154 CO-OPEEATION IN DANISH AGEICULTUEE 



The aim of the society is to build as perfect and as cheap 

 dwellings as possible, and for that purpose it has become its 

 own contractor, whereby it has accumulated very valuable 

 experience. It also attempts to produce its own building 

 materials and has bought a brick-works, producing annually 

 four million bricks, which has proved a very profitable venture. 

 It is at present building a factory for casting cement goods 

 (pipes, bricks, tiles, etc.), and a plaster of Paris works. The 

 cement is purchased from the Co-operative Cement Works, the 

 Co-operative Building Society being a member of the Co- 

 operative Cement Works Society. The Bank of the Co-opera- 

 tive Building Society is the Danish Co-operative Bank, of which 

 society it also is a member. This co-operation between various 

 co-operative societies has been found very useful. 



The Workmen's Co-operative Building Society has built 

 nine large model dwelhngs with more than 600 flats, at a total 

 cost of £240,000, and several more dwellings are in course of 

 erection. In most of these buildings are shops, used by 

 branches of the " Metropolitan Co-operative Distributive 

 Society," with which the building society has close co-operation.^ 



Another co-operative building society is The Garden City 

 " GrondalsvcBnge " in Copenhagen, which has adopted the same 

 principle, viz. that the houses remain the property of the society, 

 and that members remain tenants, the benefit they derive 

 being reduced rent for good houses. The houses of this society 

 are for one family each, with a good sized garden to each house. 

 Although operations were delayed by the war, 41 houses were 

 built in 1915, and, notwithstanding the increased cost of 

 building, 102 more were built in 1917, the demand for them 

 being very great. The society has bought from the munici- 

 pality of Copenhagen ground for 420 houses in all, on condition 

 that the municipality may buy back the ground after the year 

 2000 at the same price at which it was sold, whereby the total 

 of the increase in value falls to the municipality. The average 

 rent of a house with garden is about £2 2s. to £2 18s. per month. 

 Members have to deposit with the society a sum of £28, which 

 may be paid by weekly instalments. When the loans raised 



1 Andelsbladet, 1917, p. 701, and International Co-op. Bulletin, 1917, p. 



