http://www.thenavajotimes.com/news/100307green.php

Old ways may be today's green
Navajo 'green developers' look to tradition for inspiration

By Cindy Yurth
Navajo Times

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Oct. 4, 2007

What if the Diné got it right the first time?

"Before HUD," as Tony Skrelunas likes to say, Navajos lived in small,
energy-efficient homes built of local materials, spent most of their time
outside in the summer, and knew their neighbors - in fact, they were
probably related to them.

If the green communities movement had been around back then, Navajos could
have been its poster children.

"The traditional Navajo family was living very sustainably," said
Skrelunas, director of the Grand Canyon Trust's Native American Program and
a management team member of the new Navajo-owned development company Keya
Earth.

"Unfortunately," he said, "that all changed once the government started
moving them out of their hogans and into housing developments."

Keya Earth, based for now in Flagstaff but hoping to move onto the
reservation at some point, wants to return to those more earth-friendly
times - without sacrificing modern amenities.

"Our belief is that we can live sustainably but still have TV, still have
the Internet, still have those modern conveniences that make life more
comfortable," said Keya Earth founder Derrick Terry. "If I didn't believe
that, I wouldn't be doing this."

Keya Earth homes incorporate energy-efficient design, alternative energy
sources where possible, and local construction materials such as straw
bales from the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry or FlexCrete blocks
from the Navajo Housing Authority.

"If you don't dig straw or FlexCrete, there are ways to build a stick-built
house so it's very energy-efficient," Terry noted. "Our goal is to get
every Navajo into a home that they love, and watch people's self-esteem go
up."

A prototype home, Tloh Kin (Straw House), is going up in Window Rock and
the Keya principals say it will remain a work in progress, a trial ground
for experiments such as using wool from local sheep for insulation and
different types of wood.

"We're hoping we can eventually conduct training sessions out there," Terry
said - even if it means competing with themselves.

"People think it's out of their skill set to build a home," Terry said,
"but you can totally do it with a little bit of support, a little bit of
education."

The year-old firm started out with the idea of building individual homes,
but soon concluded that building communities was a much better way to make
a positive impact on both the planet and people's lives.

As Keya Earth President Gordon Isaac puts it, "It's all about community.
You can build houses, but where are those people going to work? Where are
they going to recreate? How are they going to relate to each other? Unless
you take all these things into consideration, you're not building a
community. You're building a bunch of houses."

While the fledgling company has been approached by people from the
Flagstaff area, they'd really like their first master-planned development
to be in Navajoland.

"We're Navajos," Terry said. "We see the need for beautiful,
energy-efficient, affordable houses on the reservation. We want to bring
our expertise home."

At the moment, they're working with Shonto Chapter on the possibility of a
master-planned development that might include housing, business space, a
recreational amenity such as a movie theater or bowling alley, and network
of walking and bike paths.

"What we really want is development driven by the community itself," Isaac
said. "What do the elders want? What do the children want? Unless the
community has input in every step of the process, you're not going to get
that feeling of ownership."

And how can people afford these homes? Keya Earth hopes to combine
investment capital with grants through the Native American Housing and
Self-Determination Act to come up with some creative financing, making
mortgages within the reach of the average Navajo family.

Sweat equity will play a big part.

"Everyone has those aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters who will drop
everything when a family member needs some help," Terry noted.

Not only will many hands make light work, but building a home together
draws families and community members closer, another goal of Keya.

Keya Earth hasn't yet approached the tribal housing authority, which
administers NAHASDA grants, but hopes to convince NHA that there's a big
advantage to working with a Navajo-owned development company that uses
Navajo materials and labor.

"The Navajo Nation gets about $90 million a year from NAHASDA," Skrelunas
pointed out. "Probably 90 percent of that goes right off the reservation."

And the Keya Earth guys aren't averse to making a buck themselves. In fact,
that's the idea.

"We could have done this as a nonprofit," Skrelunas said, "but there are
plenty of nonprofits out there doing this kind of thing. We want to prove
that we can draw investment capital to the reservation."

And make a good living in the process. Operations manager Dan Rosen said
Keya's goal is to be "a hundred-million-dollar company within five years."

"Next time you see us, we'll all be driving new SUVs," vowed Isaac -
hybrids, naturally.

Information: www.keyaearth.com.