Search results for - ‘poverty’

Project Description In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan devastated large areas of the Philippines causing significant loss of life and destroying approximately one million homes. Through the Post-Haiyan Self-Recovery Housing Programme (2013-2016) CARE Philippines helped over 15,500 families made homeless by Haiyan to rebuild their homes. CARE Philippines is one of CARE International’s country offices. There are […]

Nashira Un Canto de Amor (a song of love) is an eco-village in rural Colombia built for and by women who have suffered domestic violence and/or displacement as a result of Colombia’s fifty year civil war.

A tenant-run housing cooperative is responsible for the social and environmental regeneration of this disadvantaged and semi-abandoned housing estate near Perth. The local community has been involved throughout the process. Emphasis has been placed on keeping design within the cost yardstick, creating local employment opportunities and reducing crime. Energy saving design has reduced the incidence of fuel poverty and damp-related illness.  

Project Description The programme helps people from low-income communities become homeowners in the district of Anantapur and surrounding areas in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The main groups supported by the programme are members of the Dalit castes (this term refers to the lowest castes in the traditional Indian caste system), scheduled castes and tribes […]

Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the historic US city of New Orleans in 2005, left many people homeless, whole communities displaced and homes abandoned. The project is providing affordable homes for local people by renovating abandoned historic homes in neighbourhoods which are vulnerable to gentrification. A rental subsidy and an affordability restriction that runs with the […]

Argentina is experiencing the highest poverty rates seen in 20 years, coupled with soaring inflation and rental prices, making the situation worse. Many of Buenos Aires’ residents are living below the poverty line and are unable to afford a decent home.  The Occupants’ and Tenants’ Movement (Movimiento de Ocupantes e Inquilinos, MOI also known as […]

The Grameen Bank established a housing loan programme in 1984 to enable poor rural families to own permanent and cyclone-proof homes. To date 617,000 such homes have been completed and the programme is continuing with building over 30,000 new homes each year. The maximum housing loan available is $249, which is repayable over 5 years at an interest-rate of 8 per cent.  The title to the home is vested with the woman who thereby obtains financial security and improved status within the family and society.  

This project provides an integrated solution to the housing, land, health and livelihood problems faced by socially excluded families in the city of San Carlos and surrounding areas. The comprehensive approach combines the provision of basic services with livelihood programmes, the provision of micro-finance and access to secure land tenure, assisting over 45,000 low-income families and individuals to date.

AVE/CEVE is a a non-governmental organisation dedicated to research, technological development, transfer and training in the field of low-cost housing. The organisation works to promote social inclusion, access to housing for low-income groups and alternative ways of tackling a range of housing-related issues. Key features of AVE/CEVE’s work include the participatory development of integral building systems, sustainable building components and tools for community organisation. To date 5,475 homes have been built or improved using the technologies, management and financial systems developed. These ’hard’ and ’soft’ technologies have been widely transferred throughout Latin America, benefiting approximately 140 NGOs, communities and governments in the region.

Disabled people on low incomes face significant challenges. Poor access and inadequate housing mean they are often housebound and need constant support at home. This project in Medellín helps with simple adaptions and improvements to bathrooms and so eases their daily living conditions. The effects are remarkable giving independence to disabled people and allowing them, their families and carers more independence and improved quality of life.

Pakistan is on the frontline of the climate crisis and is affected by recurrent floods. The 2022 deluge submerged a third of the country, displacing 8 million people and requiring $327 million for reconstruction, according to a joint study by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Sindh, already poverty-stricken, bore the brunt, and […]

Sanitation is a growing problem in Argentina, where six million people (almost one-in-seven of the population) do not currently have a bathroom inside their home. Four million people live in informal settlements, where less than one-in-twenty (4.85%) of the population has access to sanitation. This lack of sanitation, and resulting poor hygiene practices, adversely affects […]

Following the Slum Dwellers International approach and challenging Malawi’s ‘hand out culture’, this project is very much community-driven. It focuses on poor communities across the country, particularly in urban areas, and takes a comprehensive approach to development by empowering communities to organise, improve their living conditions and infrastructure, and increase their incomes by setting up viable enterprises.

Over the last 20 years, Fundación Pro Vivienda Social (Social Housing Foundation – FPVS) has worked to improve living conditions in Greater Buenos Aires, by promoting social inclusion, empowering communities, improving housing conditions and connecting them to basic services. Since 2010, FPVS has been implementing the Community Development Plan (CDP) in all the communities where it works, giving a holistic vision and an increasingly important role to residents in the development of their communities. Three strategies have been defined to carry out the CDP: community empowerment, design and implementation of innovative projects and promotion of pro-poor businesses, with five programmes running to date, namely the Integral Gasification Project, Housing Improvement and Young Builders Project, Community Education Centre (CEC), Neighbourhood Development Observatory and Inclusive Business Park.

The IGLOO France association works to support local organisations involved in the field of housing and socioeconomic integration to implement participatory housing processes involving very marginalised households. The approach enables vulnerable individuals, families and groups of families to obtain adequate and affordable housing (either through rental or affordable property ownership schemes), to acquire the necessary skills and self-esteem to seek employment, and to be reintegrated into the broader society. As of December 2011, 400 homes had been built or renovated, significantly improving the housing conditions of 850 vulnerable persons, and 65 per cent of households had at least one member in permanent or temporary employment.

Complejo Monteagudo is a community-led and managed housing project involving the mutual-help construction of 326 housing units for formerly homeless members of the MTL Territorial Liberation Movement in Buenos Aires. With over 400 permanent jobs generated to date, the project represents a symbolic victory in the struggle of low-income families for housing, employment and the right to the city.

This Development Workshop France (DWF) programme has worked over many years with families and local governments in Viet Nam to apply key principles of safe storm and flood resistant construction, both to existing and new homes, as well as to community buildings. Over 2000 cyclone-resistant houses have been achieved to date through the programme, with many other households choosing to use the construction techniques. Communicating these basic principles to local people is an important part of the programme. The building techniques are now being progressively adopted by local and provincial governments, as well as other NGOs and agencies, both in Viet Nam and abroad.

The Building and Construction Improvement Programme works with local communities in Pakistan to develop and manufacture a range of affordable, environmentally- and regionally-appropriate home improvement products. Over 60 different products have been tested and applied to date, benefiting nearly 70,000 people across 125 villages in the Northern Areas and Chitral.

Established in Burlington, Vermont in 1984, the Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) was an early pioneer of the community land trust approach of providing affordable housing in perpetuity. CHT’s homes are, on average, affordable to households earning only 57 per cent of the area’s median income and it has over 2,200 properties for low-cost home ownership and rental. Over 200 community land trusts have now been established throughout the United States, with pilot schemes currently being carried out in both Canada and the UK.

Project Description Granby 4 Streets and its predecessor community group have, for many years, kept the Granby community together. Its ultimately successful campaign to halt the demolition of houses provided a focus for the community but its approach was unconventional and creative. It focused on reclaiming empty houses and streets from dereliction and boosting the […]

Project Description The Urban Shelter Project creates new housing units in Jordan for Syrian refugees to live in rent-free for 18 months. The project works with local property-owners whose properties are uninhabitable because they are unfinished or incomplete. The Norwegian Refugee Council provides funding to bring the properties up to acceptable standards. The refurbished homes […]

The costs of renting or paying off a mortgage in Barcelona, Spain, have risen much faster than the population’s incomes in recent years. This, coupled with growing unemployment due to the subprime crises (2007-2010) and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, has increased pressure on household finances and put more people at risk of eviction. A […]

The east Indian state of Odisha has a population of more than 41.9 million people. Over the past decade, the state’s urban population has grown by almost a third (27%), as people migrate from rural villages to towns and cities in search of work and a better life. Today, roughly one-in-four people living in Odisha’s […]

The GLOBE Community Champions Program works with social housing providers in the Province of Ontario to educate, engage and support staff and residents in conservation efforts. This initiative trains members of the social housing community on sustainable practices that lead to improved water and energy use and reduced waste. The program uses an integrated approach, linking efficient technologies with preventative maintenance and resident behaviour. To date, over 150 residents and housing staff in 56 communities have been trained as Community Champions, resulting in resource and cost savings and improved engagement in sustainability issues.

Established in 1979, the Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP) is a not-for-profit organisation working in Tamil Nadu, India to improve the living conditions of both the urban and rural poor. IVDP’s work is built around mobilising poor women to come together to form self-help saving groups (SHG), thereby helping them improve their economic and social position. To date, 6,700 groups have been established, each of which is made up of 12 to 20 disadvantaged women. IVDP has sourced affordable credit lines for the members of the saving groups, enabling the construction of 24,705 houses and 17,000 toilets. Awareness-raising campaigns help improve wider vulnerable groups’ understanding of water, sanitation and personal hygiene practices.