To ensure access to decent housing for low-income communities as a preventive measure against the proliferation of informal settlements.

Families in situations of extreme economic vulnerability.

The project benefits 28 families living in extreme poverty, residents of the Piedras Blancas neighborhood in Montevideo, most of whom are headed by women and have dependent children.

The 28 families described live in informal settlements in the Piedras Blancas neighborhood and have such low household incomes that they cannot secure their daily food supply.

This pilot project, carried out by the Federación Uruguaya de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Ayuda Mutua (FUCVAM) in partnership with the Departmental Government of the city of Montevideo, ensures access to decent and adequate housing for a sector of the population that would not otherwise have access to it, except through a subsidy program. The fact that most of these families are headed by women with dependent children further exacerbates their vulnerability. The process began in 2023 with negotiations between FUCVAM and the Government of Montevideo, leading to the final signing of the agreement in September 2024; however, work with the families took place throughout 2023 through meetings, training sessions, assemblies, and other activities. Finally, in July 2025, construction was completed, and the housing units were allocated by lottery, followed by the families’ moves, after approximately one year of construction.

The practice described above has a central impact on HIC’s thematic areas related to the right to decent housing. The fact that it also takes place within the framework of a self-managed cooperative promotes residents’ involvement in caring for and improving the living environment they occupy.

One of the most significant challenges was bringing together a group of people committed to the idea of a cooperative as a pathway to housing, given that most members had no experience with citizens’ organisations, much less cooperatives. The personal and collective change required involves not only significant group tensions but also profound and uncertain processes of personal transformation.

28 homes were built for 28 families in situations of extreme vulnerability. It is necessary to place greater emphasis on group work and relationship-building prior to the construction of the homes, since although the families knew each other beforehand, they had not formed a collective together, and the costs of group learning occurred simultaneously with the construction of the homes through the mutual aid system. This requires prior familiarity among family members to ensure better coexistence and harmony during the construction period; during which the practice of tolerance, solidarity, and empathy, among other aspects, is important.