Julio and Florentina Ledesma Foundation, Inc. (JFLFI) is a 35-year old organization established by the Ledesma Group of Companies in 1974. It used to be a sugar research institution however the sugar crisis of the 1980’s prompted the institution to shift its focus to community development and other service delivery activities in 1985. Given the changes and demands of social development work in 1990’s, JFLFI is taking a new position of advocating and establishing an integrated community-based small enterprise with biases in community organizing under the framework of sustainable development and people empowerment. JFLFI envisions to “Establish permanent socio-economic community organizations with integrated economic projects and basic services operating in a healthy East Negros Environment.”

To realize such vision, JFLFI takes the role as a:

• Capacity Builder
• Cost-Effective Socialized Housing Developer
• Alternative Market Developer
• Resource Mobilizer
• Issue Advocate
• Appropriate Technology Disseminator

JFLFI implements development projects on institution development, training and consultancy, employment center, resource mobilization, fund assistance, low-cost and socialized housing development, special projects and anchored development enterprises. JFLFI’s partner clienteles include subsistence fishermen, marginal farmers/agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), upland farmers, urban poor, displaced sugar workers, indigent children, unemployed and underemployed professionals, women’s group, rural poor and unemployed youth.

Generally, the aforementioned programs have been implemented since 1974 and just recently, JFLFI has formulated a framework for its development priorities and considered shelter delivery in the areas of land tenure and social housing construction a priority. This shelter delivery program has been integrated into all of JFLFI’s development related programs through a Master Development Plan (MDP) involving health, agriculture and farming activities, coastal and fishing villages, and forestry conservation initiatives among small farmers, subsistence fishermen, urban poor dweller and marginalized women and youth groups utilizing community organizing and micro-finance strategies.

In 2005, the shelter delivery program has assisted a total of 45,000 families that are classified as multi-sevtoral poverty groups within the political boudary of the 1st District of Occidental Negros or “The San Carlos Corridor.”

The shelter delivery program is also a response to the Millenium Development Goals (MDG). Focusing on poverty reduction and environmental and land security for slum dwellers. Socialized housing packages have been developed to suffice the basic need of shelter for indigent Filipinos and the steadily increasing population. Housing has become a great concern for many families specially those deprived of decent homes from urban areas throughout the country.