Earlier this year, Phala, Chariya and their four children moved into a climate-sensitive Habitat home they helped build Cambodia’s Battambang province. The look of their home is similar to others in the area — but the difference is in the details.

Adapted window design that increases ventilation. Polycarbonate walls that let in more light, with other materials that reduce interior heat by 80%. Larger water tanks in a rainwater catchment system for home gardening.

Over the next three years, Habitat Cambodia plans to build 15 additional climate-sensitive houses in the province. Each home will be adjusted to meet the family’s distinct needs and circumstances.

Additional features might include a biogas cookstove to reduce the use of household fuel, a twin pit toilet for eco-friendly waste management, or a micro-drip irrigation system that sends water directly to the roots of plants. Each feature is designed to work with nature, to improve the functionality of the structure, to reduce energy usage — and to help families thrive.

“There is more space for my children, and my family sleeps well every night,” says Chariya. “When we were living in the old house, I needed to get plastic sheets to cover things whenever it rained. Now there is no need to because the new house protects us well.”

Moving to environmental sustainability begins with incremental steps. That’s the thinking behind the latest project from the 20-plus-year partnership between Macon Area Habitat and Mercer University.

Taking a step toward a greener future together, the affiliate and students from the university’s engineering department worked with six homeowners to design and install solar photovoltaic systems on the roofs of their Habitat homes.

Mercer students focused on creating small-scale, easily installed and easily maintained systems that tie directly from the power grid to the home — without the need for a costly or complicated battery. This way, after the homeowners are trained on the system, they are equipped to maintain, and even add to it on their own.

Roughly 40 students completed the installations, offering them meaningful, hands-on experience in their field. Several more Habitat technicians were also trained on the installation process, providing Macon Area Habitat the in-house expertise to bring this technology to other community projects.

“Most people think you have to hire a specialized engineering or construction company to install solar panels or that you have to buy enough panels to provide all the power to your home up front, both of which would be a big cost,” says Dr. Michael MacCarthy, associate professor of environmental and civil engineering and director of the Engineering for Development program at Mercer. “In reality, any general handyman or common electrician can be trained to install solar panels, and any amount of panels can be installed. Even a few panels providing a small amount of power to offset energy usage can still make a big impact.”

MacCarthy expects the systems will produce enough energy to cover 80-100% of each home’s daily needs. Any extra energy produced by the panels will be transferred back to the state’s shared energy grid, earning the homeowners’ money from the power company.

“This project really has a triple benefit,” says Ivey Hall, executive director of Macon Area Habitat. “Our homeowners get access to a technology that has not always been accessible, and they see the cost savings on their energy bills — savings that they can invest in other areas of their lives. The students get the opportunity to fully put what they’re learning in the classroom into practice in the community and have that direct contact with our homeowners, their neighbors. And then, of course, it’s an investment in the long-term health of our environment.”

“I love that the students — young people who are going to be leading the work of sustainability in the future — are connecting their concepts to real examples, real people who they will continue to build connections as they monitor the results together over the next year,” Hall continues. “I’m excited to think about how the students will take with this experience with them after graduation and into their careers, reminding them of the importance and impact of always working to make innovative ideas and solutions accessible to everybody.”

Habitat for Humanity supporters have made a lasting difference in the lives of families in need of safe and affordable housing. Whether through a one-time or monthly gift or a long-term charitable giving plan, each donor is instrumental in helping families build or improve a place they call home.

Seven Habitat donors — Andy, Karen, Nitza, Don and Jena, and Joe and Linda of The Barrett Family Foundation — share why supporting Habitat is important to them and why they share our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Moses wasn’t sure he heard the voice on the other end of the phone correctly. “Excuse me, can you repeat that?” he remembers asking. The family services coordinator for Honolulu Habitat for Humanity laughed and repeated: “Welcome to the Habitat family.”

A U.S. Army National Guard veteran and father of four, Moses had dreamed of and worked toward this day for years. After his Habitat application was initially denied, Moses worked hard to improve his credit score and establish a better financial standing for his family. Part of his course of action was attending and absorbing the financial literacy seminars Habitat hosted in his community. “Every chance I had to go, I went — and I just kept on dreaming,” Moses says. “The staff would be like, ‘Haven’t you been here before?’ and I’d just say, ‘Yep! I’m just dreaming a dream — but I’m getting better at it!’”

A growing crisis

Despite his persistence, Moses’s dream of “having a better house than the one we were in” seemed always just out of reach. Situated on land that has been in his ohana – Hawaiian for family – for six generations, the 50-year-old two-bedroom home that Moses, his two sons and two daughters and, oftentimes, random friends and extended family shared was failing. “We had to use an umbrella inside during the rainy season, the stove didn’t work, most of the outlets were too old to use, the floor collapsed under the shower,” Moses says, listing off just some storm-ravaged home’s issues. 

While a new place was impossible to afford, it was also difficult to justify spending his limited income on the growing list of necessary, costly home repairs when more immediate needs were constantly popping up. “I have to make sure there’s food on the table, that the kids are clothed, that we have transportation,” says Moses. Even with two jobs, he has found it difficult to make ends meet here on Hawaii’s Oʻahu island, where the cost of living has soared.

All households in Hawaii are up against these extremely high housing costs — but not equally. Native Hawaiians face greater levels of disadvantage than other Hawaiian residents, according to a 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A history of systemic inequality within the economic, educational and social institutions of the U.S. has led to lower average education, higher unemployment and lower incomes among native populations, including in Hawaii. This disparity means the hurdles to affordable housing loom much larger — sometimes impossibly so — over Native Hawaiians compared to their non-Native counterparts.

And so, after years of struggling and exhausting available resources, when the acceptance call came from Honolulu Habitat and provided a pathway to affordable homeownership, Moses had a hard time believing it. “There are so many people in need. I was sure it was going to be the same sad song,” he says.

He was so sure that, initially, he thought he misheard it. By the second time, “Welcome to the Habitat family” was the only thing he could hear. Moses called the Habitat office back days later after the shock finally wore off to kindly ask them to repeat everything said after that opening line.

“I just remember seeing stars. I’m seeing glitter and gold, and I’m trying to grasp the reality that I just got accepted. I started crying tears of joy,” says Moses. “This is something that you have to strive and work for, but I tell you, it still felt like I won a super lottery.”

Building a legacy

Moses spent the next several months helping other families build their Habitat homes. Just like the financial literacy seminars, he jumped at the opportunity to attend build days at any and every opportunity — even after fulfilling his required hours. “The site supervisors were like, ‘Really? You’re here again? Aren’t you done?’” recalls Moses. “I told them ‘Nah, we’re not done yet.’ I found another mission: To help as much as I can when I can. God’s work ain’t done.”

By the time of his home dedication ceremony, Moses had helped four other families complete construction on their homes, in addition to his own. “After we unpack and get settled in, I plan on getting back out there to help the next family,” he says.

For now, he’s basking in the new peace and comfort that his safe and strong home provides. “We actually have a working kitchen that we can use. We can do laundry here instead of traveling 25 minutes to the expensive 24-hour laundromat. We can offer our guests a bathroom. My girls can shower in their own homes now. Before, we had to cram together; we were never apart. But in this house, we have our own rooms and space,” says Moses, the excitement building in his voice as he realizes just how fully the home will impact their day-to-day lives. “It will all be so much easier.”

One of the biggest changes, he says, is in the intangible. With the home situated on the same parcel of land where generations of his ancestors had lived, it represents a future that is firmly rooted in family and in place. “This home represents security. It’s a strong foundation for my kids to grow on,” says Moses. “Every part of this journey — from dream to reality — has been for them, for their futures. Now the legacy will live on.”

Photography courtesy of ©Howard Wolff Photography 2021.