Join us at The Silco Theatre on Wednesday, August 14th at 6pm for this screening of “A Decent Home,” about the social cohesion as well as radical economic vulnerability of homeowners who live in manufactured housing communities. They own their homes, but not the land underneath them and many of them didn’t see it coming when these communities found themselves getting snapped up by private equity investors.
Join us for a discussion afterwards with advocates, stakeholders and policy makers who have learned about the polycrisis in these communities and about the shared-equity solution that is catching on around the country.
Crooked Forest Institute recently received a $200,000 grant from the Tides Foundation. Crooked Forest Institute is a Silver City-based 501c3 non-profit organization that is focussing on building affordable housing on a local Community Land Trust. The Tides Foundation envisions a world of shared prosperity and social justice founded on equality and human rights, sustainable environment, quality education, and healthy individuals and communities. Since 1976, Tides has partnered with innovative organizations to accelerate the pace of social change and solve society’s toughest problems. Crooked Forest Institute is proud to have been selected as an organization that contributes to that legacy.
With the generous support in the form of this substantial unrestricted grant, Crooked Forest Institute plans to finalize the purchase of 32 acres for their education campus in Grant Count, NM, to establish a solid fiscal foundation for their future programs and to develop the capacity to have a meaningful positive impact on the creation of healthy and affordable neighborhoods in Grant County.
Crooked Forest Institute was established in 2022 with five educational priorities; Non-Toxic Living, Local Economy, Adobe Construction, Shared-Equity Land Ownership and Ecological Restoration. Their intention is to help to establish a local Community Land Trust (CLT) that is designed to provide safe, affordable housing in perpetuity for the benefit of the community. Once this CLT is established, Crooked Forest Institute intends to become a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) that builds multiple neighborhoods on the CLT for low-income residents who earn between 30% and 80% of the local average median income (AMI) which is about $15,000 to $40,000 annual income in Grant County.
Their pilot project is their “resiliency neighborhood,” which is designed to share the most affordable utilities infrastructure; that of an RV park. They want to build 10-site RV park infrastructure with water, septic/sewer, electrical and internet, and then build 400 square foot adobe homes–instead of RVs– at each site. This type of neighborhood is not currently permissible in Grant County under the current land use codes, but their hope is that it will be, once they request a “workforce housing” variance. This type of variance, allowing permanent structures to be built at RV park sites, has been passed in two other counties in New Mexico.
They contend that these small homes will be healthier, more affordable and much longer lived than the manufactured housing solutions that often wear out before the mortgage is paid off. If these ten-home neighborhoods are built on a Community Land Trust, the small homes will be buyable, sellable and inheritable and will offer a way for low income residents to accrue equity instead of paying high rents for substandard housing. Homes that are located on Community Land Trusts are deed-restricted, which means they can be bought at below market rate, but the buyer must agree to sell it to another low-income family in order for the neighborhood to stay affordable housing in perpetuity.
Community Land Trusts, a shared-equity model of land ownership, first gained popularity during the civil rights era, as vehicles for consumer protection and social justice among disenfranchised populations. They have proven to be a reliable foundation for perpetually affordable housing efforts in 225 cities and towns around the US. During the housing crisis following the 2008 financial meltdown, homes in Community Land Trusts were ten times less likely to end up in foreclosure.
Crooked Forest Institute focuses on the historical tradition of building with adobe bricks and compressed earth blocks because, says Holly Noonan, their Executive Director, “This is anti-inflammatory, probiotic housing.” Noonan, a social worker, became severely ill in New England due to multiple chemical sensitivity and discovered the long history of chemically sensitive people healing in adobe homes. “These small homes are what I needed myself 8 years ago.” Due to the indoor air quality issues in modern buildings that are made out of OSB, paint, adhesives and caulking, small adobe homes are ideal for about 25% of the population who are health-challenged by the ubiquity of modern chemicals.
Like Community Rebuilds, in Moab, Utah, Crooked Forest Institute intends to build houses on a CLT using a community-building model. This means their students and volunteers who contribute labor hours on each build get a free education while they are lowering labor costs for each homeowner.
The $200,000 grant will be dedicated to furthering Crooked Forest’s mission by securing the location of their 32-acre education campus, searching for matching grants, developing the messaging of their vision, articulating both landscape and architectural design plans, establishing a Community Land Trust and applying for the land use variance that will be needed to realize their vision.
Thanks everyone for showing up in person today! It was quite a crowd. Here is the recording of the presentation, which mostly features our slide deck and our voices.
If you came to the presentation, feel free to leave feedback or questions here.
If you are not able to join us in person, Zoom is an option, but the original link they published won’t work. Here is the new link that will work:
Western Institute for Lifelong Learning is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: A WILL Lunch & Learn Event / A Crooked Forest Institute Zoom Presentation Time: Wednesday, Jul 10, 2024 11:45 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
**ALSO** I had posted the incorrect time for our upcoming presentation at the UU church on August 4th. It will be from 10am to 11am, followed by coffee and conversation. We will send out a reminder before that event.
Affordable housing is hard to find. The Crooked Forest Institute, a local 501(c)3, is focused on becoming a Community Housing Development Organization in order to build multiple affordable housing neighborhoods on shared-equity land like a Community Land Trust.
The Western Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL) invites you to a Lunch and Learn community education program to be presented by Crooked Forest Institute, on July 10, 2024. The presenters will be Holly Noonan and Joseph Kennedy, both board members of Crooked Forest Institute. The title of their presentation is “The Crooked Forest Project; Disability-Forward Design and Elder Housing in Grant County.”
Noonan says that the Institute has found land locally that they are hoping will become the location of their education campus. The institute, she added, will first establish an adobe brick production facility there and will use the construction of the first neighborhood on their land to train the tradespeople who will later build dwellings on the Community Land Trust. Their intention is to request a special workforce housing ordinance that would allow them to build ten 400 square foot homes at RV park infrastructure on a Community Land Trust.
The institute hopes to inspire local stakeholders to join in establishing a separate 501(c)3 Community Land Trust entity and build it into a membership organization that can receive land donations and bequests for the benefit of the community. Community Land Trusts have become important components of affordable housing developments all over the country because they have found a way to make housing perpetually affordable, by relying on deed-restricted housing sales. Homeowners can buy homes that are much more affordable than market rate homes, and they accrue equity, but when they sell, they agree to sell to another low-income family.
Noonan, who has a master’s degree in social work, experienced homelessness as a result of multiple chemical sensitivities. “That’s why our housing designs are non-toxic. They are built of adobe bricks or compressed earth blocks because everyone’s health benefits from having fewer chemicals in their indoor environment. They will also feature ramps and handles for residents to age comfortably in place.”
The presentation will be held in the ABC room of the Besse-Forward Global Resource Center on the WNMU campus from 12:00 through 1:30. It’s free to the public and membership in WILL is not required to attend. The Global Resource Center is located at the corner of 12th and Kentucky streets.
Couldn’t make it to the Crooked Forest Workshop at the Tranquil Buzz on Friday, June 21st? Here’s the recording of the Regenerative Rural Resilience: Leveraging Community Power for Economic Transformation workshop so you can take it with you. This workshop focuses on the Economic aspects of the Crooked Forest vision.
In this workshop, Joe Kennedy and Holly Noonan engage the audience to discuss the Problem we are solving for, the Process we should use to solve for it, the Solutions that are already working around the world and the Partners that Crooked Forest would like to work with or is already working with. Join us!
Join the Co-hosts Susan GoLightly and Renee Provencio of “Gender Trouble,” a program on Gila Mimbres Community Radio, as they interview Holly Noonan and Jade Sawyer of Crooked Forest Institute. Join us as we explore the questions of “What exactly is Environmental Illness?” and “Why are women disproportionately affected by it?” and “How is the Crooked Forest Institute working on housing options for this demographic?” Also, how can the extreme experiences of the environmental refugees who become hypersensitive to the chemicals in modern society be a harbinger that can keep all the rest of society safer and healthier?
Join us tomorrow at the Tranquil Buzz from 12 to 2pm for our workshop entitled: Regenerative Rural Resilience: Leveraging Community Power for Transformational Change.
We’ll be focusing on the economic aspects of our Mission, including prioritizing the Wellbeing Economy , and how we can use the Community Land Trust that we are starting to help catalyze local Affordable Housing neighborhoods. Join us!
Upcoming Events Summer2024
June 21st— 12 noon to 2pm—At The Tranquil Buzz in Silver City, NM— 300 N. Arizona Street, Silver City, NM —Regenerative Rural Resilience: Leveraging Community Power for Transformational Change.
July 10th— 12 noon to 1:15pm —Western Institute for Lifelong Learning— WNMU Besse-Forward Global Resource Center ABC Room (at the corner of 12th and Kentucky) — The Crooked Forest Project, Disablility-Forward Design and Elder Housing.
August 4th— 10am — at the UU Fellowship Hall at 3845 N. Swan St. in Silver City— The Crooked Forest Project and the 5 Program Priorities; Non-Toxic Living, Local Economy, Adobe Construction, Shared-Equity Land Ownership and Ecological Restoration.
August 14th— 6pm to 8pm— at The Silco Theater 311 N Bullard St, Silver City, NM—A Screening of A Decent Home— a documentary about social and economic inequities in the United States focusing on mobile home parks, the injustices faced by park residents today, and one shared-equity solution. Followed by a Q & A.
Bob Estrin is an architect, builder, teacher and life long student. In 2020, he founded the School of Constructive Arts (SCA), a laboratory for the experimental study of holistic, healthy, and affordable methods of building and living in dry lands environments. SCA seeks to integrate ancient approaches with modern technology to derive new models for the current ecological, social, and housing crises. The son of a builder, Bob worked in conventional construction in Florida before moving to New York to study architecture at the Cooper Union. His thesis research on ancient uses of natural energy and natural materials led him to travel to North Africa.
Join us for this wide ranging conversation that touches on deep human history, what it means to be “regenerative” and how to understand the causes and potential solutions to the current housing crisis in America.
We hope to see you at the live event this coming Saturday at the Maker’s Market off Bullard Street in downtown Silver City between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday May 4th.
This extraordinary event will be hosting 65 local nonprofits who are all offering some kind of fun activity for kids and adults. It’s a festival of fun and giving! 🎉
Stop by our booth across from Adobe Springs Cafe to catch up with us about the latest developments. We will have non-toxic Play-Doh for building colorful Adobe tiny houses!
This is the 11th year the Grant County Community Foundation has organized this event to benefit the community. It represents the largest giving day in all of southern New Mexico.
And while the live event offers an opportunity for community residents to meet and get to know all of the nonprofits that are investing in our community, online giving is already live! The platform receives donations for all these nonprofits from April 20th to May 20th. When we hit $500, that unlocks a matching $500!
And stay tuned! Crooked Forest Institute is about to launch a capital campaign to raise money so that we can acquire a specific 28 acre property to become our Affordable Housing Education Campus.
Give a little, give a lot, give local, give Grandly!
Crooked Forest Institute 