Bluffing it.

So here I am reporting from Bluff. Most of you know but for those of who don't I will fill you in on the latest happenings. So as part of my education the architecture school has a program called Design Build Bluff, basically the students design a house and then build it on the Navajo reservation near the four corners. While we are undertaking this we live in a southern Utah town, Bluff. The founder of DBB is Hank Louis and they have purchased a house and all the students stay here during the build....yeah kinda scary! So we are here for two weeks at a time with a week off in between.

So I just arrived yesterday with my buddy Kristen. We drove down a day early to get the house in order before everyone arrived. We are actually schedule to build two prefab houses...meaning we will construct them here on our property in Buff and then transport them to the site where we will crane them into place. People always ask me...so who does all the work? Well the students do everything! We will do the foundations, design the structural system, put every screw in, etc. Its going to get rough but we are all pretty hard workers and they have been doing it this way for eight years so we are all pretty excited to get our shot at it.

The whole reason I'm doing this is because this is the future I see for my career. I would love to work for a non-profit company doing social projects for the community. I believe in the power of architecture and its not just for the rich folk. So here I am excited as ever. The two families are very different. The first one is a family of 6, parents and 4 little girls under the age of 6. They live in Navajo property that is immediately adjacent to Blanding, Utah called West Water. This whole thing is an interesting situation. They have no water or electricity and the city of Blanding has qualms about providing it seeing as they pay no taxes. So these 20 or so families are living in trash-filled, waterless hill overlooking the nice little town of Blanding. Angie and Tyrone are the parents names and they just moved from a one room wood shack to a crappy trailer. The other family is actually currently living in Salt Lake City, they are both about to graduate with doctorate degrees in education and the wife is Navajo. She has a plot of land near her family and they want to move back to take over and run the high school. So while this family isn't living in a small shack or mud hogan like most families they have a lot to contribute to the community.

I just feel so grateful to be a part of this program. It is experiences and sacrifices like this that make the world just a little bit better. What we are looking into at this point is by doing the prefab idea we can construct cheaply and sustainably (most the stuff we use is found scraps or donated scraps) and quickly. Therefore, we could get the Navajo Housing Authority to purchase these cheap homes for their people who are all pretty much in need. It is like entering a third world down there. People live in dirt. Everyday I wake up I am grateful for the wonderful life I have and all the opportunities that have been graciously given to me. I tear up when I see these families...no one should have to live like that, especially in this country.

So today I woke up early to get to church here. Its the Bluff branch and I would say there were roughly 30 people total. It was amazing the Spirit I felt there. Its nice to be in a place where people are so laid back and all the matters is the Gospel. In relief society there were only 6 sisters all of which were Navajo. I was glad to be there and at one point I had to explain the difference between a sin and a transgression, plus they asked me to pray. I think I'm going to be teaching before too long. But all the people I met were the most gracious, unpretentious human beings.

Of course I miss Marc. If I wasn't with Kristen I may have cried the whole way down. But we have been skyping so its been easier, plus he is just excited I get to have this experience and give a little back to the world. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the houses as best I can its going to get very busy. This week we will be primarily nailing down the designs. But you can also check out the house status HERE. Currently what you will find here is Colorado University's house that they just completed on the Rez we haven't posted anything yet.