Join the CCC! – 2024

We are currently looking for new members. Please apply by May 1st 2024. Thanks for your interest!

*

The Cambridge Cooperative Club is a multi-generational housing co-op that has been committed to living together intentionally since 1943.

We live in a wonderful residential neighborhood, less than a 15 minute walk from two red line stops, a bus hub, a commuter rail, and several squares with restaurants, shops, and other venues.

The monthly cost to live in the house is approximately $800-$850 per month, inclusive of dues, utilities, groceries (vegetarian), and other house supplies. We take turns cooking a weekly communal dinner shared by our housemates, our friends and family, and CCC alumni. 

Our co-op is home to up to eleven people who are committed to working against systems of oppression and value liberation and justice. To learn more about who you might be living with, read about some of our current members! 

The Space

The purple building itself is spacious, well-kept, and well-suited to cooperative living. With three floors and eleven bedrooms, each member has their own private room. The first floor houses the communal spaces including a large and well-equipped kitchen, dining area, living room, exercise room, and a library/tv/guest room. Three full bathrooms, a washer and dryer on location, tree-filled front and back yards, a front porch, and a large back deck help make it a comfortable place to live in lovely company. 

Access to the building is through a porch with five steps. The kitchen, communal spaces, and a bathroom are on the first floor, as well as a room that is currently common space but could be turned into a bedroom. Additional bedrooms and bathrooms are up one or two flights of stairs; washer/dryer and personal storage are down a flight of stairs in the basement. Bathrooms have flexible/handheld shower heads; most kitchen storage is currently below three feet.

House Culture

Traditionally, the house has hosted jam sessions, potlucks, workshops, sleepovers with Buddhist monks and marching bands, and the occasional party. During the covid pandemic we are still finding ways to connect through board game nights, impromptu craft sessions, and Big Gay Barbecues!

Being part of an intentional community requires house members to commit to being present and active in the life of the house. This includes the following:

• Participating in communal dinners (each Wednesday) and cooking every few months
• House meetings twice a month (second and fourth Monday evenings)
• Assigned weekly chores related to cleaning, fixing, organizing, cooking, shopping (approximately 2.5h per week)
• Committee work related to short-term planning or long-term planning
• A weekend-long house retreat once per year, typically in the spring. 

We don’t allow pet cats and dogs, or smoking in the house. 

Covid-19 note: Our practices are subject to change with the public health situation, as we continuously monitor and evaluate our house practices to ensure they respond to the changing nature of the pandemic due to vaccinations and new variants. Current policies include testing and masking when one has symptoms, or has had recent exposure.

Interested in joining us?

Complete our application on our online form!

We also have a text version of our application, for accessibility software and/or if you’d like to see the questions and work on your answers in advance.

If you have any questions for us, you can reach out at cambridgecoop@gmail.com.

Join the CCC!

We are currently looking for new members. Please apply by May 8th 2023. Thanks for your interest!

*

The Cambridge Cooperative Club is a multi-generational housing co-op that has been committed to living together intentionally since 1943.

We live in a wonderful residential neighborhood, less than a 15 minute walk from two red line stops, a bus hub, a commuter rail, and several squares with restaurants, shops, and other venues.

The monthly cost to live in the house is approximately $800-$850 per month, inclusive of dues, utilities, groceries (vegetarian), and other house supplies. We take turns cooking a weekly communal dinner shared by our housemates, our friends and family, and CCC alumni. 

Our co-op is home to up to eleven people who are committed to working against systems of oppression and value liberation and justice. To learn more about who you might be living with, read about some of our current members! 

The Space

The purple building itself is spacious, well-kept, and well-suited to cooperative living. With three floors and eleven bedrooms, each member has their own private room. The first floor houses the communal spaces including a large and well-equipped kitchen, dining area, living room, exercise room, and a library/tv/guest room. Three full bathrooms, a washer and dryer on location, tree-filled front and back yards, a front porch, and a large back deck help make it a comfortable place to live in lovely company. 

Access to the building is through a porch with five steps. The kitchen, communal spaces, and a bathroom are on the first floor, as well as a room that is currently common space but could be turned into a bedroom. Additional bedrooms and bathrooms are up one or two flights of stairs; washer/dryer and personal storage are down a flight of stairs in the basement. Bathrooms have flexible/handheld shower heads; most kitchen storage is currently below three feet.

House Culture

Traditionally, the house has hosted jam sessions, potlucks, workshops, sleepovers with Buddhist monks and marching bands, and the occasional party. During the covid pandemic we are still finding ways to connect through board game nights, impromptu craft sessions, and Big Gay Barbecues!

Being part of an intentional community requires house members to commit to being present and active in the life of the house. This includes the following:

• Participating in communal dinners (each Wednesday) and cooking every few months
• House meetings twice a month (second and fourth Monday evenings)
• Assigned weekly chores related to cleaning, fixing, organizing, cooking, shopping (approximately 2.5h per week)
• Committee work related to short-term planning or long-term planning
• A weekend-long house retreat once per year, typically in the spring. 

We don’t allow pet cats and dogs, or smoking in the house. 

Covid-19 note: You are invited to review our current practices around covid health safety. Note that our practices are subject to change with the public health situation, as we continuously monitor and evaluate our house practices to ensure they respond to the changing nature of the pandemic due to vaccinations and new variants.

Interested in joining us?

Complete our application on our online form!

We also have a text version of our application, for accessibility software and/or if you’d like to see the questions and work on your answers in advance.

If you have any questions for us, you can reach out at cambridgecoop@gmail.com.

Cooking Up Good Stuff!

Wow! Thank you Ricardo – always great food from The Chef!

Getting Stuff Done – it’s a house, it never ends!

Nothing like some fresh paint on the steps:

Our Long-Term Committee (variously called the Loving Space Committee or the Physical Plant Committee in the past) decided to forego a planning meeting or strategy session and just use the time to get stuff done. Some of the trim on the rear of the house needs some help:

Here’s Sarah using some elbow grease to scrape off the flaking paint.

Cora approves our safety protocol:

Tough to see from the ground, but it does really look a lot better. Thank you team!

We in

Watching the Debate:

We gathered around the old electronic hearth to watch the Democratic Debate. It resulted in a lot of hooting and hollering (and also in the room while we watched).

Another great meal!

Housemate Sarah cooked a great meal the other day. We are lucky that we live with very creative people who continue to bring amazingness to our Wednesday Night House Dinner. Thank you Sarah!

 

We welcome our neighbors and friends to come by and join us*. If you ever hear the conch shell, come and get it!

* Sometimes it is helpful to know if people are coming in advance, so we can plan accordingly…so a quick email or other note is always nice. But don’t let that stop you!

Pathway Improvements?

Things are always changing and we are always trying to grow and learn. Nowadays we are engaging with “mobility issues” and looking at accessibility at the house. Recently, some of our “small repairs team” worked on the south side path of the house. There were some bricks being used as edging, about two inches proud to the concrete surface of the path. Our raised beds are on either side of the path.

While the bricks help keep debris out of the path, they also create a bit of an obstacle. Especially since we got the single-stream recycling wheelie bins. They are slightly too wide for the bordered path. Other wheeled devices could also have problems on the path.

So, we agreed to change them. Respect for the hard work to install them many years ago, but the times are a’changin! The project is to remove them by pulling them out (sort of like pulling teeth), and then re-setting them in the gaps at the same level as the concrete of the path. This way, the wheeled vehicles and devices can more smoothly move across.

We still have a little work to do. But that’s par for the course with an old house and lots of people coming and going, living life to the max!

 

Flowers Are Great!

Sometimes someone picks up a flowering plant for the common space in the house. Thanks!

Good Morning!

Each morning we get the newspaper delivered. Sometimes it is on the front path, and sometimes it is right up at the front door.

Some mornings the milk & eggs are delivered (usually a Wednesday) and there are other things that happen if you are up early.

More Growing Things!

We have hops at the house. They are doing pretty well on the trellis at the west corner of the house. Maybe in a month we’ll be able to harvest the cones and…make some beer!