We Effects work on housing and habitat

• Initiated 1987 in Uruguay, through HSB and Riksbyggen.• South Africa and Zimbabwe in

late 90´s.• Today in 14 countries, 25

partners.• Always in partnership with local

organisations.• Rights-based and cooperative

housing.

Our cooperative housing model

• No pre-savings (the members contribute with labour)• The cooperatives are managed by the members• Cooperative ownership• Members are trained to manage a cooperative and to construct

houses • Members construct the houses• Finalized houses are distributed through a raffle

Cooperative housing - Advantages

• Costs are reduced by 30% through members own construction• Adequate houses, not shelters.• Poor people get access to affordable adequate housing.• Its sustainable – members cannot sell their house on the open

market, so they stay. • This creates community. • The cooperative is run democratically – empowers the members.• The financing institute only deals with the cooperative –one entity,

instead of several individuals.

Housing and HabitatExperiences of housing cooperatives in development cooperation

5

Adequate housing is a human right

The States are responsible

We Effects work on housing and habitat

• Initiated 1987 in Uruguay• South Africa and Zimbabwe in

late 90´s.• Today in 14 countries.• Always in partnership with local

organisations.

Cooperatives – what are they?

• We support cooperative organisation and cooperative housing• A cooperative is a social enterprise aiming at achieving benefits for

the members • Cooperatives combine economic and democratic development• Each member has one vote• Cooperatives are open to everyone and run democratically

Our cooperative housing model

• No pre-savings (the members contribute with labour)• The cooperatives are managed by the members• Cooperative ownership• Members are trained to manage a cooperative and to construct

houses • Members construct the houses• Finalized houses are distributed through a raffle

Demanding this right from the State-legislation and public finance

Cooperative housing - Advantages

• Costs are reduced by 30% through members own construction• Adequate houses, not shelters.• Poor people get access to affordable adequate housing.• Its sustainable – members cannot sell their house on the open

market, so they stay. • This creates community. • The cooperative is run democratically – empowers the members.• The financing institute only deals with the cooperative –one entity,

instead of several individuals.

The cooperative members construct the houses

Cooperative meeting in a housing cooperative in El Salvador

Faniz Jirón, president of housing cooperative Juntando Manos, in Nicaragua and now also

president of the cooperative housing federation of Nicaragua

Some results: • Approved popular housing laws in

Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Paraguay.

• Housing is now a human right according to constitution in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• 1,963 houses constructed in Latin America and 672 houses constructed by partners in our programmes in Africa during 2010-2012.

• 1,300 households obtained security of tenure in Metro Manila, Philippines. 5 water service cooperatives established.

• We Effect has presented this model in WUF Vancouver, Nanjing, Rio de Janeiro and Neapels.

• FUCVAM Uruguay received UN WUF award 2012 ”best practices around expansion of a successful model”