Un o’r cyfarfodydd allweddol a gefais oedd cyfarfod gyda chorff Tai Cydweithredol HSB. Er bod tua 20% o boblogaeth Sweden yn byw mewn cartrefi cydweithredol, mae hon yn ffordd o fod yn berchen ar gartref fforddiadwy sydd heb ei hystyried yn drwyadl yn y DU. Yn Stockholm, mae'r HSB yn un o’r prif gyrff yn y maes tai, ac mae ganddo enw da am stoc tai sydd o ansawdd uchel, ynghyd â phwrpas cymdeithasol clir. Mae’r enghraifft hon o gorff tai cydweithredol wedi rhoi ‘help llaw’ i gannoedd o filoedd o deuluoedd fedru cael cartref boddhaol y byddent fel arall wedi methu â’i gael. Ar ôl siarad â staff, ac ymweld â pherchnogion cartrefi cydweithredol mewn lleoliadau gwahanol ledled y ddinas, yr wyf yn benderfynol o ddangos y gallai’r model tai hwn ddiwallu anghenion teuluoedd tebyg yng Nghymru. Bydd y cysylltiadau a wnaed yn amhrisiadwy dros y misoedd nesaf wrth i ni fynd ati i ddatblygu'r sector tai cymdeithasol embryonig yng Nghymru.
One of my key engagements was with the HSB Housing Co-operative. While around 20% of the Swedish population lives in a co-operative home, within the UK it is a largely unexplored route to affordable home ownership. In Stockholm, the HSB is a major player in the housing field, with a reputation for high quality, well maintained housing stock allied with a clear social purpose. This one housing co-operative has been the means by which hundreds of thousands of families have been given a ‘leg-up’ into a decent home which they would otherwise have been unable to access. After talking to staff, and visiting co-op homeowners in different locations across the city, I came away determined to show that this housing model could answer the needs of similar families in Wales. The links and contacts made will prove invaluable in the months ahead as we develop the embryonic Welsh Co-op housing sector.