this reclamation process as an ongoing feature of our life here. We try to live as "softly" on this land as possible.

Purchase of a home at Cantine's Island should not be thought of as a traditional real estate investment, although residents who have decided to leave the community have always been able to sell their home at a higher price than they originally paid.

The people who are interested in living at Cantine's Island are making a conscious adaptive choice. They are not satisfied with the isolation and wastefulness of the individual single family house or apartment, and are seeking a more practical and sociable home environment. Although the pooled resources of the Cantine's Island community obviously offer comforts, even luxuries, far beyond the expectations of the average individual homeowner for much less cost per family, the people who live here should be primarily interested in living cooperatively among people, and in sharing the use of and responsibility for the commons; the attractions of the amenities should be secondary.

The people who live here try to be tolerant and flexible, non-competitive, respectful, and considerate of other people's needs and wishes. They must be personally and financially viable, able to contribute their share to truly mutual support; living with others should be a choice, not a necessity. They should be able to work non-hierarchically and consensually or be willing to live with decisions if they don't participate. Prior experience in living and/or working cooperatively is valuable. Being willing to seek compromise, accept constructive feedback from the group, change opinions, and/or admit they've been wrong, are necessary from time to time. A sense of humor is always handy. Nobody is expected to be on his or her best behavior all the time (after all, this is housing; not tryouts for sainthood). Privacy and-personal space are always respected; nobody is required to be "on " all the time.

We're a diversity of people, skills and occupations, and this amalgamation produces some unexpected and wonderful results.

Send questions and comments to: [email protected]
or to Cantine's Island Home Owners Association, Saugerties, NY 12477

Content © Cantine's Island Home Owners Association. All rights reserved.
Last updated April 14th, 2009

 

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws