In what is thought to be the first housing program of its kind brought to a tribal community, the Pueblo of Zuni in western New Mexico has broken ground on a series of homes financed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Self-Help Housing Program works like this: The USDA gives your community a grant to finance housing, delivers supplies to build a home, provides blueprints, then — with the help of technical volunteers — oversees community members building their own homes.
Terry Brunner is state director for rural development at the USDA. He says the program will help Zuni Pueblo continue growing.
"You've got a lot of traditional homes around the center of the pueblo, there was an old housing development that had been built a couple of decades ago, and people are looking for new homes," Brunner said. "And the Zuni Pueblo is very passionate about having people return to the pueblo, learn the language, become a part of the community, and part of the way you do that is make sure that there's good housing opportunities."
The pueblo expects to grow the development to around 150 homes in the coming years.
