Economic Growth United States Project #9854

6 Safe, Eco-Friendly Homes for Pine Ridge Lakota

by Altai Mir University

6 Safe, Eco-Friendly Homes for Pine Ridge Lakota

Project Report | Apr 26, 2016
Summer 2016 on Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation

By Carol Hiltner | President, Altai Mir University

Walipini that we will finish this summer

For several years, our Lakota partner organization Tiyospaye Winyan Maka has been working on a partnership with Engineers Without Borders/Colorado State University Chapter, and the Community Engineering Corps in Fort Collins. On On February 11th, we met at CSU for a "Domestic Project Kick-Off."

As I have written in earlier reports, all the materials (including a car), physical infrastructure, and supplies for Tiyospaye Winyan Maka's housing project were stolen a year ago. Our project leader Christinia Eala forged onward, despite recent triple-bypass heart surgery, to form a strategic alliance with Bryan Deans of the Oglala Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Inititative, better known as (O.L.C.E.R.I.), whose shares our objective of safe, sustainable housing (plus construction skills for Lakota youths).

Bryan's vision is to create a community center for the nine communities in the Slim Buttes area. In addition to a gathering place for community events, there will also be various workshops on permaculture design, organic gardening techniques, solar power and wind generation, and alternative building methods using repurposed items and materials found discarded around the reservation.

The conceptual design and work of the Community Center will be done with EWB/CSU and will take a period of at least three years to complete. It will include:

Meeting Room
Kitchen
Restrooms
2 Offices
6-8 Bedrooms

For the build season, June through early October, 2016, the work of TWM will be forward work to establish the campground for International and Domestic volunteers. Our plan is to install an earthen (adobe) floor in the outdoor kitchen, repair, reinforce, refinish the roof, and work on the enclosure sides, build a minimum of two outdoor loos, and two solar showers. We will help with fundraising to buy the material to complete the walipini (greenhouse), which is underground and can grow fresh vegetables and herbs year round.

We expect that this will enable us to rebuild a secure and necessary foundation from which to continue with the core objective of building safe, sustainable housing on Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

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