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Hbitat para la Humanidad

Humani
Argentina
Since 2002, wee offer families that live in inadequate conditions the opportunity to
achieve a holistic solution to their housing problem. We foster human and
community development by empowering the resources which already exist among
the families and groups that make up the local community. We are an organization
made up of people who are passionate about the need for adequate housing, with a
focus on sustainability and the transformation of communities.
According to the 2010 census, almost 3,5 million households are inadequate. This
means that more than 10 million people suffer from this problem.

People in Argentina
according to 2010 census

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Inadequate homes

People with housing problems.


This represents a 25% of the
population.

Housing Needs
The current Argentinean population is 40 million people. According to recent
studies about 4,000,000 orr 1/3 of homes are inadequate; among
among these homes, 60%
are recoverable. These homes lack such
characteristics as a decent roof or floor, running
water, sufficient space, or a bedroom or bathroom.
This means that more than 10,000,000 people live in
poverty housing. About 51% of the Argentinean
population works in the informal labor market
market.
The Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires constitutes
the greatest urban concentration of Argentina, the
second one in South America (after Sao Paulo, Brazil)
and the third one in all Latin America and the Caribbean (after the City of Mexico).
The ongoing economic and social crises in the country have worsened and
deepened the housing issue. Thousands of people are living in precarious houses
with no guarantees or sufficient income to pay for a rent or pay for an installment
of a mortgage loan. The City of Buenos Aires undergoes an additional phenomenon:
phenomenon
the existence of empty or under-used
under used properties in areas where the infrastructure
and basic services exist, and where there are families who pay amounts similar to a
rent on a monthly basis, to live in infrahuman
conditions. The program of HPH Argentina
started in Buenos Aires in the year 2007, with
the challenge of using new methodologies
adapted to the particular housing issues of this
region.

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Our Projects
Developing Neighborhoods
The greater Buenos Aires area is home to 13,500,000 people. Five hundred
thousand sub-standard
standard homes are located within the urban fringe zone, making up
fully one fourth of the national housing deficit.
The Province of Santa Fe to the north of Buenos Aires also
lacks 310,000 homes to satisfy housing needs. Roughly
10% of the population lacks proper housing. The housing
deficit is mainly concentrated around the City of Santa Fe,
capital of the province and home to 850,000 people.
Within this context, the Developing Neighborhoods Project
identifies families willing
to improve their housing
situation but lacking the basic knowledge and
financial resources to do so. HPH Argentina
facilitates community partnerships with public,
private and non-profit
profit organizations to work
collaboratively on housing solutions.
The objective of the
he Developing Neighborhoods
project is to develop stable communities in urban fringes by strengthening
resident's underlying abilities and optimizing existing resources within the
communities in order to facilitate access to adequate housing.

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Typical House Designs


Seed House
The Seed House is a kind of progressive
rogressive house. It begins with the
he minimum and most
important part of the house with respect to basic needs.
needs. It includes: solid
foundations, kitchen and bathroom installations, and the first two
wo rooms and the
foundations for the complete house.
house The design can accommodate a possible second
floor and successive enlargements over time as the families resources allow. Given
that the Seed House project aims to complete only the first stage of const
construction,
the methology has a strong training and empowerment component so that the
family can complete construction on their own. Support and training during
construction, coupled with help provided by HPHA Volunteers, architects and
technicians, enables families
amilies to manage the continued process. This gives the family
a fast solution and the education and tools to support the social production of
housing in order to continue the process of completing a home by their own means.

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Noelias Story
Noelia Fernandez, sitting in a purple room which she painted herself, smiles and
admits that she still cannot believe she owns her own home. Two months ago, she
left the precarious shack in which she lived for many years with her son, and moved
into her new home,, built with help from the Neighborhood Development project.
Like many of her neighbors in the Un Techo para Todos (A Roof for All)
neighborhood located in La Matanza - Noelia learned that rather than waiting on
government help, her best chance to own a home was to join a self-help
self
program.
I attended a couple of HPHA workshops and saw that it was not just about
receiving money to build a house. They taught us that Its not just an individual
effort; but a community commitment.

Our salaries are nott enough to hire a mason or a plumber or an electrician. Since
we dont have enough capital, we need everyones cooperation to advance, says
Noelia. She also highlights the importance of working on her own home. They say
that bricklaying is hard work, but
but it is one thing to say it and another to actually do
it. It is heavy work but important, because building a house is the work of a
lifetime. Noelia came to the neighborhood over three years ago and, after living
with her father for a time, she was able to buy a small plot of land where she hoped

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to build her home. After I had my son, I always dreamed that someday I would
have my own house, she recalls. Before moving to the new house, she and her
family endured the hardships of living in a precarious house:
house: My son would get
bronchitis and when it rained hard the house would flood. The worst was in April,
when the house flooded and the moisture never left. Reflecting on her own
experience, Noelia highlights womens role in improving living conditions in
marginal neighborhoods. Women today have advanced a lot and have become
heads of family. I know may women who like me struggle with one, two, three
kids, and the children give us the strength to keep fighting. Confronting the
housing issues which affect
fect urban settlements and precarious neighborhoods, the
Neighborhood Development project seeks to strengthen the resources and the
capability of neighbors to obtain adequate housing. Noelia started building her
house in the Seeds of Hope 2012 event. During
During 2013, she continued building with
help from additional volunteer brigades and she was able to move into her new
home before the end of the year.

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Our Projects
Fair Rentals
In 2008, HPH Argentina commissioned an interdisciplinary study which identified as
critical the situation of many families living in tenements, rental units, and rooming
houses, and paying market prices for rooms in inadequate conditions.
Issues such as overcrowding, structur
structural
al risks and health impacts, especially upon
children and the elderly, are alarming in this type of housing. As a consequence,
informal rental situations end up being explosive.
Families in the larger cities are forced to live in these places because, am
among other
reasons, they must put up financial guarantees in the form of property within the
city, in order to rent formally; something that low income families cannot do.
The Fair Rentals project was created with the objective of offering a solution to
families
amilies living in this situation, thus addressing the housing problem within the
urban context.
The process is carried out through education, training, and
empowerment.

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Our Projects
Remote Communities
Throughout the world, the growth of urban populations
increases the risk of exposure to natural disasters. Within
that context, governments prioritize investments in large
urban centers where the larger population concentrations
imply larger numbers of exposed people. As a consequence, a great number
nu
of
communities away from the great urban centers become a low priority in terms of
strategic planning for addressing housing issues as well as for mitigating the risk of
natural disaster. The Remote Communities Project was designed to help
communities throughout the country which, due to their remote location, lack
resources to address their housing needs. This project offers minor repairs to
families that cannot afford to pay. These are very low cost solutions carried out
almost entirely by volunteers.
s. We define a Remote Community as follows:

Underdeveloped transportation infrastructure which makes access to and from


the community difficult for people and materials.
Underdeveloped communication infrastructure (telephone and internet). High
vulnerability to housing, social and environmental impacts affecting large part of
the population.
Limited or non-existing
existing assistance from government or other aid agencies.
Population size that allows a minimum of 30 interventions per mission with
houses no further from each other than a 30 minute walk.

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Many Attractions to visit in Buenos Aires


Why visit Buenos Aires? There are actually many reasons why Buenos Aires is one of the
most attractive cities in Latin America and, indeed, was elected in 2013 as the best tourist
destination in Central and South America by readers of the prestigious trade pu
publication
Cond Nast Traveller. There are many emblematic neighborhoods and attractions that make
Buenos Aires City a must.
Food for all tastes
Worth coming to the City of Buenos Aires to try traditional
cuisine in one of the gastronomic centers, the re
result of the
contribution of Italian and Spanish immigrants who arrived to
Buenos Aires. In addition, Argentina is famous for the excellent
quality of their beef, usually grilling, so it's also a good
opportunity to enjoy a good roast
roast. Our wines are recognized
zed worldwide.

Gardel, Piazzolla and Tango


Buenos Aires is the world capital of tango, the
sensual and nostalgic dance that is in close contact
with the couple and that had among its most
renowned interpreters Carlos Gardel and Astor
Piazzolla. We suggest tango shows for tourists, the
milongas (tango dance places) or schools where
watching or playing this suggestive dancing.

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More than 300 theaters


Iff anything the City can boast in its very wide
range of shows,
ows, which makes Buenos Aires the
city with the most intense theatrical activity in
Latin America and the fourth with more theaters
worldwide, such as The Teatro Colon.

Variety of museums
The City also has a wide and rich variety of museums of national and international art, and
other
ther topics that harbor the most diverse, from museums, soccer shoes and puppets,
costumes or even coins.
Shopping
If what you're looking is to go shopping, Buenos
Aires will not disappoint you with the upscale
shopping, fashion and commercial circuits
design as the Palermo Soho, Santa Fe Avenue or
Florida Street. And for those looking for
opportunities at lower prices, outlets areas are
excellent choices.
Nightlife
If what you're looking is an intense nightlife, the city offers a range of possibilities
possibilities. No
shortage of restaurants, bars and nightclubs to disperse and meet new faces. Palermo, San
Telmo and Puerto Madero are some districts that offer this type of activity.

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Pope Francisco
Buenos Aires is the city where the current Pope Francisco was born, you can go to a papal tour
to the most significant places in his life. Get to know the neighborhoods and Monserrat Flores
and the Metropolitan Cathedral, where he was born, spent his childhood and celebrated Mass
for over 20 years.

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Football is the country's most popular sport, the one with the most players and is the most
popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines
that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%. Football
Foo
plays an important
part in the life of many Argentines. Even those supporters who usually do not attend the
matches watch them on television and comment on them the next day with friends and coco
workers. When the Argentina national football team plays (especially during world cup
matches), streets tend to look completely deserted as everyone is watching the match.
Estancias
The Estancias are tightly linked to the history and essence of Argentinean culture. Surrounded
with tradition, they shelter the p
past
ast and present on both criollos and immigrants. A campfire
will give warmth to visitors after a long trip and home baked bread and hot mate poured by
the hosts will always welcome everyone. Once opened, the gates invite to rest, enjoy peace
and quietness.

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Delta Tigre
The City of Tigre is a destination neither foreigners nor local people should miss. Its main
attraction is the Fruit Market, a different, almost magical world. The port has three inner
docks. Daily catamaran excursions leave from one of them to the Delta. The central docks
concentrate the grocers boats, which supply the inhabitants of the islands
i
with the most
varied products. In the last harbor, the timbering boats full of popular and willow logs from
the forested islands of the Delta are unloaded. The port of Tigre lodges the open market with
streets full of the colors of rustic fabric, furniture
furniture and accessories made in cane and willow,
delicious jams and honey, brilliant fowers and of course, all the variety of native fruit coco
existing in absolute harmony. Sailing along the rivers and branches on board of modern craft,
passengers will discover
over the natural paradise which is the Delta of Paran River.

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