Update: We’ve found a house, although it’s smaller than we originally desired. It’s still going to be a community hub, so if you’re in the Asheville area, please stop by, say hi, and spend the night!
-Blake
Announcing a Group House for Grown Unschoolers!
The Adventure House is group house for grown unschoolers, self-directed learners, Zero Tuition College students, and autodidacts of all stripes. It’s also for adventurers: people who seek excitement, shun boredom, love to travel, and create their own fun. It starts January 2012 in Asheville, NC.
We invite you to discover our house’s purpose, organization, and details on this page. If you’re interested in joining, you’ll find details on how to apply at the bottom.
Please note: This house was previously advertised as “The ZTC Co-op House” here. Also, this house is not affiliated with company Unschool Adventures—it’s just similarly named.
Just the Facts
Where: Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is a small, hip, artsy college town in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. (Learn more at Wikitravel.)
What: We’re going to rent a 3-bedroom house close to downtown Asheville (within walking or public transport distance). The house will initially be unfurnished, but we’ll quickly outfit it with beds, couches, and other furniture from FreeCycle, Craigslist, and Ikea.
Who: Six members, ages 18-30. The minimum age is firmly 18 due to liability issues. Six members is based on double room occupancy in a 3-bedroom house. Members will have a chance to meet each other in order to find like-minded roommates.
Why: Because living in community with awesome people is better than living alone.
When: Starting January 2012 until who-knows-when!
Residency Fees
$500/month is the current estimated fee. (The fee will be finalized in December 2011.)
The residency fee includes:
- Rent
- Utilities
- Wi-fi
- Cleaning supplies
- Basic furniture
- Group dinners (prepared by members)
- A small budget for house activities
The fee does not include:
- Breakfast, lunch, and snack food
- Laundry
Additionally, members will pre-pay $50 in monthly workshift fees. This $50 fee will be refunded to the member at the end of each month upon successful completion of workshift. So the total payment is actually $550/month (but you get $50 back each month). We will also require an initial security deposit of $500 (to cover potential house/furniture damages).
Residency will operate on a quarterly basis. Members will commit to, and pay for, three months at a time. This payment must be made one month in advance of living in the house. (This gives the house a month to find another member if you decide not to move in.)
If a member decides to move out in the middle of a 3-month period, he or she will need to find another member who can take over the 3-month commitment. (In other words: No refunds. Sorry! That’s the only way to protect other members who need to pay the lease.)
House organizer Blake Boles will sign the lease and assume financial responsibility for the rental. (But please note that this is not an Unschool Adventures program or other business-organized venture. It’s just a group of individuals coming together to live.)
House Purpose
The purpose of the Unschool Adventure House will be threefold:
- To live cooperatively with other adventurous and self-motivated people.
- To go on adventures.
- To support each other in our big learning projects.
Cooperative Living
“Living cooperatively” is more than just being nice to each other. It’s a specific way to live harmoniously in community. Many people try to start group houses and see them fail due to unclear rules, poor communication, and lack of shared vision. We’ll avoid this fate by using a model of organization developed by student “co-op” houses across the USA (like these).
Major features of the co-op model include:
- Adherence to the Cooperative Principles
- House by-laws
- Democratic house meetings run with Robert’s Rules of Order
- The workshift system: a division of labor in household duties that allows member to focus on their preferred duties while also holding them financially responsible for completing the duty.
Adventures
We won’t be called the adventure house for nothing. We’ll host parties, music, open mics, workshops, field trips, game nights, and other fun events. (The organizer would personally love to see large amounts of frisbee & Settlers of Catan.) All of these will be member-planned and member-driven events, of course. A small house budget will be available for funding.
Learning Projects
If we just did the above things, we would have a pretty awesome group house. But the purpose of the Unschool Adventure House will also be to support self-directed learners who want to make big things happen with their lives. To that end, we’ll expect members to:
- Pursue a set of exciting learning projects while in residency. This can be anything from learning how to make fine chocolates, to teaching yourself world history, to seeking art internships, to purposefully exploring new fields of interest. This will be a house for doers.
- Proactively support fellow house members in their learning projects through accountability partnerships, Zero Tuition College-style mentorship, or informal discussion.
House applicants will be evaluated based on their experience, enthusiasm, and preparation to meet the above house purposes.
Workshifts
Each house member will owe five hours of workshift per week. Duties will include cooking, cleaning, food purchasing, house managing (e.g. finances, running meetings), gardening, etc. Members who miss their shifts will be subject to a monetary fine removed from their $50 monthly workshift pre-pay. One member will sign another off to signify completion of a workshift.
Everyone will clean bathrooms! Ah, equality!
Want to Join?
We are currently seeking new members to participate in this exciting experiment. To apply, please click the link below. In November and December we’ll do short interviews with each applicant and make enrollment offers on a first-come, first-served basis.
Move-in week is the first week of January!
Open Application in a New Window
Thank you!
-Blake Boles (co-op organizer)
Frequently Asked Questions
Has this been tried before?
Yes! There are lots of co-op houses out there. The Berkeley Student Co-ops is the world’s largest student co-op system and has lots of information about what is a co-op, how workshifts work, why co-ops are awesome.
Who is this co-op right for?
If you’re a bright, enthusiastic young adult who’s blazing your own path through life…
If you’re experienced with self-directed learning (e.g. you’re a former unschooler) and have a few big dreams…
If you want to live in community instead of an isolated apartment…
If you’re taking a break from college, or you’re not sure about college, or you never plan on going…
If you just want to get outta dodge…
then this co-op might be for you!
$500/month… seems expensive.
$500/month for room+dinners+utilities+more is a relatively awesome deal. You couldn’t find a closet for that price in San Francisco or NYC. And while you might be able to find a cheaper rental on craigslist (go for it!), that price doesn’t include dinners/utilities/activities, you won’t know much about your housemates, and there may not be a clear house structure. The ZTC Co-op intends to provide an awesome community of self-directed learners for a great price.
How can I earn money in Asheville?
Well, you can start with Craigslist and the classifieds. Beyond those, you can always start your own business/service (with support from fellow members). Or you can tap the network of community contacts that our house members have. Lots of options! But we hope you don’t get a full-time (40hr+) job, because then you won’t be around the house much!
Who’s organizing this thing?
Blake Boles (website) lived in the Berkeley Student Co-ops for four years while attending UC Berkeley. He felt that living in the co-ops was equally (if not more) valuable than the academic experience. With the ZTC Co-op he hopes to facilitate a fun and productive community environment for young people choosing an alternative path to college.
How democratic is the house?
All major decisions will be made by house vote using a simple majority. Meetings will be run with Robert’s Rules of Order. We’ll eventually translate this document into a set of by-laws which house members may modify by vote.
More questions?
Send them Blake’s way: learn@ztcollege.com.