Costa Rica

Context at a glance

Substandard housing in San Ramon, Costa Rica

Though Costa Rica has a fairly stable economy, large government deficits have put pressure on the quality of social services. Inflation rates remain at more than 10 percent while an estimated 35 percent of the population lives in substandard housing.

Habitat for Humanity programme

In 1988, Habitat began work in the Costa Rican city of Esparza. In its first three years, the Esparza affiliate built 50 houses. Then, in 1991, with the introduction of an ambitious government-housing programme that gave houses to low-income families, HFH stopped construction in Costa Rica.

However, due to large cutbacks in the government programme, we were invited back to begin work in San Ramón in 1996.

Today, hundreds of homes have been built with the support of many local and international churches as well as businesses. The average cost of a Habitat house in Costa Rica is £3,260.

HFH is also exploring ways to reach those families who have even fewer resources, through initiatives like "progressive housing" where houses are built in stages and through partnerships. For example, government assistance programmes for the purchase of land, and buying building materials in bulk.

HFH Costa Rica reaches out to communities located in Esparza, Nicoya, Monteverde, San Ramón, Alajuela, Cartago, Buenos Aires and Río Claro. Two more affiliates will be established soon in San José and on the Atlantic coast.

Habitat houses are built using cinder block walls, tin roofs and cement floors. 622 houses have been built to date.

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