Support for the development of housing cooperatives in Nicaragua

The project focuses on technical support to cooperatives developing in the department of Matagalpa, in coordination with the cooperative movement at national level.

Housing co-operatives are being set up in Nicaragua to contribute to the realisation of the right to decent housing through the principles of self-management, mutual aid and collective ownership, which counter real estate speculation, reduce costs and strengthen community organisation and social cohesion.

Context

Nicaragua has a large housing deficit and the government does not implement the existing law on social housing. In fact, subsidies go to property developers who offer housing that does not correspond to the economic capacities of the majority of the population. The national cooperative housing movement is struggling to obtain recognition of the right to subsidies for cooperatives. However, some municipalities recognize the validity of the cooperative model and concretely support groups of residents organized in cooperatives, notably by facilitating access to land. The success of some cooperatives in the department of Matagalpa has already generated a multiplier effect.

Process

Seven cooperatives are already organized and legalized in the department of Matagalpa as a result of the technical support facilitated by the project. We plan to strengthen their capacity for self-management and negotiation with local authorities, in order to make maximum progress in the realization of their construction project and to demonstrate the viability and relevance of the cooperative model to authorities and donors.

UrbaMonde is actively involved in setting up solidarity financing mechanisms that provide support to the movement, while helping to reduce the housing deficit. Cooperative organizations are invited to join this effort.

Activities

• Political impact
  Ongoing campaigning with local and national authorities, through negotiation meetings, public events, in coordination with the movement at the national level.

• Strengthening the model
  Training of cooperative members in self-management, including financial management, through training modules, participation in the national and Central American movement.

• Access to financing
  Strengthening the operation of the existing revolving fund, formulation of construction projects, search for financing, creation of a revolving fund for construction credits.

• Technical assistance
  Qualitative reinforcement of the team’s capacities, through training, specialized assistance, and internships.

Local partner

MULTIPRO professional services cooperative, in coordination with CENCOVICOD, umbrella organization.

Beneficiaries

Directly, about 250 low-income families, organized in about ten cooperatives. The majority of these families are under the responsibility of women. Indirectly, this program strengthens the movement for the right to housing, on a national scale.

News of the project

2022 has been marked by a difficult economic situation: a strong increase in migration to the USA, which has impacted some cooperatives, increased difficulties in obtaining credit from local organisations, and inflation leading to an increase in the price of materials. The cooperative training school, which is a space for debate and reflection for all new members, confirms its essential role, helping to create links of solidarity between the members of the different cooperatives.

The Central Cooperative Organisation CECOVI, a legally recognised representative body, has enabled the cooperatives to take collective decisions to deal with economic difficulties. The management of the revolving fund has been reviewed to adapt to the movement of members, caused in particular by migration.
In the municipality of La Dalia, the Victoria de Julio cooperative obtained a government grant, donations and an interest-free loan from the local revolving fund. This enabled the cooperative to launch its construction project and gave its members, mostly female farm workers, access to decent housing. In the same municipality, two new cooperatives, also composed mainly of women farm workers, are in the process of creating an eco-neighbourhood with the active support of the municipality and in collaboration with the National Engineering University.

In Matagalpa, the Solidaridad cooperative has taken steps with international partners in the field of citizen finance, which should be completed in 2023 and allow the construction site to begin. A new cooperative has been formed, despite the difficult context.

In San Dionisio, the construction of a pilot adobe house has highlighted the technical and social acceptance issues related to the use of local materials in social housing projects. Reflection and new experiments will continue in 2023, for which additional technical support is being actively sought.

Coop Conversations Podcast, interview

To talk about housing is to talk about safety, education, hygiene, self-confidence, esteem for our children, for ourselves and for our environment

Faniz Giron, coordinator of the CENCOVICOD cooperative, Nicaragua