Multi-story residential building with yellow and red exterior, surrounded by greenery.

Lothlórien Cooperative House

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1973

What we do

We are a community of about 30 people (both students and workers) and five cats (neither students nor workers) who share a large yellow castle on the shore of Lake Mendota. Since our founding in 1973, Lothlorien Co-op has striven to provide a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for people of all ages, sexes, races, and sexual orientations. Many of our housemembers are politically active in queer rights, labor rights, and environmental and feminist movements, and our home is an open resource to activist groups like Food Not Bombs, Stop the War, Radical Cheerleaders, and the Madison Art Collective. We often host benefit concerts, fiestas, coffeehouses, and other events providing the city of Madison with good times. Based in egalitarian ideals, house decisions are made through modified consensus at weekly house meetings.
The house features a huge living room and library with hardwood floors, four fireplaces distributed throughout the house, multiple decks, and one grand and one upright piano. Our backyard has terraced gardens, a lakeshore fire pit, a dock, and two canoes. All but one of our 31 bedrooms are singles. We have a great location within walking distance of the Capitol, UW-Madison and MATC campuses, and bus lines. Additional fun fact: Loth has one of the largest solar hot water systems in Madison.
We cook vegetarian meals with a vegan option nightly. Nearly all food at Loth is organic and most produce is also locally grown.

Our Mission

Vegie, Enviro, LGBT-friendly

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Coliving
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1973
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1973
  • Started living together
  • 30 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
32

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Dinners:
All are welcome to join us for dinner Sunday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. or brunch Sunday at noon.
How to apply for membership:
Attend a minimum of three dinners, then give 48 hours notice before a membership meeting with current house members. Membership meetings consist of going over house policies and a Q & A session. Call the house phone and ask about our process for applying to become a member if you cannot attend dinners. Also feel free to email any questions to Eli (one of our membership coordinators) at el*@********gg.org.
Crashing:
We accept short-term crashers pending a meeting with members of the house. Crashing fees are $7 per night, including all-you-can-eat food; there is a possibility for partial work-job payment as well.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

Modified Consensus

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Join fee: $200
Labor: Yes
6 hours workjob/week–ie: cooking, composting, dishes, recycling, etc; 1.5 hrs Maintanence/mo
One-time small due to: Madison Community Co-op (MCC)

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Hot tub or hot springs, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden

Waste management practices

  • Composting
  • Recycling program
  • Land area size
    0.5 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • Wisconsin, United States

Lothlórien Cooperative House

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

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  • Events
1 week ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

Money, love and power are among the hardest things any community works with, and many of us carry the same fears into both: not having enough, losing what we have, and the sense that if someone else gets money or love, we won’t. Healing Love, Healing Money: Trust as the Foundation for a New Culture is taught by two intentional communities. Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle are from Clear Sky Meditation and Retreat Center, a Buddhist-lineage community in the BC Rockies. Monika Alleweldt and Benjamin von Mendelssohn from Tamera Healing Biotope, a community of about 160 people in southern Portugal that has spent decades studying love, trust and relationship. Clear Sky has spent years working on its relationship with money, and our two communities found surprising parallels in the fears beneath both. Over four sessions we explore the roots of fear around money and belonging, love, possession and power, trust as infrastructure (community as a container for healing), and ethical livelihood. We use short meditations, body-based practices, reflection and small-group conversation. You do not need to be in a romantic relationship or live in community. When: October 27, Nov 3, 10, 17. All four sessions: 12–2pm Vancouver, 1–3pm Alberta, 7–9pm UK and Portugal, 8–10pm Central Europe. Note: US and some Canadian provinces change clocks on November 1, so the US west coast is 12–2pm on October 27, then 11am–1pm for the remaining sessions, and Eastern is 3–5pm on October 27, then 2–4pm for the rest. Cost: sliding scale Details and registration: https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/healing-love-healing-money-online/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
  • Promoted
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  • Promoted
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
4 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
4 weeks ago

Build Your Future in Rural Portugal — Business Partnerships & Sustainable Living

Mellow Cogumelo is seeking 2–4 motivated individuals or couples interested in helping develop two food businesses and a small, cooperative rural community on 30 hectares of off-grid land in southwest Portugal.We’re looking for long-term partners, not short-term volunteers or visitors interested only in learning mushroom cultivation. This is an opportunity to help shape a project with substantial facilities and equipment already in place. TWO BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Artisan Neapolitan PizzaOur mobile pizza operation includes an equipped professional kitchen, pizza trailer, and wood-fired oven. We’re particularly interested in someone with pizza-making experience who would enjoy developing and eventually managing this business.Specialty Gourmet MushroomsOur mushroom facility includes a dedicated laboratory, production equipment, and controlled growing environments. Mushroom cultivation or farming experience is welcome, but initiative, practical skills, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn are just as valuable. MORE THAN A BUSINESS Our wider vision is a small rural community built on independence, cooperation, mutual respect, and care for the land.Future projects include vegetable gardens, orchards, regenerative agriculture, and further improvements to our off-grid infrastructure.This is rural living, with its rewards and challenges. The property is reached by approximately 2 km of dirt road. We generate our own electricity and manage our water systems.We maintain a non-smoking, drug-free environment. Reliable transportation, or a realistic plan for it, is important. HOW IT COULD WORK We hope to meet people who want to create lasting livelihoods by gradually taking greater responsibility for developing and operating the businesses.We envision operating partnerships with increasing profit participation, based on mutually agreed responsibilities, milestones, and business performance.These are developing commercial opportunities; immediate income cannot be guaranteed. Financial and working arrangements would be discussed individually and established through appropriate agreements.On-site accommodation may be possible as part of an agreed arrangement. WHO WE HOPE TO MEET Practical, dependable, independent-minded people who like hands-on work and want to contribute to something for the long term.Experience in food service, cultivation, agriculture, construction, mechanics, or business development is welcome. Shared values and commitment are most important.If this speaks to you, please tell us about your background, skills, and what you’re hoping to build over the next few years.Learn more on our Join Our Team page at mellowcogumelo.com.
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