"Arizona We Want" Semi-finalist!

 

Good News! Manzanita Village has been chosen as one of 33 semi-finalists in the Arizona We Want ((http://www.thearizonawewant.or​g/) program. We are the only co-housing group that has been chosen. In this state-wide competition, we are one of three semi-finalists in Yavapai County and, it appears, the smallest group chosen. Our proposal is to create a working demonstration project that captures rainwater runoff for gardening and landscaping usage, which reduces domestic water usage and erosion, and builds citizen engagement. The next step in the process is to complete a feasibility assessment including identifying and getting letters of support from potential collaborating partners and determining “the way [the] community does things that will never be the same again.”

Important to the whole Arizona We Want effort are actions that build community. According to a survey cited on their webpage only 12% of citizens in Arizona believe that people in their community care about one another. Only 25% believe it’s easy to meet people and make friends in their community, and only 37% believe they are treated with respect at all times. The low sense of connectedness to one another that Arizonans express is confirmed by the findings of the 2010 Arizona Civic Health Index. Arizona ranks 48th in the nation for exchanging favors with neighbors regularly and 45th for eating dinner with family/household members almost daily. We feel that cohousing provides an exciting and innovative model for building communities and modeling ways our neighbors can grow an Arizona where people care about their communities and each other.

Here are two more links about the grant:

“Into the Mind of Lattie Coor”:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/07/23/20110723lattie-coor-into-the-mind.html

Building Community in Arizona:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/07/22/20110722community-editorial.html

Intergenerational Cohousing

The AARP has posted a great article on cohousing that emphasizes the advantages of multi-generational communities such as Manzanita Village. You can find it here.

Our New Chicken Coop

Our new residents in the Village have found a home that was built by many of their neighbors!  All fifteen of them live in a one-room house and all they have to eat is chicken feed!

Firewise Grant Awards Ceremony

On Monday April 4, John Mangimeli, member of the Manzanita Village Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors, and Cheryl and Melvin Hill, members of the Village FireWise Committee, attended the Yavapai County Commissioners meeting in order to receive the Title 3 Forest Project Grant for 2011. Funds from this grant will be used to do fire fuels mitigation and develop the communities FireWise program. This project will decrease the fire potential of the Village ravine area in order to move the community toward a more FireWise model. We hope to not only mitigate the fire fields but also enhance groundwater penetration and provide a healthier environment for both the plants and animals living in this area. This project could also become part of the larger effort on the part of Manzanita Village to become known as an exemplary neighborhood that is a good steward of our natural resources.

From Left to Right: Chip Davis, Board of Supervisors, John Mangimeli, Manzanita Village, Carol Springer, Chairman Board of Supervisors, Cheryl and Melvin Hill, Manzanita Village, Thomas Thurman, Vice-Chair Board of Supervisors.

Variety Show!

Here are some photos taken by Joan at our Variety Show.  The acts and music were terrific, especially those provided by our youngest Villagers!