In Detroit, Michigan, Shamayim “Mama Shu” Harris had a dream. That dream was to create a sustainable eco-village in the heart of her Highland Park neighborhood.
“I converted my neighborhood from blight to beauty,” said Harris. Another part of that dream was a main building to handle things.
Nationally syndicated TV host Ellen DeGeneres made a promise to Mama Shu last year to help, and earlier this week she delivered.
According to Deadline Detroit, DeGeneres made good on that promise and delivered a $100,000 prefab home to Harris.
Mama Shu stood on her porch and watched as the home, wrapped in white plastic, was hoisted from a flatbed onto the property across the street. Prefab home company Cocoon9 teamed with DeGeneres to make the donation.
“You know how cities have like a city hall?” asked Harris. “Well, that’s how I feel about this house. This is like the main building where we’ll handle all of our business and everything. It is really a blessing.”
Harris says that the vision for the village came to her after the death of her son, Jakobi Ra, in 2007. He was 2 years old when a hit-and-run driver struck him while crossing the street.
She wanted to do something to turn the blight all around her into beauty, so she purchased a rundown house on Avalon Street for $3,000 and created a park in the lot next door in her son’s name.
“I thought maybe we could put all of this in one block, and basically to respect and honor the things that I think as citizens we deserve, too, to have,” said Harris.
“A library, a Homework House, a cafe, somewhere where you can get fresh fruits and vegetables from, things like that. And streetlights! Avalon Village has the very first solar street lights here.”
It’s Not What Many Think…
MHProNews and MHLivingNews have covered the case for manufactured housing as a viable solution to hope for the American Dream of home ownership at a reasonable price extensively, including Bloomberg making a statement to the same effect.
Power players such as former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee see the value of manufactured housing, along with a number of millionaires, as covered in an MHLivingNews feature linked here.
“Imagine engineered homes, that meet or exceed strict federal safety, energy and performance standards, built to the nation’s only preemptive code for permanent homes,” said Daily Business News Publisher L.A. “Tony” Kovach.
“By using the same proven systems that keep costs down on cars, smartphones, clothing or other produced products, you save on labor, time, have about 30% less waste, can buy in bulk and thus save money.”
“And the U.S. Census Bureau and Government Accountability Office state our homes are about half the cost of conventional construction,” he added. ##
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Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
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