Cooperative housing - part socialism, part capitalism

 

Hi Weed and Marnie,

I finally got to listen to Marnie's housing podcast, thanks to Weed's help. I thoroughly enjoyed listening, and I feel it manages to capture the spirit of those long ago times living on Eel Pie Island in the deserted hotel! We all sound far more articulate than anticipated, likely due to Marnie's commentary and careful editing  ; )-

Regarding alternative housing, when I returned to Canada I lived in shared houses, first with other members of the defunct Canadian Liberation Movement, and then with comrades from that organization. One of my room mate comrades, Tom, went on to become the head of The Cooperative Housing Federation of Ontario.

I don't know if you have housing coops in the UK, but they are an excellent type of alternative housing. I lived in the Dentonia Park Housing Coop in east end Toronto for 6 1/2 years after coordinating renting a house and sharing it with room mates. I'm unsure of the financing for the coop I lived in, I believe it was built by a private developer, Lantana Associates, with public subsidies. The deal was that we paid rent below market rate in exchange for self-managing the buildings and grounds. I lived in a bachelor apartment in a low storey, 3 level apartment building with approx. 28 units. The rest of the coop consisted of 2, 3, and 4 bedroom townhouses, which were very nice, far nicer than the bachelor and 1 bedroom apartments in the building. This would have been from about 1979 to 1985, when I bought a semi-detached house in the rough part of Toronto's east end abutting Little India.

So far as I know, Tom is still the head of the CHFO, half a century on. The various levels of Canadian government stopped encouraging the construction of coop housing many decades ago, although a few still get built sporadically. Tom's analysis is that the coops were TOO successful, and took away renters from the private sector. I know of many other Torontonians who lived in coop housing for several years until they were able to afford to buy houses. All my progressive friends were initially very negative when I decided to buy a house, as they considered it a sellout to capitalism. I countered this argument by saying that socialism is the workers owning the means of production, so shouldn't working people also own their houses, rather than making landlords rich. Many of my former comrades eventually went the same route as I did, and lived in a housing coop, saved the down payment for a house, and then bought. Several have actually thanked me for showing them the way to financial and housing security in their old age.    

peace, love and secure housing!
Canadian Chris

new podcast on Eel Pie Island Hippy Commune

 I received a surprising email a few days ago with a mysterious link. My ancient system is so out-of-date that I couldn't connect with the hot link, so I sent an email to my UK friend, Weed. Here's his reply. I participated in the interview a few weeks before I had emergency surgery for cancer, which must be why I forgot about contributing.

it's the release of a 33 minute podcast featuring the telephone interview you did with Marnie Woodmeade about Eel Pie last May -- don't know why it took so long, but it's finally available on Spotify -- on my system the link she gives loads ok as a standard web page -- it should play without any need to 'sign in' or 'sign up' if you can find the green 'play' arrow -- (i added a link to it from the media section of the eelpie.org home page) -

"Episode Description
A small island in Twickenham, once only accessible by boat turned into one of the greatest music venues of the 70s and then the largest commune in England. Can anarchy create home?
Voices include Robin Hunter, Canadian Chris and Weed.
Produced and presented by Marnie Woodmeade"

it mostly consists of interview material from the 3 'Voices' -- (Robin Hunter grew up on Eel Pie, but remembers that time well) -- i was surprised by how articulate we still sound :)

it's one of six episodes Marnie did called 'Dwelling', and was included to provide some historical context -

"Finding and fighting for feelings of home.
As the housing crisis deepens, home is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Join host Marnie Woodmeade as we speak to the people seeking alternatives. From abandoned buildings to lost rivers, they redefine what a home can be. But as restrictions on alternative lifestyles tighten, how can they protect their sanctuaries, sites of resistance and dwelling?"

It feels like a long time since we've spoken, but the episode is finally out: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3dDZrKGHmB6ydJejoPZPAg

 

true meaning of St. Patrick's Day

   from  the DOGWOOD email newsletter today 
 
Chris,

With a name like Bailey, you can guess I’ve got a little Irish in me. So it’s no surprise I'm in the St Patrick’s Day spirit today. But not because I enjoy drinking green beer and singing an Irish ditty.

I’m celebrating St. Pat because the legends hold that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. And I know you and I need that same strength today because B.C. is threatened by a different and more deadly kind of vile, dangerous snake: oil and gas pipelines.

That’s right. Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland and you can chip in $20, $50 or more to drive Enbridge and Coastal GasLink out of B.C.

It’ll take committed people like you and a little luck of the Irish to win this fight. Big Oil and the fracking industry are powerful adversaries in the fight to defend B.C.

But our province has more than a few lucky shamrocks. We’ve come together before to send Enbridge and Kinder Morgan packing. And with your help, we can do it again.

Fend off Enbridge, Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink with a gift today. Any amount you can afford would help. 

Big Oil has been digging their hands in a taxpayer-funded pot of gold for long enough, taking money that otherwise could be spent on healthcare, housing, and a transition to renewable energy. That kind of malarkey really riles up my inner leprechaun.

So stand with me today. Paint the whole province green and drive those pipelines out of B.C. by chipping in $20, $50, $100 or whatever you can spare right now. And in return I’ll raise a green pint and drink to your health all year.

Slainte, 

 

Adam

P.S. All jokes aside, B.C. is in the fight of its life right now. Fossil fuel companies won’t stop exploiting this province unless we make it impossible for them to continue. Show Big Oil you remember the true meaning of St Patrick’s Day and drive the pipelines out of B.C. with a gift of $20, $50, or whatever you can spare.


Thanks for all you do,

The No Tankers team
 
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