Riverside Community

Location

Lower Moutere/Tasman

Stage

Established

Date Initiated

1941

Date Completed

Housing Type

Income-Sharing Community (people live in individual houses rented from Riverside Community Trust. All income and vehicles are shared. The group pays for member’s living costs including rent, power, medical and dental bills). Members are getting allowances to purchase their own groceries, entertainment, holidays.

Number of Residents

25 adults, 20 children (Community Members) and tenants (17 adults & 5 children)

Number of Dwellings

31

Size of Land

200 hectares

Developed By

Self-Developed

Legal Ownership Structure

Freehold, owned by Trust

Individual Dwelling Tenure

Rental

Funding Model/s for Development

Founding members used their own assets to purchase the land which is now owned by Riverside Community Trust. Riverside Community rents the houses.

Housing Type and Numbers

31 Stand-Alone Houses

Shared Facilities

Organic Gardens (rest of assets are owned by the trust: assets include dairy farm, hostel, cultural centre, joinery, workshop, buildings).

Total Cost in Year Completed

Governance Model

Consensus of members

What were the external barriers experienced during development?

No immediate future development planned.

What were the internal challenges during development?

Finding new skilled, young members has been difficult because income-sharing is not an attractive option to many people anymore.

If you had your time again, would you do anything differently?

Everything is always changing and nothing is ever finished, so we just adjust ourselves as we bumble along.

What advice would you give to aspiring projects starting out?

Figure out your decision-making processes before anything else.

Further Information and Contacts

www.riverside.org.nz; info@riverside.org.nz; @RiversideCommunityNZ

Can People Contact You Directly to Ask Questions?

The website provides in-depth information on the Community and the Trust, including on how to join as a member.