A Vision For Our Hubs

Hubs are central to Life Itself’s mission to create a weller, wiser world. Hubs house members of the Life Itself community, and create a welcoming space to live and be, to share and connect.

We’re starting our first hub located in London. This documented resulting from a co-creation visioning and planning session with the Hubs’s first members.

Why do our hubs exist?

We create hubs to provide co-living spaces. Co-living for us means living in community. Co-living is a path to strengthening our community and transforming ourselves and our society through the fostering of a shared culture. It helps us maintain and live our values and transmit them in our daily life. It is a way to demonstrate that a different path is possible. Please read our Co-living Model for more information about why and how we want to establish a growing coliving community.

Context for our hubs

Situation: We – and many others – want to live in a mindful, joyful, affordable, sustainable, hopeful, creative, well and dynamic community which would support us in right livelihood, getting stuff done and being well and mindful [and that would ultimately support children as well]. However, many communities fail because they lack shared goals and vision, as well as shared practices and tools to do emotional cleaning and to deal with conflicts (and/or the capacity to use those tools). Finally, spaces in Berlin and Bergerac have been purchased by Life Itself and Life Itself has a plan for a network of rural-city spaces that provide a base for community members, a meeting place to share and build a big vision and be of inspiration to others.

Complication: We are not currently living in an affordable, mindful getting stuff done community. We don’t know if one can join with the right balance of being and doing, demonstrating requisite rigour and connection with Life Itself’s greater goals. Life Itself requires a base in cities like Berlin (to scale and demonstrate the middle way) and to generate a return on the investment it has received (both to attract future investment and to provide surplus for future investments like expanding the Hubs).

Question: How can we manage the Berlin and Bergerac spaces especially in terms of tools, values and rules over the next 18m-3y such that the community running it is sustainable, creative, well, joyful, mindful, getting stuff done; and, that furthers Life Itself’s goal of a wiser world by facilitating like-minded people to connect and align, develop ideas, support each other in taking concrete action in a context of open-mindedness, critical rigour and prioritising quality over quantity.

Hypothesis: Create a hub built around a co-living community and supporting a broader community of members, based on mindful living, critical open-mindedness, integrous workability, getting stuff done, and a sustainable, well-defined, mix of public and private space and time; and that supports its members in connection, ideation and concrete action [in pursuit of a wiser world], and, more broadly, acts as a prototype for further evolution of coliving, co-projecting (incubator) and expansion of the Life Itself nodes.

Principles and Practices

Our most important principles and practices are:

Five Mindfulness Trainings
Eating together
Five Remembrances
Beginning Anew for sharing issues and healing conflicts

Hubs Residency Agreement

We are a mindful community seeking to create a sustainable shared space of warmth, getting stuff done, joy, creativity, generosity, acceptance and authentic connection.

We are committed to living together in a way that cultivates wisdom, compassion and care for ourselves, each other and the world around us. In order to achieve that we embrace certain principles, such as the Five Mindfulness Principles.

The Residents' Agreement applies to both long-term residents and guests.

Shared Meals

Shared meals are an important part of the ‘glue’ that holds our community together.
We share all our food, so anyone can eat anything in the kitchen unless it is clearly labelled otherwise.
We are expected to have supper together once a week. Days will be specified in advance and can be adjusted by residents based on consensus.
We have breakfast together twice a week.
Shared meals are vegan/vegetarian and friendly towards people with other dietary requirements (e.g. gluten free). It is fine for people to supplement their own diet with meat or fish, but this isn’t cooked as part of the main dish.
We take turns to wash up after communal meals. If you cooked, you don’t have to wash up. We aim to cook a fairly large amount, ideally so that there are leftovers for people coming home late or for lunch the next day.

Collective Responsibility

We take collective responsibility for the care of the Hub, and keep it tidy for each other. For example, when we finish in the kitchen, we wash up the things we have used.
As the communal part of the Hub will be used intensively we understand that keeping things clean and tidy, putting things away after us, washing up after us and not leaving things lying around in the main space is a priority for our well-being and harmonious ongoing relationship. The aspiration is to leave the Hub communal spaces cleaner than you found them.
The expectation is that everyone will do the following things each week:
- Cook dinner once (or twice if working in a pair)
- Wash up dinner once (or twice if working in a pair)
- Be present for the majority of Hub meetings
The hubresidents agree on a suitable cleaning rota, apply it, and improve it if it doesn't work well. For example, each week one person could be responsible for a deep clean of the communal spaces (kitchen, living room, bathroom, toilet, corridor) including hoovering, cleaning all surfaces in bathroom and kitchen etc.
Any time put into the Hub in addition to the above is freely given. For example, if some of us choose to work on the garden, spend time hosting guests, or bake a cake, we take care not to feel resentment towards anyone who is not choosing to do this, or believe that they are somehow ‘not doing their fair share’.
Guests who are staying for more than three days are expected to help out with the cooking, cleaning and washing up (on a pro-rata basis).
The Hub is quiet after 11pm and before 7am.

Communicating & Resolving Conflicts

“Getting complete”, emotional “cleaning” and conflict resolution is a priority in our community.
We believe that unspoken resentment and unresolved disagreements cause blocked relationships that damage a community.
We seek to create safe spaces for each other and to learn tools such as meditation, integrity (restoration), flower watering (acknowledgement), non-violent communication and sharing to help us transform conflict into positive growth.
We are determined to show-up to each other and not hide from things for convenience, when we have a chance to address issues in a sufficiently safe and kind space.
We do practices like Beginning Anew on a regular basis (once a month/bi-monthly), or when the situation necessitates it.

Practicalities

Money & Shared Resources

Guests will be advised whether they are part of the shared cost of communal food or just expected to replace what they use and contribute to the food from a place of generosity.

This applies only if the guest joins the shared communal food:

We share the following items which are paid for communally: cleaning supplies, washing powder, basic bathroom supplies, bills and food. We aim to live in a spirit of trust and friendship and generosity, and keep things simple, so we all pay the same amount.
Note that shared food excludes meals out, takeaways, and alcohol.
We aim to buy organic and fairtrade food, and ecological cleaning supplies where possible. We aim to purchase bulk supplies from a cooperative wholesaler such as Suma, where possible.
Items are paid for from each of our own finances and then the cost is reimbursed by Hubmates. We use a simple online tool to keep track of how much we owe each other. (We aim to not be more than £100 in debt to other Hubmates at any time).

Sex & Relationships

Sex in individual bedrooms only, not in communal spaces.
All genders and orientations are welcome.
Free to bring partners to the Hub, with the intention of being respectful to Hubmates and the atmosphere. We’d like it if you felt comfortable enough to be able to introduce them to the Hubmates.

Alcohol & Other

Alcohol is okay in the Hub, however, to be consumed responsibly so that people are still able to be aware and sensitive towards others.
Care should be taken to not disrupt the mindful atmosphere of the Hub.
Where possible, we aim to let the group know what we are up to, so that we can have open-communication, take care of each other, and know what to do in emergencies.

Hub Space

The Hub is intended to act as a space for a wider community as well as the Hub residents. We intend to be welcoming and inviting to others, and to be generous-spirited to others being in the space.
As with any issues within the resident community it is important that we voice promptly anything that is not working for us so that it can get resolved.
We intend to use the spaces in our Hub to occasionally host groups from the wider community (e.g. mindfulness or community groups). While only some of us may be involved in organising a particular group, we all intend to be welcoming to the space being used in this way occasionally.
Hub dinners have an optional donation or bring a dish.

Further Terms and conditions

You will need to agree that Life Itself is not liable for any damage to you or your property.
You are expected to participate in the community and care for the home (eg: cooking, cleaning). Each home may have additional fees (eg: contribution of communal meals).
Life Itself provides bedcover, sheets, pillow cover and towel.
When leaving your residency we ask you to not leave any trace unless agreed, and put things back where you found them; to not colonise the space with information (books, dvd’s etc.), and keep information, materials, equipment and spaces available as you found them.
We will not pick you up at train stations or airports, meaning that you have to come by your own means.
Hubs can not take animals.
Residencies are by default for individuals. If you want to come with a partner, the partner should also be applying to be a resident. Please contact us and we can discuss this.
Payment is by bank transfer within two weeks of receipt of your acceptance to the residency (if this is a problem this can be discussed).
You are responsible for obtaining any relevant travel permissions including visas (Life Itself may be able to provide you with a letter of support).

FAQs

The following FAQs are addressed explicitly in the Residents' Agreement:

What's shared/common and what's private?
What time do we spend together?
Can I eat meat? Can I drink alcohol?
Can my partner stay?
Can my friends visit me?
How do you manage conflicts?

Who do I talk to if I have a question?

Every hub has a dedicated manager whom you will be able to contact with any queries.

How are hubs run?

In the hubs, we make many decisions collectively. In doing so, we respect each other, maintain our principles and resolve conflicts with integrity, determined to transform conflicts into positive growth.

How long can I stay?

The residency is available for one week minimum to three months maximum. For more information or to apply please see Short Stay. If you would like to stay with Life Itself long term, then please apply to one of our homes.

How does a typical week look like in the hub?

This varies by hub. For an example see the Bergerac Hub page.

What am I part of?

Life Itself is on a mission to make the world a wiser, weller place. For more information, see the About section on the home page.