FUPROVI

Type

The Foundation for Housing Promotion (FUPROVI), is a privately funded, nonprofit development organization that provides funding and technical assistance for projects in Costa Rica.

Brief Overview

Since its foundation in 1987, it has supported low-income families in their efforts to improve their living conditions in order to achieve a more equitable and democratic society. Since 1987, FUPROVI's various programs have benefited more than 6,000 low-income families in over 40 settlements located in different cities of Costa Rica. It has also offered technical advice and training to Costa Rican and Central American institutions in self-help housing projects based in its methodology and experience.

The Foundation's objective is to mobilize resources, and to actualize the full capabilities of the participating families, and, in so doing, to break down the paradigms of passivity, paternalism, and complacency that have impeded the progressive development of these communities.

Contact Information

website: http://www.fuprovi.org/

FUPROVI
1231-1002 Paseo de los Estudiantes
San José, Costa Rica.

telephone: (506) 247-0000
fax: (506) 236-5178
e-mail: fuprovi@fuprovi.org

Stated Goals

“1. To promote the organization and participation of economically challenged communities and encourage them to fulfill active roles in identifying and solving their problems, and to continue to develop projects that encourage participants to contribute their own time and energy in order to ensure successful results.
2. To develop housing programs designed to assist participants in the construction of their own homes. To help improve the families' economic conditions and give them the training and skills necessary to generate new income.
3. To actualize a greater degree of organization, participation, and involvement in the community; to empower community members to invest in their surroundings by sharing and fully utilizing their resources; to encourage participation in the making of local policies, and to democratize the policy-making processes themselves.
4. To contribute to the ongoing effort to resolve environmental problems faced by those communities sponsored by the Foundation.”

Regions of Work

Costa Rica

Areas of Work

1. Low-income housing
2. Community development
3. Income generation
4. Sustainable development
5. Institutional building

Methods

FUPROVI provides loans, training, and technical assistance in low-income communities. The group attempts to organize resident participation in the design and implementation of projects. The aim is to transfer new abilities and to empower low-income families in the identification and solution of their housing and communal problems. In some cases, FUPROVI offers technical assistance to other institutions based on its experiences.

Examples of Upgrading Project

FUPROVI’s work in housing has assisted low-income families in the construction, renovation, or expansion of homes, using national financing for the provision of materials for individual dwellings; neighborhood infrastructure; and technical assistance, support, and training. These projects have varied in scale, with assistance going to larger projects in cooperation with other entities, medium-sized projects organized by community groups, or even to individual families. Sometimes, both FUPROVI and the recipients of assistance have conducted construction through the equal investment of time and resources. Alternatively, the housing has been built by the occupants with FUPROVI’s advice and/or financing only. However, an architect or engineer, a social coordinator, a technical instructor, and an administrative representative oversee all projects. Also, in order to participate in the program, community leaders must devise a system wherein each family contributes 30 hours of labor weekly.

Project Selection Process