Founded in 1980, The Institute for Urban Development Cenca assists populations in situations of dire poverty or precariousness in developing economic activity and becoming active collectively, through farmers’ cooperatives, residents’ associations etc., and able to assert their demands and proposals in front of public powers. Cenca also works with municipalities to improve the institutional (local legislation), socio-economic and physical (infrastructures and equipment) environments of the populaces and to unify democracy in the local area. Cenca’s engagement includes several initiatives: training, access to micro credit, technical assistance, organisation, etc.

Birth of a Partnership
In the mid-1990s a wave of privatisation creates unemployment among thousands of manual labourers. These populations, primarily rural, are also impacted by the negative effects of centralization, which concentrates goods and services on region capitals, as well as by the limited education of local authorities on the subject of development, the lack of decent work or training, and their geographical isolation. Because of this communities live poorly off their own labouring of the land and receive little and usually no assistance. Local counsel and government have very few means of reinvigorating local development.

With this in mind Frères des Hommes joins with Cenca in 1993, to aid the poor rural populations through the creation of a multi- service site designed to help small business entrepreneurs (taxi-cycles, hand-made goods production, travelling sales…). Practical and technical training on business management, negotiation, bulk material purchasing, product quality, social structures is offered. 2 200 small businesses are created and organised into associations improving the living conditions of 22 thousand persons.

In 2004, with Adec-ATC and Edaprospo, two other Peruvian partners of Frères des Homme, Cenca commits to a project concentrated on the local development of the department of Junin, culminating in 2007.