One cabin, five single mothers, eight children. Sounds like a somewhat chaotic community? It is, and that is precisely what pleases the main stakeholders in this project.
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“The longer we are there, the easier our life is! Each in turn, we take care of a big meal for everyone, we divide the tasks by involving the children, and then we relax by drinking a glass of wine all together on the edge of the fire while the children play together” , summarizes Geneviève Morand, one of the five accomplices involved in this beautiful project.
It all started with the land that a friend bought with her husband at the time in Lanaudière. They were a gang to gather there summer and winter to go camping.
When she separated and decided to build a cabin there, she first thought of renting it out to make it financially viable.
“I said: ‘no no no, you’re not going to rent it, we have such a sense of belonging with this place!'” recalls Geneviève, who appealed to everyone in their mutual friends to find out who would be interested in a collective project.
The group crystallized around five single mothers who all live in Montreal and for whom a place to escape in nature is a must. Her friend remains the sole owner of the place, but the other four women have signed a formal lease to be able to enjoy it.
And they do not do things by halves, helped by their eight children of primary or preschool age. “We do collective chores, the children helped to build the steps of the gallery, we installed a dock, painted together… Me, I have daughters, I find that thefun that they have female models who master the business of construction,” says Geneviève.
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Expenses related to the chalet are compiled in a common binder, and projects (such as the purchase of a spa) are discussed and budgeted.
It would be hard to think that such an interesting chalet would be possible without doing it as a group. “That’s the added value of projects like this. I’ve always had a critical perspective on everyone’s house/yard/lawnmower/pool… We all believe that sharing resources and space is more logical, more economical, it’s a model that we want to show our children.”
Conflict management
The five women met each other as adults about five years ago and recognized each other in their values and philosophy of life.
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They work in the field of helping relationships and cooperation: mental health, community, social development, sexology… And the sensitivity and emotional maturity that these professions require serve them well in the chalet project.
“There are plenty of irritants, it’s like being roommates! (…) But when we have tensions, we meet and we revise our collective rules, we return to our values which underlie this project, ”explains Geneviève.
And in general, there are a lot more positives than negatives.
The proof? The five women have agreed that they can each book a week alone at the chalet, but so far…no one is taking it.
“These girls are my friends, I want to see them,” concludes Geneviève.
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