off to build

Well, I had an idea that I would finally post about our garden this past week, but time flies, and now I'm off to Hopi land to help build a house! Better yet, I'm helping to build a straw bale house! Most of you have heard about it from me already, but I'm volunteering with Red Feather Development Group, which is a great group of people doing great things to help American Indian nations have adequate housing. More than just providing a hand-out, they are helping to educate these communities to continue to build houses for themselves in the future. I can never quite capture in my own words what Red Feather is about, so I'll let you read their words for yourself:

Red Feather's approach neither begins nor ends with constructing an affordable house. Prior to any project, Red Feather staff conducts informational and educational seminars on the reservation to educate tribal members about sustainable, straw bale construction techniques and community planning. In addition, Red Feather assists tribal members with the complicated mortgage process and collaborates with tribal housing authorities to facilitate individual homeownership. Once a project is complete, there is ongoing collaboration between tribal homeowners, tribal housing authorities and Red Feather, as each home or facility serves as an example for the rest of the reservation community of how to create a beautiful, super-insulated, affordable straw bale home.

This will be my third year in a row volunteering with this group and I'm very excited about these upcoming two weeks. Although the goal is to provide something for a family in need, I always seem to come away with great things: I meet great people, I learn SO much about building and construction by doing it hands-on, and I get to experience more of the Hopi traditions which are so fascinating.

From Red Feather Build

This picture is from last year's build. I took it at the end of the first week, which Ryan and I attended. So, although each house is somewhat unique, when I arrive in Bacavi tomorrow, this will be about what stage the house is at. Amazing what a group of volunteers can accomplish in a week, better yet, a whole house in just a month.
I'll be back in town in two weeks. Maybe Ryan can fill in for me while I'm gone.