Political and social unrest has affected El Salvador for many years. The centre of its capital, San Salvador, is an area of historical and cultural significance but has suffered from violence and dereliction.
Many of the households living in the historical centre are among the poorest and most socially excluded in the city. Until recently, they lived in very poor conditions, in unsafe buildings and without proper infrastructure.
Together with a network of organisations campaigning for housing rights across Latin America, the community has won the right to own and build on the land. Through activism, collaboration and support, poor quality shacks have been replaced with safe, colourful, and permanently affordable homes, owned by the community themselves.
The regeneration of San Salvador’s historical centre has provided hope and inspiration and has increased the growth of mutual aid housing cooperatives, where people work together and support each other to provide their own homes.
