Focus on: The Dzivarasekwa Slum Upgrading Project, Zimbabwe

Every week, the CoHabitat Network introduces you to a collaborative housing project documented on the cohabitat.io database.

In 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the city of Harare, the technical assistance organisation Dialogue on Shelter for the Homeless Trust (DSHT), and the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation (ZHPF) in order to enumerate and upgrade the slums in the capital city.

The Federation is a community-based organisation affiliated to Slum Dwellers International (SDI) made up of a network of savings schemes in low-income communities, which collectively save for housing and other essential needs.

While enumerating all the slums (71 slums mapped by 2018), a pilot project started in Dzivarasekwa Extension (DZ) from where learnings would be applied elsewhere. Construction began in 2011 with 480 families as the primary beneficiary group. DZ families were involved in developing three architectural designs through community consultations with technical support by the City of Harare and Dialogue on Shelter.

Applying the learnings from SDI in other cities and communities where federations put together funds to finance citywide upgrading projects, ZHPF - together with DSHT and the City government - established and injected money into a revolving fund, the Harare Slum Upgrading Finance Facility (HSUFF). The home improvement loans are directed towards saving groups which, in turn, lend to their members. Members generally have informal incomes and are excluded from the official bank system.

▶ More infos on cohabitat.io

Dzivarasekwa Slum Upgrading Project, a case study in our publication on access to land and finance for community-led housing

This short publication reviews some of the winning projects of the regional CLH Award by focusing on how they managed to secure land and accessed funding to plan and build, refurbish or improve, their living environment. It is our belief that, despite the diversity of their local contexts and particularities, these practices can inspire other people who are trying to conceive or strengthen CLH projects, especially given that access to affordable finance and land tend to be some of the main obstacles for developing CLH all over the world.

▶ Download here (PDF, 8.3 MB)