Focus On: Making a Community Self-Build Happen

When I first heard about Older Women’s Co Housing I was truly inspired.

A group of women aged 55 and over, had taken their housing matters into their own hands. The result, New Ground in Barnet, won Best Group Self-Build Project at the Build It Awards 2017.

The original premise was simple. Build a community for women – who would otherwise live alone – to come together and help each other in neighbourly ways.

Coming from a range of backgrounds and with their ages raging from early 50s to late 80s, OWCH women share the determination to stay as self-dependent and active as they can.

But as I soon found out, their journey wasn’t necessarily smooth. It took nearly 20 years, and a lot of hard work, for these women to achieve their dream home.

I asked Maria Brenton, who was there from the start, to tell me about the group’s journey and how they overcame the many obstacles they encountered.

When did the Older Women’s Co Housing group start and why?

About 20 years ago I ran a workshop in London about co housing communities across Europe. I had reached out to women’s networks because that was the main focus of my studies.

I was interested in the subject of getting together at an older age to promote healthy and active lives.

After the seminar, a group of six women left for the pub and decided to start a community for older, single women who would share not only a place to live but core values, too. They got in touch with me to help them plan the project, and very soon after, I started looking for funding for the initiative.

We wanted to create a space for older women, who may find themselves living alone, to thrive and be independent thanks to the support of other of like-minded people.

The post Focus On: Making a Community Self-Build Happen appeared first on Build It.

Article reference Focus On: Making a Community Self-Build Happen