Barrio Sonja is a new project in Carita Feliz. Based on support from Sonja and Eigild Christensen in Ålborg, Denmark, Carita Feliz will build a new barrio or district of Granada.

Barrio Sonja will at first consist of 100 houses that will be made available to families with low incomes of about C$600-1000 per month ($35-$60). These families would normally be able to pay a third of their income in rent, which includes electricity and water. That is equivalent to $12-$20 per month, which is very little - even for Nicaragua.

Barrio Sonja is an experiment. Can we build a finished house for $250? Can we the financing for the barrio to work? Can we create an attractive environment, where there is security, development opportunities for children and adults, health services and jobs? Can we establish a barrio, where the individual family feels a responsibility to the community and not just for itself? Can we prevent it from filling up with trash?

We are building on the experience gained from Carita Feliz, where we know the people that will be given the opportunity to live in the new barrio. We won't just copy the way that low-income housing is built today around the world. We are trying to understand and meet the fundamental needs of the families and to use their and own fantasy to create something better - on their terms!

The process will take the following steps:

1. We will establish the fundamental needs of families by visiting them where they live today and will talk to them about what they would like to change.
2. We will find a suitable property that is affordable and where we can get the necessary permits from the city administrators to build a new barrio.
3. We will build one or more trial homes, where we can gauge the reactions of future inhabitants and also experiment with the cheapest form of construction.
4. We draw up the plans, build the barrio and establish an organisational structure that will manage the project with the inhabitants.
5. We fine-tune and improve the project as required and will build our experience so we can do this better next time.