Long-time Cotopaxi Foundation impact partner, New Story, pioneers solutions to end the global housing crisis by empowering families to become land and homeowners in thriving communities.

Access to land and housing is essential for breaking the cycles of poverty and inequality. When people lack control over land, it reinforces unfair social structures, deepens inequality, and perpetuates poverty (Oxfam, 2016). 

Their program—in partnership with local developer UR+PA—offers a sustainable solution by enabling low-income families to purchase affordable land, secure legal titles, and build homes that help them escape poverty and create generational wealth. Because of their work, families can now use land titles as collateral to take out a loan and construct safe homes, securing more stable futures for their children.

New Story addresses the housing crisis by creating an inclusive model to integrate low-income families, especially women, as active participants in the housing market. Unlike programs that treat symptoms of poverty, New Story’s approach tackles root causes by expanding access to land, affordable housing, and financial inclusion. Our program supports women’s empowerment, recognizes land ownership as a tool for building intergenerational wealth, and facilitates financial training to foster independence and security. This innovative model, utilizing local community members to create lasting change, has the potential to be scaled globally, offering a sustainable path out of poverty for low-income families (UN Habitat, 2021; World Economic Forum, 2022; World Bank, 2021).

One person New Story has helped gain access to land and housing is a woman named Esmeralda. 

Esmeralda is a single mom with a four-year-old son, and she’s been a stylist and a makeup artist in Etzatlán for nearly a decade. She’s always wanted to buy land and build a home, but her only financing options have been too expensive. So she rented. Her leases were only six-month cycles, which made her worry every few months. What she wanted most was security for her son and a place to pass down to him.

Esmeralda joined New Story’s program in 2022 after she heard from friends working with them in Etzatlán. She appreciated New Story’s transparent communication as soon as she opted into the program—she’d never seen anything like it before.

Esmeralda completed her lot and service payments in April 2024, and she’s now officially a landowner.

“I wish more people like me had financial education. People are intimidated, but it’s more possible than people think it is to own an asset,” she shared with us.

Esmeralda is now building her home with the help of an architect. She dreams of having a second floor for her growing family and a space for her to operate her styling and makeup business. But most of all, she wants a “comforting place where there’s joy and a shared love.”

“I hope home is a place where my son can learn from me, and I can learn from him. A place for us to feel safe.”

It’s stories like Esmeralda’s that drive our work here at Cotopaxi, and it wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of our amazing community.