November’s Spotlight of the Month: The CoHo Ecovillage

The CoHo Ecovillage

At first promenade into the CoHo Ecovillage, only a few blocks from the vibrant but mellow downtown in the earth-friendly city of Corvallis, Ore., what’s striking is the network of individual garden plots that buffer nearly all of the 34 green-built residences, and the common house bustling with the chefs du jour, preparing one of the three communal dinners that’s served each week, to which diners are known for bringing their own cloth napkins.

But what’s more overpowering than this imagery is the “commons” feel along the path that connects these houses and their giant, sun-catching windows. A relaxed looking gent strums a ukulele on his front porch, as another walks by with an amicable old dog. Children are rampant but not overwhelming, riding bikes and climbing about some of the trees that offer a canopy from afternoon rays.

This communal feeling is by design. Automobiles and street access are tucked away on the other side of the northernmost row of houses, nearly out-of-sight from the pedestrian- and kid-friendly gardens, landscaping and sidewalks, which makes not only for a smog-free play space but a true village environment.

Since it opened last October, this community of some 70 residents has had some time to master the art of communal housing, which might sound like a bunch of hippies holed up in a commune, but actually operates on a completely different platform. The residents all have outside jobs. Their houses are technically condominiums, so it’s the homeowner’s association that owns the structures but the inhabitants that own the space inside. They’re all, of course, free to come and go as they please, even if some residents joke amongst themselves about communication with “the outside.”

What brings this crew together is a series of shared values, and their cooperation is as good for the planet as it is the people who call the CoHo Ecovillage home.

From left to right, the “commons” area; Residents use their mailboxes to store cloth napkins for easy re-use during communal meals

“We’ve always loved the idea of cohousing,” said Jennifer Yang, who sought out several different cohousing communities with her partner, Rob Dietz, and their three-year-old daughter, before moving from Washington, D.C. by way of New Mexico to Corvallis. “People come here for different reasons; some ecological, some social.”

The combined effort results in a smorgasbord of green living greatness:

1. Shared resources. With so many children in the village, it’s just unnecessary to buy baby clothes. Kids grow fast enough for parents to hand down too-small garments to someone who fits them, thus negating the need to buy new stuff and contribute to its impact on the climate. There’s also a washer and dryer in the common house, so that residents don’t have to buy their own units. And soon, the common house will feature foods bought in bulk that can be repurchased in bulk by members, which also serves to cut down on the amount of packaging involved in individual trips to the grocery store.
2. Recycling for days. Jenn and Rob have discovered so many things they can recycle since moving to CoHo that they’ve reduced the amount of landfill trash they dump to about a bag a month, they say. The piping system in the village collects grey water for future use in irrigation, and 90 percent of all stormwater runoff is managed on site, via bioswales and built wetlands.
3. Green building. The homes, which range in size between 850 square feet to 1,425 square feet, are a far cry from the average American’s gaping 2,500-square-foot structure. They all involve shared walls to minimize the use of building materials, and those materials include natural linoleum in the bathrooms and kitchens plus 100 percent recycled polyester carpet, made from soda pop bottles. They’re are all piped for solar heating, they use 30 percent less energy than is required by city code, and the 2,800-square-foot common house is built for maximum energy efficiency, complete with a solar hot water heating system, high-efficiency gas furnace, dual-flush toilets, and south-facing windows, including one that is angled just so to block oppressive summer heat but embrace needed winter rays. The common house was built with wood from the few trees cut down to make room for the homes, though the project did preserve more than two acres of mixed forest. A center column inside it uses a “chimney effect” to vacuum heat out of the structure in the summer. There are low-flow shower heads plus radiant heating in the floors that warms the legs and feet, making inhabitants feel toasty enough to keep their own thermostats down.
4. A sustainable way of life. A bike path leads from the village to the city’s morass of bike lanes, encouraging carbon-free transport, and a bike storage barn to safely house two-wheeled transit. The nearest bus stop is 400 feet away, and the small parking area is clustered to cut down on non-permeable surface area.

And the best thing about it: the people are cool, friendly, outgoing and smart. But then, what else would you expect from a collection of folks who put the planet first?

To learn more about CoHo Ecovillage and their vision and values, visit their website.

Spotlight written by Winston Ross.