Carrie Franzwa
Lebanon, OR
In 2013, at age 61, my handicapped husband of 30+ years was effectively shut out of the job market. Facing the foreclosure of our home, with no conventional hope for economic rebound, necessity became the mother of invention.
Today, I am working in a volunteer capacity to establish a debt-free cooperative housing model to address the low-income housing crisis in our region of Oregon. My/our pilot project, called the Flying Duke Cooperative (FDC), is pioneering an owner-builder model where groups of 10 to 20 disadvantaged households can earn and build their own debt-free earth-bag homes.
Members will be land co-owners, and home owner-builders. We will collaboratively develop our raw rural acreage into 1-acre homesites, sell off a portion of the homesites to pay for the remaining land outright, then each member will be able to build an earth-bag home of their own on an assigned debt-free 1-acre “share.”
Our FDC members (six so far) represent the handicapped and disabled, wounded warriors, single parents, survivors of violence, the working homeless, ethnically disadvantaged, low-income seniors and the working poor. We are structuring our project so that others can easily duplicate it anywhere in the country, but most especially in our own community.
Eventually our hope is to pre-empt housing insecurity for upcoming generations by perpetuating our model among high-school teens. Debt-free home ownership by America’s youth would help to create greater family stability, and make college more affordable for those working entry-level jobs.
Recently at a public meeting, a beautiful single mom sat down unabashedly front and center. She smiled throughout the presentation, holding back the welling of joyful tears. You could tangibly feel her dreams coming true… at last. Her story is one of domestic violence, and suffice it to say, more than anything she simply wants economic and housing peace after a lifetime of struggle and insecurity.
Another member couple is currently homeless with their two small children due to multiple injuries suffered during military tours of duty. These two amazing survivors absolutely deserve the chance to achieve their dream of housing security.
Older workers like myself come with a wealth of self-assured drive and problem-solving skills that far outweigh any physical limitations that age may present. In essence, I’m on a mission to help end poverty right here where I live.