Het Zwaluwnestje is a cooperative building affordable and sustainable housing in Amsterdam

OUR STORY

In 2024, our housing cooperative won the bid for a plot at Amstelkwartier in Amsterdam Oost. This meant we could start building our dream: a community of 40 middle-income rent apartments and shared spaces.

Right now, we are in the ‘hot phase’: working hard on the final design and crowd-lending campaign, with the goal of a 2029 move in date.

During the COVID lock-downs in 2020, we started thinking about other ways of co-living. Rare moments of togetherness contrasted with the harsh reality of housing in the big Dutch cities: speculative, competitive, individualistic and profit driven.

It made us wonder: could we lead more value-driven lives together? And after hearing about the possibility of starting a housing cooperative, we applied for a municipality-assigned plot . To our surprise – and joy – we won one of those bids.

Read below how to support and be part of our project.

INVEST IN THE NEST

Participate in our crowd-lending campaign

This is where you come in! If you believe in affordable and sustainable housing, housing cooperatives, and you like our project in particular: you can support us.

In short: As a relatively small part of the total funding of the project, we need to sell €300.000 worth of social bonds. These bonds are units worth 250 euro each. After 5 or 10 years you’ll get your investment back with a 3% yearly interest on top.

You can buy as many bonds as you like. You can also simply donate! Every contribution helps. With your participation we can build Het Zwaluwnestje.

Click the buttons below to find all information on how to co-fund this project.

INVEST IN SOCIAL BOND

MAKE A DONATION

THE NESTJE

From dream to reality

We decided to work in collaboration with two architect firms: DOC and Biosphere. In a series of co-creative workshops we are slowly materializing our housing dream.

40 units that accommodate families, shared living for friends, couples and singles.
1 big communal space to host the neighborhood (the big nest).
5 medium or small communal spaces, including a soundproof room, a movement space, and a rooftop garden.
Shared facilities like a repair shed, a laundry room and study ‘nooks’.
Biobased/ sustainable materials.

LEARN MORE

MEET THE SWALLOWS

About us

We are a group of old and new Amsterdammers. What unites us is a strong bond to our home city Amsterdam and its people. Many of us work in the social and public sector earning lower to middle income, which means we are increasingly unable to afford free market rents.

With the rising pressure on the housing market we find ourselves being pushed out of the city. We wish for Het Zwaluwnestje to give us and others the basic right to housing security. We welcome people who share these housing challenges, including people with additional support needs, queer people, and new Amsterdammers such as status holders.

LEARN MORE

“

“Amsterdam has been home for me and my partner for ten years. I joined Het Zwaluwnestje to live in solidarity with others, to connect in difference: I am because of you, and the fact that we differ makes our lives better.”
Alex

“

“As a queer immigrant from Venezuela, I tried many avenues to find security in the Netherlands. However, the clock was always ticking: student visas, ‘zoekjaar’, work permits – all temporary statuses, topped with precarious housing situations. My queer identity always took a back seat in order to survive. Joining Het Zwaluwnestje finally allowed me to feel comfortable with the idea of setting roots in Amsterdam. It is a project, a community, and a future physical space where difference is not only embraced and celebrated, but protected. Ultimately, against a climate where tolerance of LGBTQIA+ people continues to decrease, I want us to fight back by offering affordable housing and community spaces that embrace queerness.”
Helio

“

“In the beginning I thought that the coop was a crazy, idealistic idea: This can not be real, can it? On the other hand, the idea spoke to all the things I believe in. Being frustrated by the brutality of the housing market, making it difficult for people to live in the city, forcing people to leave. The coop is a way to face these things together. To build a community, a home – that no matter how far you go – will always be there for us. How great would that be?”
Halim

“

“I had been living in the Netherlands for four years when I met a swallow by chance in a café. As soon as they mentioned the housing cooperative, I asked if they were looking for members.
Het Zwaluwnestje has become home to me, even before the building has started. Because a home is so much more than a built structure. It is family to share highs and lows with, to learn from, to depend on. The housing crisis is a worldwide phenomenon. Most cities today – including Mumbai, the city I come from – struggle with affordable housing. Homes are seen as assets for financial profit. And if we want it or not, we all become part of this capital driven system. Joining the housing cooperative movement is also about reclaiming the city as a space for true living. Getting there is a messy process and I love to be part of it.”
Ain

“

“Just the idea of Het Zwaluwnestje makes me happy. When I picture it, I hear different languages, see kind, warm-hearted people, and smell delicious food. For me, a housing cooperative is the best way to continue living in my hometown Amsterdam. It offers a chance to build a community – to live together with friends in an affordable way. The idea for the name came to me while I was biking along the Amstel. I heard the call of swallows. That’s how I see us: a group of people – Dutch and migratory – who call Amsterdam their base. A place where you’re free to come and go. A home that’s always there for you.”
Jana