Self-Managed Cooperative Housing by Mutual- Assistance as Introduced in Central America between 2004 and 2016; the Attractiveness of the ‘FUCVAM’ Model of Uruguay

Jan Bredenoord

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of cooperative housing through mutual assistance and collective ownership in Latin America. Cooperative housing is a form of self-managed house building, which is of great importance for a growing number of low-income households. It makes possible the access to appropriate housing for families with lowincomes, that don’t have other possibilities.The mutual self-managed cooperative housing model of the Uruguayan federation of housing cooperatives ‘FUCVAM’ offers a more effective alternative to individual, incremental self-help or self-managed housing that is still is prevalent in many countries, including in Latin America. Since 2004, the model has been implemented with the help of the NGO We Effect in seven Latin American countries: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Paraguay. The author investigated the development of 22 cooperatives in four Central American countries in mid-2016, and his findings are presented in this paper. The members of the cooperative are intensively involved in the construction process and activities, in order to lower the construction costs, while the houses are being constructed durably under professional supervision.