A building co-operative is a co-operative housing corporation where individuals or families work together to directly construct their own homes in a cooperative fashion. Members of this type of co-operative purchase

building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from natur ...

s in bulk and co-operate with other members of the co-op during the construction phase of the co-operative. When the housing has been completed the members usually own their homes directly. In some cases, roads, parkland and community facilities continue to be owned by the co-operative.

History

Building co-ops were extremely popular in many parts of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

from the 1930s to the 1960s. Father James (Jimmy) Tompkins and Dr. Moses Coady were key organizers in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

of the first building co-operatives. Through active local study groups they began research on co-operatives and developed a concept of how a building co-op could work. In 1936, Father Tompkins helped found the first self-help building co-operative in North America near Glace Bay (Reserve Mines), Nova Scotia, Canada. A group of coal miners formed a

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...

with a loan of CAN $22,000. The housing loan was used to pay for building materials. Each miner's personal contribution consisted of his labor or "

sweat equity Sweat equity refers to work one does to build up value without a salary. This ownership interest, or increase in value, is created as a direct result of hard work by the owner. For example, homeowners who renovate or repair their house themselves a ...

". The miners worked together to build eleven homes which they moved into in 1938. These homes continue to be occupied today at Tompkinsville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Building Cooperative Cooperatives

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

Living arrangements