Qumbya Housing Cooperative

Community

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About the Community

What we do

We are an affordable, community-oriented, group-equity housing cooperative on the South Side of Chicago. Qumbya currently comprises about 50 members in three Houses: Bowers, Concord, and Haymarket. We have been building democratic community since 1988.

Each House provides private bedrooms, community kitchen, dining, living, and bathrooms. Dinner (or brunch) is prepared by the members seven days a week, and the kitchens are always fully stocked. All decisions about the operations of the House, from what appliances to buy to which new members to admit, are made by the residents at weekly House Meetings through a consensus-based process. Each house has wireless internet, garden space, curious histories, work/tool rooms, and lots of friendly folks.

Our Vision

We are committed to providing affordable, cooperative housing on the South Side of Chicago and supporting the growth of cooperatives across the Chicagoland area.

Our Mission

We are committed to providing affordable, cooperative housing on the South Side of Chicago and supporting the growth of cooperatives across the Chicagoland area.

Gallery

Membership & Population

48 Total members

Open to new members

Open to visitors

Open to volunteers

Total

How to join

If you are interested in living in one of the Qumbya Houses, please contact the Membership Coordinators at [email protected].

The Membership Coordinators can handle all inquiries about membership for their particular house, and can talk you through the application process, which involves completing an application (found on our website: www.qumbya.com), and visiting the house for dinner. You can apply to whichever and however many houses you would like. Each house handles their membership separately.

For general inquiries that don’t involve membership requests, please contact our staff: [email protected] or (773) 609-5450.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please contact one of the house MCs through [email protected]

Governance & Economics

Primary decision-making authority

Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Governance structure

Representative/Democratic

Members elect leaders who make decisions within defined roles.

Economic model

Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
There is a labor obligation
Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Join fee: $30.00
Monthly fees/dues: $200.00
Labor required: 4 hours/week
Members with pre-existing debt: Yes

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit

Lifestyle & Culture

Frequency of communal meals

Approximately 1 meal per day

Substance use culture

Substance use is frequent and public in the community

Religions

Christian
Buddhist
Muslim
Hindu

Reviews

Location

Illinois, United States