Habitat for Humanity Mission
In a world where more than 80% of the population lives in poverty, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to help provide affordable housing options in over 1400 communities around the world. With programs for new construction, home repair, and advocacy, Habitat is working with families in every feasible way to help them feel secure in their living situations.
Through Habitat’s new-construction program, families and members of the community come together to build each home. On-site, there are a handful of full-time staff and regular volunteers to ensure new volunteers have the proper training and guidance they need for various daily tasks. With this support, no one should feel they are lacking the experience necessary to get involved.
“Strong, stable homes help build strong, stable communities. A decent place to live removes barriers to success that might have been a part of a family’s life for generations.” – Habitat for Humanity
Submaterial at Habitat for Humanity 2018
Our team was excited to participate in this mission in the fall of 2018, as four of our staff spent the day at the Oshara Village build site in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our team worked on the roof-deck with other volunteers and members of AmeriCorps. Throughout the day, we learned how to secure trusses to the OSB decking at regular intervals with precision, and utilized a variety of tools for the job, including; chalk-lines, nail-pullers, circular saws, magnetic hammers, and more.
Submaterial at Habitat for Humanity 2019
In August of 2019, a larger group from our team spent seven hours on-site in Santa Fe building a home for a local family of four. Upon arrival, we saw the rain-washed concrete slab, which had many of us wondering how an entire single-story home would fit on such a small footprint. We were pleasantly surprised to witness the division of space happen as we put up the wood framing, and contrary to what we expected, the slab looked larger as the framing went up.
Our team of eleven was split into three groups; two groups were on framing and the other was responsible for accurately copying the architectural floor-plans onto the slab using blue chalk (you can call those blueprints!).
We were able to secure about 80% of the framing to the slab and completely finished copying the plans to the concrete.
Although our team is a group of craftspeople who are accustomed to the art of making, many of us had no experience on a construction site. We had so much fun, each team member expressed the intention to return in the near future.
Veterans Off Grid
Veterans Off-Grid is a non-profit organization we learned about while on-site last week. Founder Ryan Timmermans was there picking through the material Habitat is unable to utilize in the home-building process. Veterans Off-Grid focuses on providing work and housing for veterans in order to help them reintegrate into society.
“We are an off-the-grid community living in Earthship-inspired homes thriving without utility bills, mortgages, and roaring bureaucracy. We enjoy the quiet bliss of the Rocky Mountains along the Rio Grande and strive to minimize our impact to the environment.”
This organization also accepts volunteer help and can provide you with knowledge of sustainable housing practices. Our team plans on taking a trip to Carson, NM in the next few months to help support their mission and also grow together as a team. Learn more about joining their volunteer network here.
