I have followed CAC's progress through their website for some time, and when I looked again recently I was thrilled to see information about Kaleidoscope Village! I am now looking forward to helping to build a diverse community, getting to know my neighbors, working together to build a village, as well as having a close-in, green, cool place to live.

I have a MEd in Adult and Organizational Learning, work at a software company in Technical Communication and Training, study spirituality and consciousness, love the Austin art and music scene, reading and writing, traveling, cooking and eating, walking the dogs, and hanging out with neighbors.

• Interests: Reading, backpacking, gardening, knitting, cooking. I recently took up sea kayaking and that has been exciting.
• Occupation: Proposal Writer/Internal Sales for a pharmaceutical research company

I first learned about co-housing a few years ago when I attended a presentation by several local groups that were trying to build communities. I had long thought that the way typical neighborhoods operated, with everyone basically responsible for all their own needs (cooking, yard work, child care, etc.) missed out on the opportunity to create a real sense of community and improve the quality of life for everyone involved. I was drawn to that aspect of co-housing – sharing meals, sharing chores, taking care of each other. I’m looking forward to having a close network of friends nearby and in working together to build the kind of community we want. I work in social services (including a homeless shelter and a domestic violence hotline). I love doing anything outdoors, especially swimming, hiking and camping, traveling, hearing music and dancing, and creative activities like sewing and photography.

I came to Austin, drawn to the diverse cultural landscape that resonated with my counterculture identity. Being a Latina raised in Anglo suburban California in the 50’s & 60’s, I have reinvented my identity many times over, trying to find “mi casa.” I am now in my third career as a neurologic music therapist. In previous incarnations I helped found (in California) the Sacramento and Chico Natural Food Coops, and the Live Foods Collective that was both a communal living group, and a business that grew alfalfa sprouts and warehoused natural foods for distribution. I went ‘back to the land’ in the 70’s, tending a ¼ acre garden, goats, chickens, and babies. As my kids grew up I collected college degrees in agriculture at UC, Davis, worked in plant biotechnology, then (in Colorado) founded and ran my own small applied biotech company for 17 years. After regrouping with a master’s study in music and the brain at CSU, I finally returned to my roots as a musician, this time in the service of healing. I have been the Clinical Director at the Center for Music Therapy, Inc. here in Austin for almost 3 years, but this summer I will strike out on my own as a private practice therapist working in facilities and homes. I embrace the opportunity to join the KV community as part of my ongoing effort to be in harmony with my life’s purpose - to come home.

• Interests: Biking, walking, swimming, kayaking, yoga (especially for rehab), playing music, Afro-Haitian drumming & dance, gardening
• Occupation: Music Therapist
• Website: http://www.myspace.com/iamican_cathynmt

• Interests: Almost everything in science with special interest in green technologies and the evolution of evolutionary theories. I bicycle where and when I can unless it involves water and then I prefer to kayak. I like to garden, cook, play games, and read.
• Occupation: Editor in the field of educational measurement (I create science and math tests.)

While not traveling around the world, doing yoga, dancing the hula, looking for things to compost, or figuring out what to do with the most recent stray dog/cat/bird/goat that for some unexplainable reason has attached itself to them, Toli and Christine can be reliably found in front of their computers. Toli is a geeky software engineer who would rather be a cowboy and organic farmer. Christine is a perky marketer and website coder who would rather be shopping at Hobby Lobby for her next craft project. We've been married 5+ years, and, despite what our parents and friends think, really do intend to start a family... soon..ish. We have a website at www.lerios.org with pictures of ourselves, our cats, as well as various Greek dishes we like to make.

We have spent a lot of time working and living in a yoga/wellness community in Hawaii and hope to participate in creating a similarly supportive and cohesive environment with Central Austin Cohousing. We look forward to cooking communal Greek food dinners, teaching yoga, and raising our soonish-to-be children (and already-here pets) in Kaleidoscope Village.

• Interests: jazz, pets, crafting
• Website: Lerios Family Website

Isn't this fun? I mean cohousing. That's why I'm in it, really. Good, clean fun. And a chance to enjoy being patient and detached while developing new skills. That's a big part of the attraction that this early, organizing and planning, designing and imagining, recruiting and meeting phase of cohousing holds for me. Some people climb mountains; me, I do cohousing. I like the teamwork and belonging to a community. I like doing my part to make the world a better place... starting of course with reforming myself.

I live in Austin, a 25 minute drive from the farm I grew up on. Austin is a most excellent place for learning about sustainability, healthy homes, right livelihood, metaphysics, non-intellectual spirituality. Good climate and fascinating ecologies too. I have time for interests like these because of my own version of voluntary simplicity.

My dreams for cohousing are many. We could have a cooking club. Permaculture gardening with my neighbors is definitely planned. There would be more ways to grow. That's fun. During the times when I am with my neighbors nuturing the edible landscape and gardens, or helping someone with their science experiment in the workshop, or caring for a sick friend, or, enjoying some other collaborative activity not only will I be bringing that balance into my life but I will have a solid alibi should there be a problem with mistaken identity when one of my doubles running around town gets into trouble!

• Interests: yoga, meditation, intuition
• Occupation: building and financing cohousing and elder cohousing projects

Selwyn and I like to say that we were there at CAC's birth (and shortly became absentee parents). We attended the first few months of Central Austin Cohousing meetings back in early 2000 but got pulled away by the prospect of a rural cohousing development. When rural cohousing became a reality, I just couldn't stomach the idea of long drives to and from town. We were both interested in the Mueller site but were concerned that there would be little space for the gardens (and chickens) that Selwyn had envisioned. The MLK site satisfies what both of us are looking for, a great location fairly close to the heart of the city with some open space to raise chickens and build a diverse, edible landscape.

Tofu, the little guy in the middle of the picture, was adopted from the Humane Society about 10 months ago. He's half Beagle and half Australian Heeler. He loves going on hikes, eating compost, and playing with his buddy Saxon. He's a smart little critter and has so far learned to kiss, close doors, and play dead after about three feigned shots (he likes to be dramatic!) among other tricks.

Selwyn: I'm looking forward to living in "peace and harmony" on an exceptionally green piece of property. Can't wait to stroll around all the edible landscape and browse. Maybe a few little goats or Barbado sheep - definitely my chickens will be there with me. I can't wait to raise our son surrounded by lots of "aunts and uncles".

• Interests: Permaculture, environmentalism, photography, RC, gardening, woodworking, dogs, chickens
• Occupation: Computer Consultant, Permaculture Teacher/organizer, RC teacher
• Web Site: My Austin Progressive Calendar website

I discovered cohousing in Summer '05, just after I had moved my elderly mom from Shreveport LA to Louisville KY and into an assisted living community. I liked the community, the shared meals, the group activities, etc. One day I remarked to the director that I wished there were similar housing developments for the population at large, and she clued me in on cohousing. To me, cohousing just represents an easier, sane, humane way to live. I love the idea of being part of a really positive evolutionary trend. Currently, I live in Louisville KY with my 2 dogs - Karma (shepherd/boxer mix) and Karuna (beagle I picked up off the road last year) - and near my 18 year-old daughter. When she heads to college in August (Centre College in Danville, KY), I'll move to Austin. Expected arrival is about September 1. Occupationally, I'm a coach for small business owners/solopreneurs - been doing that for ten years now. Some old hobbies include backpacking and running, but I'm as likely to try something new as stick with the old pursuits. Some candidates: dancing, martial arts, Spanish.

Many things in my personal history attract me to cohousing.

I grew up in New England and remember town meetings for decision making. My family was unhappy and felt disenfranchised when our town stopped making decisions at town meetings.

In high school and college I had a number of natural communities - like many, not as much since.

In college I lived in an experimental dorm, designed to be a democratic intentional community.

Throughout much of my post-college life I have found communities harder to maintain, even though I continue to surround myself with people who say they desire that.

Although I want to give, share, support - give as much as I get, creating cohousing in Austin is to me a supremely selfish act, for all involved. I selfishly want to have friends and neighbors around when I want them. I want the six degrees of separation benefits of an expanding community.

Also I am enamored of all of the things that others say draw them to cohousing: economies of scale/sharing, shared meals, and multi-generational living.

Interests: the world or ideas in general - but more specifically science fiction, economics, hiking, my dog
• Occupation: Computer Security Consultant, Project Manager
• Web Site: www.new-business-inc.com

Bio Coming Soon.

Mansoor and I first learned about cohousing five years ago when we married and moved from Oakland/Berkeley to Los Angeles. What a great idea - we thought - to have friends as neighbors, to share meals and materials and labor, sharing in the life changes that come with the passage of time. Five years, lots of research, and one attempt to start a small intentional community in Los Angeles later, we learned of KV and realized it might help our cohousing dreams come true. It's always fun and exciting to see dreams become reality. We love to hike, work in the kitchen, listen to music, read, and spend time together. About us : Hannah loves foods and cooking and learning about cultures from many parts of the globe. She's politically savvy and dedicated to issues of social justice. The longest she's ever been outside of the state of California was our 7-month trip to India. Mansoor considers himself a sort of cultural mutt... As a Texan-Californian with roots in India, he sympathizes with different and contradictory perspectives. He's focused nowadays on love towards family and friends, living simply and more sustainably, and time outdoors. We met in a Spanish conversation class and hope to live a long, multi-lingual life together.

• Interests: cooking, nutrition, travel, backpacking
• Occupation: Legal Aid Attorney, specializing in Workers' Rights

Bio: I work as an editor at a typesetting firm. I used to have a dog, but my work schedule doesn't allow that any more (deadlines can lead to long hours on short notice). What I'm looking forward to in cohousing:

• Being a part-time custodian of a small dog. I'll be responsible for feeding, long walks, trips to the vet until noon, then someone else takes over.
• Learning about the ecology and wildlife on our site.
• Getting together a resource-sharing group to think up all kinds of out-of-the-box ways to cut down on our cost of living and our ecological footprint.
• Helping out with home-schooling and doing craftsy things with kids.
• Developing a dynamite recycling and composting system that will work so well no one would ever think of sending something usable to the landfill.
• Watching NBA basketball with Julie. (Go, Spurs, go!)

I first learned about cohousing when someone mentioned it on a frugal newsgroup I read, and I knew immediately it was what I'd been looking for. My biggest hope for cohousing is that it provides a sense of extended family, and that it contributes to simple living. Even though I now live five hours from Austin I manage to get down there occasionaly and I keep up easily with what's going on through email and the wiki. I have been involved with CAC since January 2001 when I invited myself to the first consensus training. It took only that one weekend for me to feel fully committed. Before retiring early I worked as a Medical Technologist/ Microbiologist.

• Interests: voluntary simplicity, soccer, chimpanzees, frugality
• Occupation: retired - PT merchandiser

As a native Texan, I’ve lived in the greater Austin area all of my adult life except for a two-year educational stint at FSU in Tallahassee, Florida. My life is enriched by family and several communities of wonderful friends, the latest of which is our KV cohousing group. My career in workforce development includes work with Rural Capital Area Workforce Centers and as a Licensed Professional Counselor with the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care in Austin. I’m actively involved with my church family at University United Methodist. In addition to time spent with the aforementioned, I enjoy reading, movies, bowling, and attempting to learn Spanish. I’ve traveled a bit and look forward to more opportunities for that. I want to learn more about gardening and other interests that KV community members will spark in me.

I was involved in coop housing in college and loved it. I especially like the way contributing labor and ideas to a common cause can pull people together. While I was in cooperative housing, I heard about cohousing and knew I wanted to be involved. So as soon as I returned to Austin, I contacted KV. I've been a Social Worker for almost 20 years and don't see myself changing careers. I am interested in setting up a dog run and a meditation room once KV is up and running.

• Interests: Buddhism, friends, animals, all types of music - so long as it stays out of the middle of the road, all types of beer, intentional communities, antiquities and reliquaries (thus museums), comix, independent film, gourmet food that I don't have to cook, stand-up comedy, socialized medicine, non-westernized healing, labyrinths, reincarnation, Shakespeare, LOTR, Harry Potter and the like, monasticism, queer history and culture, NYT crossword puzzles, live performance of all kinds.
• Occupation: Social Worker at Brackenridge

We found out about CAC when looking for sustainable building in Austin. We like the idea of being part of a community of people who see the potential for growth that derives from sharing knowledge and resources with their fellow neighbors.

I'm looking forward to living in a close neighborhood with shared meals, activities and responsibilities. The idea of having lots of people and to hang out with and have fun with appeals to me.

I'm looking forward to raising Ruby in a community context. I have 2 cats, Mija and Oso, who've been with me for 10 years and will also be moving to cohousing with me.

I work as a speech therapist in a local hospital and like to hike, camp, read and simply be with people I care about.

Bio Coming Soon.

I joined cohousing to find a balance between neighborliness and solitude in my life—but also for the fun of it. It could be fun to learn with others how to bake a sourdough, for example, or grow a sweeter snap pea, or cook a meal for a crowd. I’m interested in discovering how a village (us) takes care, solves its problems, and finds better ways to do things. It sounds like an adventure and an opportunity for belongingness again in an ever-changing Austin.

Along with my dog Nelson, I have two cats Tweety and Meemo. After nine years of country life (also an adventure), I moved back to town, am acclimating and looking forward to getting to know my village neighbors over time. I enjoy gardening, walking the trails all over Austin, kayaking, browsing through bookstores, good live music, visiting with friends, and on the odd year or so, traveling. I work as a designer of textbooks and other educational products for high schools and middle schools.

Hi, I'm Mike Slama, representing the west coast wing of Central Austin Cohousing from the SF Bay Area in California. I'm recently retired from a 25 year engineering career making hi-tech silicon widgets. Along the way, I spent a couple of years (1989-91) living in Austin, and liked the area lots. I first became exposed to the concept of cohousing in Austin via an article about McCamant and Durrett published in the New York Times shortly after they wrote their book, and decided that I had to live that way someday.
I became a member of several groups that tried to develop cohousing in the South Bay Area, but, sadly, all of them failed. I've toured about 15 cohousing sites, and liked them all! Needless to say, I was delighted to find CAC!

I'm a dance nut. Started with Balkan Folk dance many years ago in college, and continue with it today. I liked the music so much that I play a Bulgarian Flute called 'Kaval' in a local Bulgarian band. Recently, I've moved more into social dance, and spend 8 hours a day on all the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas dancing waltz, schottische, and polka with all comers at a local Dickens Faire. During the day, I'm usually out in the garden. "Square Foot Gardening" was a PBS series/book some years back, and recommended an 'intensive' gardening technique that I've used for the last 20 years or so. One of my Austin Folkdancing friends is currently in the Austin Master Gardener program, so I'm hoping for some synergy!

Bio Coming Soon.

I'm Thea and I work as an architect. My husband, Marc, is an environmental educator and event planner. We live with our daughter Cypress and our son Leo.

We each found out about cohousing while living in student co-ops during the late 1980's. We hope to establish our future home as part of a larger community, with the intimacy and feel of an extended family, sharing experiences and resources with others. We have been involved with the cohousing community since the Spring of 2002. Our hobbies include exploring and creating beautiful places, yoga, swimming, camping and cooking for Thea. Marc likes playing music (especially jazz drumming, bluegrass banjo), canoeing, camping and swimming.

Bio Coming Soon.