Straw Bale Houses Get Grant

A straw bale house partially constructed by the Tierra Madre project

Tierra Madre, a project designed by low-income people to build a sustainable community near Sunland Park, received a $19,500 grant from the Self Development of People (SDPO) program of the Presbyterian Church (USA) last week.

The check from Sierra Blanca presbytery (the denomination’s regional office) was presented to Tierra Madre by Adrian Martinez and Larry Cooper, both of Las Cruces. Martinez, who works as constituent services representative for Senator Jeff Bingaman, is a member of the statewide SDOP committee and Larry Cooper is a member of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Sr. Jean Miller, a Roman Catholic religious (Sisters of Charity) and president of Tierra Madre, Inc. said "This Tierra Madre community has had so much moral, financial, and volunteer support from the wider community that it is making the vision a reality."

This vision includes an environmentally friendly community of 47 houses on 20 acres of raw desert land leased from the state of New Mexico. The infrastructure is now largely in place, built in such a way as to preserve the fragile desert system, leaving the vegetation in place. The houses are designed to be energy efficient and to make use of recycled materials. Straw bales make up much of the walls. Those who are to own the houses provide much of the labor for building them. The first houses were used to train workers. Now the first five houses in the development are well under construction.

Planning is also under way for the environmentally coordinated community garden, where members of the development will share both the labor and the produce. One recommendation is that the garden include a small nursery to grow and sell plants for xeriscaping.

Presbyterians and Roman Catholics have collaborated before in the county. Sunland Park Daycare, now a familiar Sunland Park institution, was started with Presbyterian funding, through SDOP and various sources, and is directed by Catholic layperson Anselma Nieto.

Self Development of People was started by the Presbyterians over 30 years ago as a way to give "seed-money" grants to communities of poor who generated a plan for their own economic development. SDOP grant proposals must be written by the low income people themselves, must show the project has a realistic budget and an organizing board, and ideally will have a ripple effect of creating higher levels of economic security and social justice in the community.

The SDOP program makes grants through both its state and national committees. Criteria and guidelines are available by writing to the Presbytery of Sierra Blanca, PO Box 1434, Roswell, NM 88202.

Further information about Tierra Madre can be found on the Internet at www.geocities.com/tmadre. The Presbytery has a web site at www.sierrablanca.org.

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Last update 2002-06-24 12:44:20