What we do…
We refit older houses and turn them into high quality eco-homes which can be rented by small groups at market (sometimes lower) rents, with no initial capital needed to join. This scheme offers excellent accommodation to people of all ages who are happy to live together cooperatively, and to learn about the principles and benefits of low-energy building design. Once each house is fully renovated, it joins a group, or cluster, of other similar houses. This cluster is organised by CLFS, with the members of each house contributing to the development of new houses
There are many examples of successful low-energy and co-operative houses, but we believe the key to creating more in a challenging economic environment is the cluster model. This is why the decision-making committee comprises members of the eco-houses alongside others with many years of experience in cooperative housing, financial modelling, architecture, and education. The involvement of each member house creates a volunteer workforce with a mutual commitment to the success of each venture.
Governance – How we run..
The governance of our cooperatives works at three levels:
- Member cooperative houses use a set of rules that set out the democratic control of their group and the way in which they make decisions. These decisions may be domestic arrangements or decisions about the maintenance and developments of the house itself
- Member cooperatives are collectively a member of CLFS and have a say in the running of the organisation, for example, in the use of funds to purchase new houses
- CLFS is also governed by a committee of people, some of whom live in our cooperative houses, and others with a great deal of experience in the cooperative movement as well as in business, housing law, and low-energy housing design.
All the governance work is voluntary, freeing our funds for new projects.