OUR VISION
Looking forward to 2026...
Mara Co-op has an old guest house near the city centre. The community spaces are accessible, allowing everyone the ability to make use of our facilities.
Community groups book the space, completely free of charge. The space has facilities such as meeting areas, internet access, stationary, art supplies, gardening supplies, and more as time goes on.
The community spaces are collectively organised by the people who use them – they can meet, deliberate, and make changes as they see fit.
Mara Co-op’s members rent their rooms at an affordable rate for them. The members manage the Co-op’s day-to-day operation.
Soon, Mara Co-op will grow to the point that they can invest in more space, more resources, more utilities, and even provide substantial donations to community groups like yours each year.
…find out how we make this a reality. We’ll need your help – let’s make it happen!
What Success Looks Like
Safe, affordable, landlord-free housing
If you’re a member of Mara Co-op, you will have housing that’s right for you – that’s safe, good quality, and cheap. Rent will be based on what is affordable for you – not what is most profitable. We will match your Local Housing Allowance in order to ensure that you’re able to live here, if that’s what you need. You will be free to make your home yours. There won’t be any pleading with landlords or penny-pinching at your expense.
Active and participatory community spaces
If you’re a community member or part of a group affiliated with Mara Co-op, it will be made clear to you how you can take part in our decision-making. The space will be open and welcoming – never insular – and we will be supportive of one another. We are a queer-friendly space.
Support for communities
The spaces, resources, utilities, and assets that we provide for communities will grow over time. As our loanstocks, debts, and early costs are paid off, we will be able to provide substantial financial support to groups – to enable them to do what they would have struggled to achieve otherwise.
Autonomy and independence
Mara Co-op will not be beholden to anyone but our community and members. No funding we receive will ever come with strings attached that damages your freedom to express yourself in our space. Financial support we give to community groups will be provided with the same principle in mind: your community group will never have to give away its autonomy in exchange for funding from us.
But this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t rely on each other – in order to foster a healthy and supportive network, we need to be able to count on one another. Mara Co-op will enthusiastically engage with that necessity and A.B.C. – Always Be Collaborating!
Integrity and accountability
Mara Co-op will maintain a high standard of transparency in our dealings. We will publish our annual accounts and have that information accessible on our website. Not a penny will ever go into member’s pockets, and every cost will be accounted for clearly.
We will be open to feedback and suggestions. We will engage constructively with anyone who offers something constructive in return. Our culture surrounding mutual improvement will be a productive one, and nobody will be above critique.
Beyond Mara Co-op
Mara Co-op will have proven a model of communal living and community empowerment that can be adopted by others who wish to build on it. Our project would not have come into being if it weren’t for those who already support the communities we benefit from now. Mara Co-op will be a space that enables new projects to be born in-kind, and encourage them to grow beyond what we can provide.
