Private housing and common spaces
The cohousing project created five spacious private houses and three apartments. Two of the latter and the two offices at the street side are being rented. The garden, the garden house, the chicken and the bicycle shed are used for common purposes. Two halls equipped with a kitchen are being used for meetings, parties or exhibitions, by the group, friends and relatives.
Living together
Our cohousing project is built on confidence (seeking a balance between involvement and enough privacy), but also on clear rules (distribution of costs, what happens when someone wants to leave, …). Once a month there is a meeting dealing with all the practical issues, including little chores. This is working well for more than 25 years. No ideological platform, but ‘Doing together what we can … and therefore having more free time for yourself and for others.’
The future
All 14 children who grew up here, have left. As a result of which, the houses are now too large for the remaining occupants and all are growing older. Therefore, we have decided to start a new project for the next 25 years. Everyone is participating and in the meanwhile the group has expanded. In the future we may have more communal living together: having dinner together, watching TV or films, organizing activities or travelling. Time will tell.
We do hope the herring smoking factory will also remain afterwards an inspiring place for a close group of cohousing people.