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Women take lead in upcoming Habitat build
The attendees who crowded into the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church in Warrenton this past Sunday for a Fauquier Habitat for Humanity (FHFH) meeting ranged from college students to retirees and prospective volunteers to long-time Habitat devotees, but they all shared one thing in common.
The 25 attendees were all women.
They had gathered to hear about FHFH's next “Women Build,” a Habitat for Humanity International program that “encourages women to grab hammers and saws” in an effort to eliminate poverty housing.
Fauquier's Women Build completed its first house, located off Academy Hill Road, in September 2005.
According to Katy Moore, the 2005 Women Build project coordinator at that time, about 100 women volunteered their time to the project, with half of those participating in the actual building process.
Since then, many of the 2005 volunteers have been itching to get their hands dirty again.
For prospective volunteers watching the Women Build video presented at the meeting, it was no wonder why. Clips from Women Build projects around the world showed women in hard hats talking, laughing, and sometimes singing in chorus as they tackled construction jobs typically reserved for men.
“Women Build is a different experience,” said former FHFH president Liz Howard, who compared her experience in the 2005 Women Build with that of co-ed builds. “We weren't each off doing our own thing, like it seemed in some of the other builds I've done. We were all working together.”
All the hard work shown in the video culminated in a Habitat homeowner, overwhelmed and sobbing with joy as she received the keys to her new house. While the women in the audience empathized, one woman, Tyanne Smith, could relate.
Smith, who spoke at the meeting, owns the 2005 Women Build home.
“Every Saturday, women came together to work on my home,” Smith said. “They were like a small family.”
Assuring anyone in doubt about women’s construction capabilities, she jokingly confirmed that her house was still standing.
According to FHFH Executive Director Jack Flikeid, the Women Build home was one of the most finely constructed homes FHFH volunteers have built. “It must be their attention to detail,” added construction coordinator Bob Baker.
This year's Women Build team has been assigned to construct a unit in one of the seven duplexes scheduled to be built in the Sterling Court Community off Academy Hill Road in Warrenton. The one complaint expressed by the volunteers, is that they can’t start soon enough.
Work on the infrastructure of the first duplex will begin in March, but construction on the homes isn't slated to get underway until July.
According to FHFH volunteer coordinator Aubree Silver, because each duplex will be built one at a time, and Women Build has been assigned the second duplex, they will probably not begin building until November,
Nonetheless, the volunteers will have their hands full. Between now and November, the women need to raise $75,000, usually a combination of monetary donations and supplies. Volunteers also signed up for fundraising, public relations, volunteer coordination, special events, and food service committees. Women's Build is looking for a new project coordinator.
In contrast to their male counterparts, women are rarely encouraged to learn construction skills. According to Habitat officials, women make up 50 percent of Habitat's international volunteer force, but because of a lack of training, they account for less than 15 percent of workers on a construction site.
This is why FHFH offers demonstrations at The Home Depot, as well as hands-on training sessions at the “Barn” at Lord Fairfax Community College. Because it is harder to find women who are trained in construction, male teachers are welcome.
“Women Build is more about including women than it is excluding men,” said Moore, whose father, Bill Mercer, will be providing the training, as well as overseeing the construction.
Because many women expressed such eager interest in getting started, Mercer threw out the possibility of doing a Women Blitz Build, in which volunteers put up a house within a matter of days, or embarking on smaller practice projects for novices, such as building a shed.
“It can be challenging when it’s everyone’s first time building, but working with women is wonderful,” Moore said. “It’s energizing because you figure out ways to do things your own way, rather than feeling intimidated by men who have more experience.”
Those interested in volunteering should contact Aubree Silver at (540) 341-4952
Donations for Women Build must be made out to FHFH Women Build, and can be sent to P.O. Box 3189, Warrenton, VA 20188.
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