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Red Feather
Organization description:Founded in 1995 as an organization devoted to housing the homeless and elderly American Indian population, Red Feather now takes a more holistic approach to its home construction activities. Beginning in 1998, Red Feather implemented the American Indian Sustainable Housing Initiative to incorporate sustainable construction methods with hands-on training for tribal members. Red Feather identifies interested tribal trades people who want to learn straw bale construction themselves as one solution to the dire need for affordable housing. Today, our approach includes strategic planning with tribal housing authorities, financial literacy training, sustainable construction methods training, design assistance, pre-and post-construction homebuyer education, and straw bale home construction. In late 2002, Red Feather evaluated the effectiveness of the Initiative. We had hoped that through our home building projects and straw bale construction seminars that construction skills would be transferred and tribal members would begin to replicate the process, building straw bale homes for themselves. What we found was that the idea was very popular; communities even planned whole developments around straw bale construction, but implementation was not occurring. Red Feather Executive Director Robert Young summarized that evaluation, "Our efforts have made us keenly aware that infrequent, random acts of intervention will not achieve the results we seek and what is so desperately needed on the reservations. In order to achieve real systemic change, we must limit the scope of our program and employ a sustained, focused effort within designated reservation communities." Therefore, in 2003, Red Feather increased its capacity and laid the groundwork for long-term focused housing strategies within particular reservation communities. We have initiated community meetings and financial literacy seminars in Busby, Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Montana, and have begun the same process in Hotevilla, Hopi Reservation, Arizona, commencing with this April’s model straw bale home for a Hopi tribal elder. With two certified homeownership counselors on staff, Red Feather can now counsel potential homebuyers through the entire process including repairing credit, budgeting, exploring mortgage options, applying for a home loan, training homebuyers on construction methods, building the home and protecting that investment. Only after individuals and home sites are identified can Red Feather begin the work that has become synonymous with its name: affordable straw bale home construction. Contact:Holly Zadra, Development Director Red Feather Development Group PO Box907 Bozeman,MT59771-0907 Office: 406-585-7188 Fax: 406-585-7187 holly@redfeather.org |
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