Visit to St. William's Cohousing in Wigan

Zora Zamecnikova
Feb 2, 2024
5 min read

A bit of history

When I arrived in England in 2007, I received a vision from above of large, beautiful cohousing settlements with their own ecosystems. I fell in love with the idea and started exploring how to actually create such communities.

I completed training for community housing advisors in London and immersed myself in studying the UK real estate market.

But I soon realized that cohousing isn’t just about land and finances.

It was missing a spiritual dimension and a shared purpose. It’s not enough for me to just share a kitchen or a dinner with someone. I need to live with people who know that life has an invisible structure, who understand conscious work with energies, and who want to grow.

That’s why I invested my time and energy also into studying relationships - both family and communal - working with energies, and cleansing both spaces and the human mind so that a person (and therefore the community) doesn’t block their own progress.

Because that’s the main reason why communities fail to bring their projects to life.

They want to reach something new and beautiful with old, comfortable thinking and habits, and without persistent work on a shared long-term effort.

The reality of cohousing

Online, you’ll find many inspiring examples of cohousing communities. They look like Edens - gardens full of love and harmony. But reality often tells a different story. Most groups (estimated up to 95%) never make it to construction. They remain dreamers.

Since I once built a house with my ex-husband in just three years using self-build methods, I have an idea of what building a home entails. So I was initially surprised that cohousing groups take much longer to realise housing, and most never get there at all.

Now I understand why. And I’m interested in what successful cohousing groups do differently - how they turn dreams into reality, unlike those who never even start.

Ironically, I’ve found that an individual often has a better chance of completing a project than a group. Communities often create their own obstacles with their approach to project development. They don’t understand how to work with group and individual energy.

First encounters with reality

I studied numerous projects online and visited several completed ones. Each had a different atmosphere and leadership. But more than the tours, what really taught me something was volunteering on the construction site of St. William’s Cohousing in Wigan during a team-building event organized by our Greater Manchester Community Led Homes group.

Sweat equity and construction work

That day was raw, cold and windy. Only true cohousing enthusiasts are willing to voluntarily go to a building site in such weather. 😀 But the hands-on experience was priceless.

St. William’s Cohousing was built on the site of a decommissioned church offered to the community by the church itself. The group is funding the project through a combination of grants, shared mortgages, and cooperation with the Christian charity Housing People, Building Communities.

Prospective residents can earn what’s called “sweat equity” - if they work 500 hours on the construction, the organisation contributes £10,000 on their behalf as an entry deposit. Even non-physical work counts - administrative, technical, according to one’s skills.

People can rent their homes or partially buy them with the option to achieve full ownership over time. This isn’t possible if you buy into a housing co-owned with a developer as a private buyer there, part of the ownership always remains with the developers.

What I learned

I learned how essential creativity is in cohousing financing. And that when there’s a lack of willingness to provide long-term help, the project stagnates.

On the positive side, I was encouraged to see that even older people can be drivers of change. They’re not passive - they create. They bring a completely different energy to community living than the one commonly attributed to them. In practice, I’ve seen that most cohousing projects are initiated by older adults, often retirees, which is a very positive trend.

Shortcomings and lessons

I was surprised at how little greenery the project had. Everything was built over, and most of the original trees were cut down. That doesn’t align with the vision of the New Earth and ecology.

I was also struck by how few of the future residents were actively involved in preparing their future home that day. Most of the volunteers on site weren’t planning to live in the project, they had come from different parts of England simply to help. On the other hand, many of those who were interested in living there weren’t present at all, supposedly waiting for their mortgage to be approved.

This mentality among prospective residents bothered me. Because what do you do with people who don’t want to lend a hand? Then the entire project ends up being carried by just a few individuals, who inevitably burn out.

I would much rather build a small project with a few people who aren’t afraid of work and responsibility than carry a large one on my shoulders and struggle to build and fill it with the right people. That only leads to a community made up of very different people with vastly different attitudes toward work and responsibility. And that’s not the desired outcome. That’s not how communities of the New Earth, or God’s Kingdom on Earth, work.

The spiritual essence of community is foundational

From my own experience, I know that cohousing must begin with building relationships and setting agreements, not with construction. It’s like a marriage. When the child (the project) arrives, it’s too late to start learning how to communicate. Participating in a project is no joke. It involves significant money, time, work, and responsibility.

There are even real-life examples of groups that managed to complete their projects in some form, but the community later fell apart because they hadn’t resolved relationships and rules of the game in advance.

So if you, too, dream of your “Heaven on Earth,” be intentional in choosing your co-creators. Build conscious relationships and define your agreements before you start looking for land. Don’t begin with a vision of a large project. Start small, with people you trust.

Small projects with space for just a few people and plenty of greenery are more appealing and easier to achieve. And they have the potential not only to heal the souls of those who live there, but also to positively transform the face of our cities.

However, this intention must be set at the very beginning of the planning process, and the entire process should be built around it.

The opposite approach - gathering some people, trying to raise money and find land, and then building something - does not work well, as proven by experience around the world.