About

Cohousing at Threshold

Cohousing is the creation of an intentional community, run by its residents, which combines private, self-contained living space with shared community space. The ultimate aims of cohousing are affordability, sustainability, community and autonomy.

The essence of the Threshold cohousing community is to enhance the spiritual and social connection between us as residents and to support the ways in which we come together, while still maintaining independent lives in our own homes.

Shared activities include daily meditation, weekly work mornings, eating together twice a week, celebrating seasonal festivals and Dances of Universal Peace, and regular retreats and gardening/work weekends. None of these are compulsory but the space is always held for those who wish to participate.

The Houses

Our umbrella organisation is a Community Interest Company (CIC), which owns the freehold of all the properties. There are 14 self-contained homes plus three rented rooms in our communal farmhouse, all of which are supplied by green energy systems (see our Sustainability page for details).

Of the 14 homes, seven are privately owned via leasehold from the CIC, while the remaining seven are leased through Aster Housing Association. The three rooms in the farmhouse are rented directly from Threshold CIC.

The People

Currently, our community comprises 18 adults; mostly singles but we have a few couples, too. Naturally, our membership fluctuates as people move on and newcomers arrive, and there have been times when we’ve had young families with children.

While we have certain criteria that guide our selection of new residents (see our Vacancies page for details), we actively seek to maintain a community that is diverse.

Shared Facilities

We have a shared laundry, freezers, bike shed, tool sheds and a workshop. Our 18th-Century farmhouse, which has spare rooms for guests, has a communal kitchen, sitting room, dining room and meditation room.

In addition to being used for morning meditation, the meditation room also provides a space for therapy as well as occasional yoga, Qi Gong, singing, chanting and dance sessions.

All our homes are set around a communal green while, across the lane from our residential site, we rent more than an acre of land; this provides a substantial growing area for our fruit and veg plots, plus an environment to be in nature (see our Garden page for details). 

Events

Threshold organises a series of events throughout the year to encourage people to visit and experience what life here is like, especially for friends who may eventually want to join our community (see our Events page for details).