Project info
- Location: Mozambique
- Year: 2018 - 2023
- Client:
- Size:
- Collaborators: Estamos
- Financing: CISU
- Project team: Johan Mottelson, Jørgen Eskemose, Anton Ryslinge
- Contact: Johan Mottelson
This pilot project took place in the Maxaquene D slum of 22,000 residents in Mozambique’s capital Maputo. The aim of the project was to test whether basic land rights could be secured for the area’s residents through local planning. The project was carried out in close collaboration with residents and authorities.
The project also aimed to inform residents about the dangers of lacking land rights, e.g., the risk of forced evictions and expropriation without compensation, as well as the process of obtaining legal land rights. In a sub-area with approximately 500 residents, we undertook the necessary local planning work that is a legal prerequisite for establishing formal land ownership and thus obtaining land rights. The project was planned as a precursor to a larger effort in the slums where many more residents can be reached. This larger effort has now been put into action in the Land Rights in Maputo #2 project.
The project focused on the root causes of slums and the low motivation to invest in small-scale housing improvements among residents. No buildings were constructed in this project.
DEVELOPMENT TARGETS
- To reduce poverty by creating the preconditions for improved housing, mainly by removing the risk for the resident’s investment in house upgrading.
- To prevent poverty and marginalization by securing residents without formal land rights the right to remain in their community and obtain proper compensation in the case of expropriation.
- To raise awareness and knowledge about the risk of not having formal land rights and how to obtain them in Maxaquene D.
