Luboš and Jolana Kozákovi, U Opavice 4, August 8, 2018
“When the boys started school, we realized there was not enough space for two desks in the kids’ room.”
Luboš Kozák moved to the flat at U Opavice 4 in 1985, when he got it from his brother who had lived there until then. Jolana joined Luboš in the apartment after their wedding in 1988. Luboš teaches biology and chemistry in Kravaře, and for over thirty years Jolana has been a teacher in a special school (school for kids with cognitive disabilities) in Opava. The couple has two sons. The younger son is a college student and also works part time at a coop vegan restaurant in Brno, which donates some of its food to the homeless. The older son, a talented mathematician, works in finance and tries to support his younger brother’s charity activities. When the boys were growing up, children from the whole apartment building used to come to play in their flat, which the Kozáks remember fondly. They also recall how they had to reorganize their flat when they realized they could not fit two writing desks into the children’s room. They ended up remodeling the living room, the largest room in the apartment, into their sons’ bedroom. Jolana, who grew up in a family house in Opava-Kateřinky, at first and for quite some time could not get used to living in an apartment block. She does appreciate benefits of the neighborhood for the boys. She herself enjoys interior decoration and design, and likes to paint and color. Luboš helps her realize her plans. They are very interested in the topic of coops, and in the interview they compare the U Opavice self-governing coop unit with the cooperative their son is involved with in Brno.
