Since the 1940s, the 'popular city' of Lima has been built progressively and in a self-managed manner. Here, historically, women have made important contributions to ‘barrio’ care through grassroots organizations, but their roles have been made invisible.

Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted problems that were already present: substandard housing, lack of public space and care services. In addition, the health and economic crisis triggered a food crisis. This is where the importance of the ‘Popular Kitchens’ and the ‘Common Pots’ became visible, the latter resurfacing in this context of emergency with hardly any resources. Both organizations of mutual support, affection and shelter, are led by women who, on a voluntary basis, prepare and serve food at low cost, ensuring food security for families. Despite their relevance, few efforts have been made to provide significant and comprehensive support to these organizations.

The project ‘Barrios que Cuidan’ was born at the end of 2020, identifying and promoting a barrio care network where the role of women is made visible, valued and strengthened and allows the consolidation of their facilities and public spaces within an integral vision of the territory. It is proposed, as a pilot, to evolve the model of the ‘Common Pots’ to ‘Productive Kitchens’ where women, in addition to cooking, can learn and practice trades, in a space of cohesion and community decision making, becoming catalytic places for the barrio.

Caring is an essential act for life, regardless of gender and age. 'Barrios que Cuidan' proposes a change of urban paradigm from the periphery of the city, which can be replicated in different areas whose realities are shared by thousands of families.

The proposal is a process: the ‘Common Pot’ is the emergency response that gives way to the collective over the individual, assuming food as a problem for everyone. The ‘Popular Kitchen’ is the response of recovery where the service is dignified within a collective equipment. The ‘Productive Kitchen’ is proposed as the response of transformation because here the role of women in barrio care is valued and promoted and tools are sought to achieve sustainability. 

This evolution of the model will generate that the space goes beyond food survival and mutual support and points towards the future, where women (migrants, low-income and low educational levels, single mothers, etc.) can also be trained and strengthen their capacities: following training cycles to improve their food service; psychological support to improve their self-esteem and leadership skills; trade courses that provide them with tools to enter the labor market. 

Three quantifiable lines are proposed for this care equipment: maintenance of the infrastructure, measurable with the generation of sufficient income to cover the required expenses; reinforcement of the organization, with an increase in the number of members and thus the number of daily rations; and emotional strengthening, with more women exercising leadership roles in the barrio.

The ongoing process is supported by shared responsibilities where the different actors that make up the team, from their experiences and in a horizontal manner, have been proposing activities and strategic meetings to give continuity to the project and add new approaches and allies.  

The neighbors and leaders of the ‘Señor de los Milagros Barrio’ in Independencia, who are notoriously involved in the improvement of their neighborhood, together with the organized women of the ‘Common Pot’, have been providing the necessary spaces and attendance for the workshops and meetings organized. 

The Anticovid-19 Independencia Community Committee, made up of social leaders, assumes a bridging role between the barrio organizations and the Municipality, working on the promotion of integral health. 

The architects and sociologists of 'Espacio Común', an expert association in urban transformation and participatory processes in the popular city, joins in 2020 from the territorial approach to the work that the Committee had been doing in the ‘barrio’. 

In 2021, the link with Señor de los Milagros was made through a participatory process with the community that allowed to establish networks of trust and set common objectives. Thus, the transformation of the barrio's ‘Common Pot’ was considered a priority.

Since this year, the project has been part of the 'Valora Nuestro Barrio' initiative of the College of Architects of Peru, which seeks to link construction companies to social improvement projects in order to obtain the necessary materials and tools.

Brochure Barrios que Cuidan
Video Barrios que Cuidan