About College Houses

College Houses is a housing co-op. But what is a cooperative? A cooperative is a very special form of business ownership in which the users or providers of a good or service own and control the organization that provides it for them.

Co-ops operate according to principles, the so called Rochdale principles, named for 27 weavers in Rochdale, England, who in 1844 opened the first modern consumer's cooperative on Toad Lane. For a year they saved their money and then pooled it to open their business based on the principles they had developed.

That is what we do here at College Houses. The membership pools its money and labor to provide shelter, amenities, food, fellowship and an academic environment. The consolidation of member efforts results in affordable housing and a living environment that teaches life skills for the future. (Like learning how to cook for a hundred.) Incorporating the six Rochdale principles into our daily lives and the way we operate gives us the foundation to operate as a cooperative.