In March 2010 a small group of like-minded people came together in this south Wales city we call Swansea, to start sharing ideas on how they could not only live together but do so in a way that meant they could socially and economically have more control and say on how they chose to live.
After two years of discussions, official meetings, house viewings and much hard work the Golem Housing Co-Operative had gone from an initial idea to getting the keys to our first house on the 30 May 2012.
Fast forward a few years, many more meetings, discussions and house viewings to May 2020, we have now gone from being a 1 house co-operative with 7 members to owning another property just across the street with 12 (soon to be 14) members of the co-operative collectively.
We are part of the Radical Routes network. Radical Routes has an amazing amount of collective experience, and offers skills to other people establishing co-ops and working for social change. They were instrumental in helping with the initial set-up of our co-op and offered a lot of help and support along the way.
Many of our original members still live within or support our co-operative but it has been exciting over the years to welcome in new members and with our recent expansion to almost double or size of members it has been wonderful to see the collective of characters we have within our co-op.
As you can imagine 12 people from all walks of life make for an interesting dynamic. Morally and socially we all share similar views when it comes to housing and living standards and a movement towards social change.
As people we are a very diverse bunch with a whole plethora of hobbies, interests and careers. We have business owners, parents with children and grandchildren, NHS workers, students, retail workers, builders, youth workers and trainers living within the co-operative.
There are some that have a love for all things musical from listing to playing and producing music. There are some with a talent for horticulture and an ability to make our gardens grow wonderful things and a beautiful place to chill in. There are some with a love for the arts and theatre with many different talents to offer. There are some with a love for a social calendar so packed that they often forget who they are going to meet and there are some who enjoy a more peaceful social life. There are some big and bold characters with a love for the colourful and vibrant and there are some with a more refined pallet. There are some with a love for adventure and excitement in the outdoors and there are some with a love for a pint of beer, a good book and the indoors.
Within this diversity we all find common ground which allows us to come together cohesively to live, work, socialise and support each other in this south Wales city we call Swansea and ultimately the place we call home: The Golem Housing Co-Operative.
(Btw, there's a rather good explanation of where we got our name from here.)
