Life Without Us

Steve Fick on 25 Years of Living in Community


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"This didn’t feel like much of a community when we moved in. And now everybody says ‘Ah, this is such a great place to live!’" — Steve Fick

Steve Fick has lived at Terra Firma, one of the Ottawa-region’s only cohousing communities, for more than 25 years, and is one of its founders. From shared meals, to shared tools, to neighbourhood-wide street parties and art tours, his insights from a lifetime of centring community are the inspiration we all need to seek more “us” in our lives!

In this episode

  • The organizing journey that allowed the Terra Firma co-founders to build enough faith and trust in each other and the concept that one couple bought into the project site unseen when the right property surfaced
  • How Terra Firma’s residents turned six residences into seven, plus a common space, and an oasis of a shared backyard right in the middle of an existing single-family home neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario 
  • The benefits for parents, children (and later grandchildren!) of raising a family in a cohousing community 
  • Insights on managing conflict in a manner that balances quick, effective repair with the human need for pause using skills like non-violent communication and compassionate listening, and having a budget for a mediator 
  • How an entire neighbourhood joined together in a street party to celebrate Terra Firma Cohousing’s 25 year anniversary. A gathering that Steve describes as “a little piece of heaven.”
  • Steve’s latest co-created community project: The Old Ottawa East Art Tour
  • Why there’s no room for new members in Terra Firma (hint: because all the original founders are still there!)


Find Steve: 

 Facebook        


Find Other Episode References:

Old Ottawa East’s Terra Firma Celebrating 25 Years

Cohousing is a potentially key way to combat loneliness — but it's difficult to get off the ground

Non-Violent Communication

Canadian Cohousing Network 

Old Ottawa East Art Tour 

 

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Life Without UsBy Valery Navarrete