Laurieston Hall Housing Co-operative Ltd.

This co-operative of around 22 people adults is now embarking on its fifth decade. We live in and around a huge Edwardian main house, with its walled garden, stables and cottages, surrounded by 200 acres of beautiful woods, pastures and marshland which stretch to a loch in the north. Trees we planted are now being coppiced. Living spaces use wood for heating and cooking. A hydro supplies much of our electricity. Because of covid we are not currently hosting events here. We grow as much fruit and vegetables as we can, keep cows, pigs, hens and bees, and do most of our own maintenance. All of us pay a portion of our rent in unwaged labour for the co-op. This means ideally spending about two and a half days a week doing what we call “workshare”. Issues that affect everybody come to a weekly co-op meeting in which decisions are made by consensus. Co-operation is our common ideology; under that umbrella we lean this way and that, are generally better at dealing with tomorrow than next year, are supportive of each other as individuals as well as co-op members… and we try to have a good time! We are considering (as of Feb. 2023) to facilitate a calendar for working visitors. For a maximum of two weeks the first time, but longer once we know you. If you’re interested, email us at [email protected]. This is not in place yet but will, we hope, be in place this year. For any other enquiries, please email [email protected] We are not actively seeking new members, but are not closed to them either. Joining this community can be a long process.