Full Circle Evolution (Cate de Vreede and Lauren Lake)

Presenter Bio

• Cate de Vreede is a co-founder of Treehouse Village Ecohousing, a cohousing community under construction in Atlantic Canada. Knowing next-to-nothing about sociocracy herself, she prepared the proposal for the first collective decision her forming community ever made: to use sociocracy. She attributes many aspects of TVE’s success to sociocracy, and is eager to exchange tips with others.
• Lauren Lake is retired from a leadership role in the pharmaceutical industry. She and her husband and moved into Green Grove Cohousing in Forest Grove, Oregon, in 2020. She is an avid hiker and backpacker and volunteers on trail work parties. Lauren is one of two Sociocracy trainers at Green Grove, planning the initial training and creating an ongoing orientation for her 9-unit community.

Description

The size of Treehouse Village Ecohousing’s Full Circle has tripled since it was formed. During its development, this cohousing community has transitioned from all members participating in most major decisions, to a Full Circle which is largely a forum for social community-building, learning and fun. Hear what we do when we meet as a whole community, how we keep all members informed, and what happens when a decision does need to happen at the Full Circle. Then hear from an established community, Green Grove Cohousing, that decided to use a Full Circle instead of the typical sociocracy General Circle. It’s a smaller community where it seemed simpler to just invite everyone and make the meeting both social and business-oriented.