One Small House has built over thirty homes in rural Mexico over the past ten years. During this process, it has learned a great deal about the best way to make big differences. One of its biggest strengths is the way in which it has involved the entire community in the work it does. As often is the case, non-profit organizations working abroad, despite their best intentions, can alienate and undermine the delicate infrastructure of impoverished communities. While remaining cognizant of this potential dilemma, OSH works intimately with members of the community to ensure it is keeping their interests at the forefront.  An example of this is the way in which OSH identifies the families for which a new home is to be given. Through utilizing trusted contacts and community leaders, needy and hard-working families are identified and assessed for eligibility. This ensures that the homes being built are going to those who will benefit most from a safe, secure new home. In addition, OSH will employ local labor to help our volunteer crew, purchase all materials within the community and stimulate the local economy by purchasing absurd amounts of tacos.

Furthermore, we strive to be as transparent as possible. In order to bring our donors as close as possible to the projects they help make happen, we send them personalized photos and videos of the work while it happens. For some builds (with a cooperating internet signal), we’ll stream the action live over the web. This also allows those who supported our volunteers a chance to watch them hard at work. Here is an example of one of our volunteers, May, giving a walk-thru tour of the house she helped to build.