December 2025 Update
Our last update for the year
With the end of the year approaching, we're focusing on a lot of internal tasks and alignment. We hope you're getting to spend time with loved ones, take some time away from work, and enjoy the currently very unpredictable climate of New England.
Upcoming events
December was a hectic month with a lot of birthdays, events, and travel. We thought we'd have a light calendar, but we always seem to find something to host!
We like to think we eat pretty well around here!
We had two members of the MALT community featured this winter at Shoe Bones Gallery exhibit 'Trans Terror' in Salem, MA. The show is up until 1/11 so swing by if you're in the area. Shoe Bones is a queer and artist run space that's currently fundraising to sustain a cooperative - we'd love it if you gave them some support.
Views from the gallery
Other highlights:
- We held our last film screening of the year (The Thing, out in the cold - but with hot chocolate). That said, the garage is little too cold at this time of the year so we're putting more screenings on pause until our renovations are complete - check back in a few months for a timeline!
- We held our Q4 planning meeting - see below for details. We haven't announced our Q1 planning meeting, but it will be some time in March.
- Early next year, we have a private all-day meeting scheduled to discuss community values. We've done this in the past on an ad hoc basis, but we're looking at making this a regular yearly event.
We don't have many "public" events on our calendar in the coming month, but we're always hosting community meals - usually at least two a month. You're welcome to reach out if you'd like to come by and join us, whether you're a friend or looking to learn more about us.
Recap of planning meeting
Earlier this month, we held our Winter Quarterly Planning Meeting with the majority of the community in attendance. Normally our quarterly planning meetings are about two hours, but every winter we hold a longer session to check our progress against our goals and choose our direction for the coming year.
The meeting starts with a circle format discussion on how everyone feels about the year so far, and is then followed by brief presentations (and a Q&A session) on our finances and our bylaw drafting process. After that, we spent a few hours brainstorming what our goals for the year should be. Finally, we ended with some exercises focusing on specific areas (notably how we want to use our new common spaces).
Our Quarterly Planning Meetings are always open to the public. As we move towards non-profit incorporation, our planning meetings will become a more official part of our public governance structure.
Two open rooms
We are currently conducting interviews for two open rooms. Our priority is to find new members with skills relevant to managing collective housing, and who could see themselves staying for at least several years. If you think this sounds like you or one of your friends, please start a conversation! We'd love to invite you to some events and get to know each other.
Our website's "Housing" page will always have the most up-to-date info on what's available and what we're looking for:
MALT Community
Please feel free to forward our housing page, or this email, to a friend or to another mailing list. We're especially open to working with people planning to relocate to Massachusetts.
Start date for construction
We've been working with our contractor to finalize details for the upcoming rebuild of our community floor. The start date is tentatively January 6th, so we're scrambling to get everything out of that space before then. We're also picking the last few finishes with our interior designer.
Spending a lot of time staring at samples and slabs lately
On a project like this, the timeline can be rather unpredictable - you don't know exactly how much work will be required in an old house until you open up the walls. In future months you can expect construction photos and more info about a timeline. We'll definitely be hosting an event or two to break in the new space!
Wishing you a happy new year
From everyone in the MALT community to you, we hope you had a peaceful holiday season and we're wishing you a happy new year! We're excited to enter the new year rested and ready to reconnect with community.
