Good Wishes from us all in Bridport Cohousing! May your year ahead be happy and healthy and full of celebrating with us all the achievements and friendships that have been planted and grown.
This 'January' issue has been delayed in order to share The Best News Yet with our friends and supporters.
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested and reply to this email if there is anything you would like to follow up.
Your photos, events, news and matters of interest and concern are welcome. Link to:our website
The Best News Yet!
Dear All
The year begins with the best news yet!
The hard work and emotional roller coaster of the last few months (built on the persistence and dogged determination of the past 8 + years!) has brought us significant steps closer to realising our vision.
In the last month:
the business case for the access agreement with the NHS has had approval from the Dept of Health. All that remains is for the solicitors to draw up the legal paperwork and for all parties to sign it!
the SUDs drainage system works even better than imagined and has positive implications for Phase 1 and Phase 2.
the landowners accepted our latest terms to proceed with the sale. Our deposit has been accepted!
the loan prospectus and legal agreements were created and sent out and all the enquiries dealt with and offers responded to. A mountain of well organised paperwork!
AND hot off the press! :
We are thrilled to announce that in just under three weeks pledges of loans have come in which exceed our £250,000 target !!!
We announced our intention to raise this amount in the form of short term loans from supporters of Bridport Cohousing the day before Christmas Eve, and what a response has come back!! Members asked their family, friends and local contacts - we hand delivered to local celebrities - we posted Facebook and Tweeted - we shouted out on community networks - and our call was answered.
Every day the post has been flooding in with loan applications from generous supporters and the money has started to come in. We hope that all those who have made an initial application will follow up with their pledges and we will announce the result once we have the £250,000 with which to make the land purchase safely in our bank account !!
A heartfelt thank you to all of you who have put your faith in what we are doing and have supported this remarkable and visionary project. And let’s move forward with renewed confidence and energy to build on these achievements.
Breaking Ground At Hazelmead last December with Lin
No, unfortunately not building foundations for houses, but doing something really useful (as a team it's always fun). A small group of members (including me, who wasn't much help with the digging but brought moral support and chocolate biscuits) met up with Charles Couzens, our professional advisor and Colin Clark, our professional drainage wizard, on a beautiful sunny and frost-crispy day in mid-December.
Our mission was to dig two large, and very deep, holes in the field, fill them with water and then time the drain-away. This involved a lot of technical stuff but also made us realise what absolutely wonderful soil we have on our site.
The report that Colin made has gone off to West Dorset District Council and they will now be able to approve the Surface Water Management Plan for Phase 2 of our development. It also confirms that the Phase 1 SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) is correct - which, in turn, means that the risk and cost of a more elaborate design (which would have had to be incurred had this shown the land not to be so free draining) is now removed and will not mean more expense. Hooray !! Win,win !! We get lower costs to the build plus a sustainable way of removing storm water from the site.
(I was also very impressed with the hand crafted spade that Colin brought with him.)
Partying on down at the Christmas Bash
New Member Meets The Members
Hi, I'm Sue and as a fairly new member (since August) I am thoroughly enjoying meeting people. I'm also enjoying all the new stuff I'm learning. That gave me the idea to talk to members and see who BC currently is and also to share it with everyone else; current members, Friends, and people who might be thinking of joining.
Here's the second meeting:
I had a good chat with Sohani, as we both waited for our jacket spuds to cook in our ovens - hers in Milborne St Andrew and mine in London.
She’s been interested in Co-housing for 40 years or more during which time she lived communally as a student, then a hippy for 10 years and later living as a family.
She’s always been called by the utopian dream of living more tribally with more like-minded people.
Like-minded might mean interested in healing and nutrition. Sohani has been a homeopath for 35 years, first with a large thriving practice in Brighton and more recently in Dorset. She’s passionate about health (and it shows when you see her) – she trained in medical herbalism first, then became a homeopath and includes nutrition and allergy testing with her Vega machine as part of her impressive skill set.
And like-minded would include art. She has been painting since she could stand up and draw, studying at Portsmouth and Brighton, being happily at home in the world of artists, crafters and healers. Here’s one of her acrylics.
She also made a stained glass window which is currently in her back door and will be coming with her when she moves into her new home. So we’ll know how to find where she lives…..
Now she wants to be at home in Bridport, in this eclectic, art-filled and alternative thinking town. She’d always wanted to live in the country, rather than a city, so moved to the village of Milborne St Andrew where she is part of a neighbourly group of people who moved into new build homes at the same time. As we spoke, the doorbell rang and a neighbour appeared with a big present for her. I wonder what it was. (Watch this space and if I find out I’ll let you know here.)
So Bridport Cohousing is an exciting prospect; including her desire to live in a good community, in sustainable housing, in a wonderful part of the world.
Fellow Cohousers and people of Bridport line up now - there will be a waiting list to be treated by her!
Flaxhayes allotment chaos and order
Storm Dylan thrashed across Dorset at New Year and amongst other frolics, demolished our polytunnel. Our intrepid allotmenteers have since rebuilt it more securely. Fingers crossed, it will keep its clothes on through the next gale! Meanwhile, gradually, gradually we improve the facilities and have installed a spade rack in the shed.
BC Members, remember those delicious raw chocolates that Sohani made for our party, following her daughter in law's recipe? The ones that disappeared like, well, raw chocolate. Here it is - the recipe you've probably been longing for. Friends and interested parties are also invited to try them out. Just be sure you share them out over here.
ELLA’S RAW CACAO CHOCS
Preferably use all organic ingredients.
1 cup of raw cacao powder
1 cup cacao butter (or coconut oil - can do 50/50)
2-3 tablespoons of raw honey (or best you can get)
1 pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt
Blend all ingredients together in a bain marie or similar over a pan of heating water, till very smooth, stir a while gently.
Pour into moulds (you can obtain chocolate moulds in any good cook shop).
I also added organic essential oil of Geranium (just a few drops). You can use any other fancied and add nuts / peel / cherries / crystalised ginger etc., at bottom of mould before pouring in molten chocolate.
Sit back and enjoy!
Sohani
Some local events
Bridport Community Fair Bridport Town Hall Saturday 2 February 9am - 2pm
An event which showcases community groups in the area.
This is a well attended event that we had a stall at last year.
It will enable us to update the general public about our project and also encourage folk to think about joining us as members and future residents.
BC Events Open to all. For more info call:07907 993 587
Gardening at Flaxhayes, activities planned for January:
Through winter, work-daysare on the first Sunday
of the month, 2 - 4.30pm, if conditions permit.
Bring lunch to share under the apple tree.
In next month's issue
We're hoping to announce more heart-warming news and views and interviews from our intrepid volunteer journos.
Also,
dear friends and members, please share your stories here, your inspirations and opinions - and your favorite festive recipes!
when you see her) – she trained in medical herbalism first, then became a homeopath and includes nutrition and allergy testing with her Vega machine as part of her impressive skill set.
currently in her back door and will be coming with her when she moves into her new home. So we’ll know how to find where she lives…..
