Building Homes
in Moab, Utah
From 110-degree desert heat to 15 degree winter nights, I spent five months learning to build strawbale homes for two massively deserving families. These are affordable homes for people of lower-income. An experience I'll never forget and a connection to the Earth I may never again feel.
In July 2018, I took a trip out to Moab, Utah to participate in a program that teaches people how to build sustainable strawbale homes from foundation to finish. I learned every part of home building along with how the affordable housing crisis is affecting so many people, especially in places where tourism reigns supreme. The homes I took part in building were ones that any person would be proud to live in, they are stylish, affordable, sustainable, energy neutral or better, and when you were inside of them you almost felt more alive. I miss being out in the desert every day, it was always refreshing
This experience in Moab shaped a lot of what I believe about work today. I think in our society we expect workers to expend all of their energy in service to their labor. When building these two homes over the course of 5 months it was really drilled into me how important mental health and physical wellness are when it comes to your work. I went to work every day because I wanted to; it was for something positive and beautiful. If there was ever a day when I was injured in any way or my mental health was not in check that was ok, because the work was being done and I could take a break. We were there in service of the two families we were building the homes for and they appreciated that. Obviously, this gives the perception that the work we performed was easy and not stressful, but it was quite the opposite. We worked extremely hard every day under deadlines and the hot sun doing manual labor. So while I went home every day drained and ready for bed before the sun had set, I was excited for the next day because the work I was performing was satisfying and I was being treated well.
I will be forever Community Rebuilds for this opportunity. I learned so many things every day that went by and became more passionate about the environment as a result. I hope to one day return to Moab to continue their work or to help expand it elsewhere because the feeling of being in a strawbale home was like none I have experienced anywhere else. This experience helped me form a lot of new perspectives on poverty, living an inexpensive and sustainable lifestyle, and gave great life experience for every aspect of my life. I would do it over again if I could. For more information about the program (anyone can participate, so long as you can get to Moab) visit Community Rebuild's Website.
