The Sacred Earth Lodge is the newest edition to the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC), located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and headquarters of our Tribal Renewable Energy Program. This new building will be used as an educational center and dormitory for our ever-expanding renewable energy and green job training program for Native Americans. With high demand for our workshops, we are excited to add more classroom space, improved facilities and many more beds to RCREC.
On Native American Reservations of the U.S., home to our nation's First Peoples, poverty has crippled many communities. On the Pine Ridge Reservation, headquarters of our Tribal Renewable Energy Program, unemployment is as high as 85% and little opportunity exists for economic development, education, and job training. Native Americans are eager to learn skills for a new green economy and find jobs that positively benefit their communities.
The Sacred Earth Lodge will greatly expand our classroom and dormitory space for trainees who attend our renewable energy workshops. With a variety of classes available, such as solar and wind energy, sustainable building, and geothermal, trainees are able to gain the skills necessary for employment in the green job sector. Giving hundreds more students the opportunity to attend our workshops will increase opportunity for Native Americans seeking employment in the green job sector.
We have already come so far in the construction process: breaking ground in 2011, constructing the building, and installing insulation, plumbing, and electric. Now we need your help to finish! Completing the Sacred Earth Lodge will provide larger classroom space, a 23-bed dormitory, kitchen facilities, and a social area for trainees enrolled in our program. This increase in space will help us to train hundreds more Native Americans who are seeking jobs in the renewable energy sector.
