Engineering students at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado have built modest modular homes for the Navajo Reservation for nearly 20 years. The materials are purchased by the Southwest Indian Foundation, sergeants oversee the labor of the cadets who build the homes from the ground up, using mostly hand tools, over a three-week period. Lieutenants do the instruction, as gazette tells MHProNews. “Nowadays, we see a lot of folks who have never swung a hammer,” Lt. Col. Chris Senseney said.

This particular house is significant to junior cadet Matthew Hale—he was raised on the reservation, and has spent two weeks explaining the significance of the house to his fellow students. One module has a small bedroom and living room and next to it is the “wet” half that contain a bath and kitchen. The two units are trucked to the Four Corners Region Reservation.

Noting its a cultural thing, Hale said eight-sided homes, or hogans, were for families, while four-sided homes were for single men. For him, the project allows him to teach while he learns. Few of his classmates understand the rich culture of the Navajos or the terrible poverty that pervades the nation’s Four Corners region reservation.

“It’s more fulfilling for me,” Hale said as he worked on a door frame. “I’m able to share why it means so much to us.” ##

Photo credit: The Gazette/Mark Reis–Air Force cadets building modular home for Navajo Reservation)

Article submitted by Matthew J Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.