Ideaplants

What is co-housing?


The principle of co-housing (or collaborative housing) is simple. You live together with a group of people that are not necessarily your family or relatives and you share certain areas of your home with them. You share certain resources (e.g. space, food, energy, green areas, cars etc.) and certain parts of your life (e.g. free time, weekends, cleaning, celebrations).


There are many Co-Housing initiatives in Europe, America, Australia and many other parts of the world. Key challenge of this approach is to create a Win-Win-Win for all people involved in the project. This way of living is not only interesting for individuals – especially families with children and seniors can support from this type of living environment where a community supports each other in daily life.


In Belgium you can already find some co-housings although larger scale co-housing is still a new concept.

The other day I went to the a session at the Imagination club site in Brussels.


The format of this gathering is quite simple:

• One person gives a workshop on any creative (preferably non commercial) topic.
• Anyone can come and join the workshop for a small donation to cover snacks and room rent.
• The presenter gets a round of feedback where people can say what they liked, what could be improved and what new things they take with them.

Simple format, a very relaxed atmosphere, an inspirational workshop and a nice drink with participants afterwards rounded off a very nice evening.


Thanks very much for organizing this Jeffrey & Andy. I’ll be back for a next session for sure.


For more info and the agenda of upcoming & past events, visit the Imagination club site in Brussels or the global site.


Cheers,


Mira

The Teekampagne (tea campaign) is quite a simple concept. Günther Faltin (professor for entrepreneurship in Germany & founder of the tea campaign) asked himself: why is tea affordable in China but so expensive in Europe?
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The Hub…

is a place for start ups that develop projects that approach social and environmental topics.

The approach:  Give people with innovative & entrepreneurial ideas the space and facilities they need to develop it.

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Some weeks ago I met Karel from the Webfabriek – a Webagency specialized in NGO web projects. Watch the interview… › Continue reading

One of our eMarketing clients came recently across this blog entry from conversationagent.com.

No, this is not a ‘green’ article.

Although this is focussing on Web2.0 practices, I believe it is worthwhile reading for those of you who are developing an environmental or social project.  So many people are scared of failing but why not using a Kaizen approach – why not see failure and the resulting learning curve as part of the actual growth?

When it comes to getting things done, there is a lot environmentalists can learn from the web2.0 & open source culture. 25 tips you should keep in mind for your next project.