On April 19, RUCA officially opened its doors . It is the first social enterprise TECHO in Argentina and the second in Latin America, following Colombia.
“RUCA,” which inMapudungún (a dialect of the Mapuche people) means “home,” began as a project in mid-2012 and started operating in January of thisyear. “R.U.C.A. is a social enterprise, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide TECHO with the housing it needs to work in the most vulnerable communities, optimizing the organization’s resources so it can assist more families living in poverty,” said Eduardo Serantes, manager of TECHO Social Factory.
Learn about the history of the social factory in Buenos Aires at this link:
With four workers hired from settlements near the San Martín district, where RUCA is located, the factory has produced 83 emergency housing units to date. “The goal is to meet part of the organization’s basic annual plan by producing 450 houses per year ,” Serantes said from Argentina.
In the town of Bosa, Bogotá, the TECHO supply plant has also made it possible to involve the very communities where the organization works, thereby strengthening the community development process.
Once a month, raw materials arrive at the factory from companies that own their own reforested forests. The social enterprise enforces technical and environmental standards, and in the 900-square-meter warehouse, the 4 floor panels, 6 perimeter panels, the door, and the beams are cut and assembled. On average, these components provide the materials for 64 emergency shelters, which volunteers from the organization then build together with residents of the settlements themselves.
Colombia's social factory is staffed by four employees from different settlements, as well as members of the TECHO team TECHO coordinate the plant's production and administration. Its plans also include providing vocational training to other residents, and it is currently in the research phase to develop other products that will enable it to become self-financing.
Would you like to learn more about TECHO facility TECHO Colombia? Click here
On April 19, RUCA—the first social factoryoperated by TECHO in Argentina and the second in Latin America, after Colombia —officially opened its doors.
“RUCA” in Mapudungún (a dialect of the Mapuche people) means “house.” It beganas a project in mid-2012 and started operating in January 2013. “R.U.C.A.” is a socialenterprise. It is a nonprofit organization focused on supplying TECHO with the houses it needsto work in the most vulnerable communities, optimizing the organization’s resourcesso it can assist more families living in poverty,” said EduardoSerantes, TECHOsocial factory manager.
Learn about the history of the Social Factory of Buenos Aires at this link:
To date, the factory has produced 83 emergency houses, with four workers hired from communities near San Martín, where RUCA is located. “The goal is to fulfill part of the basic annual plan with a total production of 450 houses per year,” said Serantes from Argentina.
In the town of Bose, Bogotá, TECHO supply plant also involved the communities where the organization works, thereby helping to strengthen the community’s development process.
Once a month, raw materials arrive from companies that own forests of reforested wood. The social enterprise adheres to technical and environmental standards and, in its 900-square-meter workshop, cuts and assembles the four floor panels, six perimeter panels, the door, and the beams, which, on average, provide the materials for 64 emergency houses that the organization’s volunteers will later build with the residents of the same neighborhood settlements.
Colombia’s social factory is run by four officials from different communities, and members of the TECHO also coordinate the factory’s production and administration. As part of their plans, they also intend to provide craft training to other villagers. So far, the project is in the research phase to develop other products that will enable the factory to become self-financing.
Would you like to learn about the TECHOs factory in Colombia? Click here