By Christinia Eala | Project Leader
In November, we held a one-day workshop in Fort Collins, CO, to demonstrate how efficient and low-cost housing, electricity and water systems can be designed, installed, and maintained for families who need them most and can least afford them. Our organization, Tiyospaye Winyan Maka collaborated with the Sustainable Living Association, Buckville Energy, and Engineers Without Borders Colorado State University Chapter.
The workshop focused on bringing together integrated off-grid solutions for the Fast Horse family of Wounded Knee, SD, enabling them to move off the grid to their own land—far from the mold-infested government housing—to build and maintain their own sustainable homestead and safe house on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The class designed sustainable solar, wind and water systems enabling Oglala Sioux family to build homestead on their ancestral land. The systems designed by the class will be installed by Tiyospaye Winyan Maka volunteers starting in 2015, and hands-on installation classes will be offered on the site.
The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the poorest regions in America with an average per capita income of under $6,500, 80% unemployment, and 49% of residents living below the Federal poverty level; 61% of those people are under the age of 18. Every aspect of life on Pine Ridge is affected, leading to substandard housing, unhealthy foods and eating habits, inadequate transportation, lack of childcare options, alcoholism, gang violence, and domestic abuse.
Tiyospaye Winyan Maka (translated “Extended family of women of the Earth”) is a nonprofit organization headed by Executive Director Christinia Eala to address these issues with inexpensive and sustainable solutions including efficient green building techniques, water catchment and purification systems, solar and wind electric systems, organic gardening and food preservation, local cottage industries, eco-tourism, and simple community classrooms where these ideas can be spread to others.
“We are a strong, beautiful people here with a proud history, who now live in third-world conditions inside one of the richest nations on Earth,” Eala said. “Our goal is to demonstrate to others in our community that with shared knowledge, experience and resources we can break out of this tragic legacy of two centuries of colonization together, and forge our own destinies on our ancestral lands.”
The Fast Horse family safe house is currently an emergency placement home for foster children, and Joe and Lena Fast Horse volunteer for the Tiyospaye Crisis Center. They currently have nine children under their guardianship.
We greatly appreciate your continuing support. It makes our work possible.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
