We want a place to live.
Stability will let us continue to work and organise in the communities we love.
A collectivist home.
Who are we?
We are 5 people in their 30s and 40s looking for a long-term, stable place to live in Bristol. We want our home to be a place where we can support each other to live within our values and replenish energy for our lives outside of the house.
Our journey so far.
5 of our original members went through a no fault eviction from our shared home of 10 years together. We asked the landlord if we could put in a bid to buy the home as a co-op, but were told it ‘wasn’t in his family’s financial interests’.
We need secure affordable housing.
All of us have spent most of our working lives in low paid and unpaid work, prioritising the work that needs to be done over the work that is valued most under capitalism. We’re deeply rooted in our communities but the housing crisis threatens to price us out of our area and city.
Next steps …
We need to raise loanstock for a deposit and initial costs - so we can secure a bank loan for the remaining mortgage. We’ll then be looking for a property we can afford that can house the 5 of us - within access to our work and communities in Bristol.
Our values.
Cinnabar will be a legacy of affordable collective housing. 3 of our 5 current members are from poor or working class backgrounds. We support each other - and our wider community - in our long term commitments to political work, organising and projects. Our work spans from local community building to international solidarity, from community care to media work and campaigning.
An impact beyond our home.
We’re part of both a local Bristol Housing Coops network and Radical Routes - a secondary coop for housing and workers cooperatives in the UK to support each other with mutual aid. Secure housing, for homes, not for profit, supports people to live life fully engaged in their communities and beyond. Housing cooperatives can be part of this - a replicable collective solution to a problem affecting all people except profiteering property investors!