Construyendo Organización: Sistematización del programa “Dotación de vivienda permanente para los damnificados de los terremotos de 2001 en los municipios de Tacaba y San Pedro Masahuat”

Between January and February 2001, two major earthquakes hit El Salvador in Central America. Hundreds lost their lives and thousands lost their dwellings, especially among low-income families who lived in rural areas or beside motorways or on the fringes of the cities. The country’s health system was severely shocked and the educational system and a great part of the national historical patrimony were also largely destroyed. Harvests were massively spoiled, especially coffee plantations. Ninety-seven out of the 262 national municipalities were affected and the social deprivation that existed before the catastrophe was much increased. The estimated impact on El Salvador’s development was a five-year backward step.

Under the framework of the National Plan for Reconstruction (NPR) and the international help provided, a programme was created, namely the “Provision of Permanent Housing for the Victims of the Earthquakes in Tacuba and San Pedro Masahuat Municipalities”. This programme was funded and channelled by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, whereby the local agencies FUNDASAL and ADIC worked as national counterparts.

The programme ran from 2001 to 2004. It comprised the implementation of several housing projects in both municipalities, leading to the development of a whole experience of reconstruction at local scale. The programme evolved from an initial short-term strategy of supplying emergency solutions into a long-term programme towards the strengthening and consolidation of local communities, also aiming to reduce their social vulnerability in the future. This report summarizes the experience, addressing the following points:

· The improvement in building technologies and people’s capacities concerning self-construction. Both aspects became considerably more adapted to local environments. People participated in the design and construction of their dwellings; they acquired new knowledge that served to establish a minimum expected quality for future processes of housing improvement. This knowledge also worked as livelihood, enabling people to have jobs in the formal building sector.
· Environmental risks were reduced. The new houses were built with better materials, more resistant to earthquakes, more durable and made of environmentally friendly materials. Also, houses were planned with adequate professional assistance.
· Legal aspects of land tenure were strongly addressed. This benefited especially women and children, who usually are at a disadvantage due to the traditional power relations that exist within families and communities. Women also gained the right to participate in communal decision processes, to own a house and be heads of families.
· Local networks’ capacities were considerably empowered, in order to deal with other grassroots actors, municipal governments, NGOs and several entities from the national government. Without a doubt, the programme helped to define a model of local development oriented towards improving people’s quality of life under conditions of considerable social and gender equality.