Braziers is home to around 18 people at present, most of whom work part-time in exchange for board, lodging and a wage. Some also work outside the community or are retired. Ages currently range from 7 to 90.
Residents each have their own rooms, some in the main building, others are in buildings around the estate. Volunteers from UK and overseas can spend up to three months here participating in the life of the community. We aim to accommodate between four and six volunteers at any one time.
The main areas of responsibility are – Housekeeping, Kitchen, Office, Education, Estate work, Gardening and Maintenance each area has one or more resident as a main organiser, with support and input from others according to need and enthusiasm. At a meeting at 9am each day we check how everyone is feeling and the day’s tasks are allocated: often cooking, housekeeping and gardening dominate, with maintenance and office tasks also on the agenda. Most residents are contracted to work around 20 hours per week. Some residents also have part time employment outside Braziers. There are of course tasks to do that fall outside of contracted work hours as is the case in any home.
Decision making is by consensus with agreed levels of autonomy. We meet twice a week as a community, in the sensory meetings we ‘contemplate’ any issues on the contemplanda and on Thursdays we have a decision making meeting informed by the feelings of the Sensory meeting. We recently changed from a specially authorised society with charitable status to a Community Benefit Society. Our AGM is usually in May. The Society is governed by its members through a Committee of Management which liaises with the community representatives via a monthly meeting.
Income is generated from our own educational programme and events as well as venue bookings, tenants and lodgers. Events and courses are listed on our website.
If you are interested in learning more about living at Braziers check our vacancies page. Becoming a resident can take quite some time and all candidates for vacancies are required to complete our application form before being invited on one or two visits, after short-listing by the community – the selected applicant is then offered a 3 or 6 month trial period, which may lead to an offer of residency.
Applicants need to demonstrate an interest in Integrative Social Research as well as experience and skills in the required areas of the role they are filling, and importantly, an ability to contribute fully to our shared life, willing to learn about problem solving and conflict resolution and take part in community building, teaching and learning.
Volunteer?
Volunteering is very different to being resident so please look at vacancies and recruitment process if you are interested in joining our community.
Residential Volunteers are asked to join in with practical tasks usually between 9am and 4pm, five days each week (including at least one weekend day), the tasks are usually housekeeping and food preparation, maintenance as well as the chance to spend a day or two helping outside in the garden or on the estate. There are sometimes opportunities to join in classes here or conduct your own research alongside.
Mid Week Volunteers There are regular mid-week volunteer days for locals and anyone who wants to try a couple of days helping in a community or has time to spare every week. Every Wednesday and some Thursdays are for day volunteers (overnight stay is optional with small contribution) these are also generally our outdoor project days and you can join for either or both.
If you are considering volunteering take a look at the volunteers page for more details and an application form.