An Indigenous-led approach to create housing self-sufficiency in First Nations communities
Wellbeing starts in the home, but many of the homes currently found in First Nations communities are not climatically or culturally appropriate for the families they house. And that’s for the people who have homes — many more await a dwelling of their own or live in a structure in urgent need of renovation.
The challenges of inadequate housing are nothing new for the staff of Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc., a social enterprise owned by Chapleau Cree First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation, and Brunswick House First Nation in northeastern Ontario. Wahkohtowin was incorporated in 2016 with the mandate to pursue business opportunities related to the forestry sector and to create a new approach to land stewardship.
In an effort to build an end-to-end housing supply chain, Wahkohtowin created One Bowl and the Tree to Home approach to tackle the housing crisis in First Nations communities. Importantly, the approach is also working to achieve other interconnected goals. That includes to train a skilled labour force, create local jobs, overcome resource limitations, and build community wellness.
A housing solution that centres affordability and equity
As an Indigenous registered professional forester, David Flood has worked in land use and forestry management for three decades. In his role as the General Manager of Wahkohtowin, he continues his efforts to improve the participation of First Nations in the forestry industry and advocates to ensure communities receive the benefits derived from forestry activity on their lands.
“Forestry is the industry that has the largest impact across our territories in terms of impacting ecosystems, animals, outdoor rights, and treaty rights,” says Flood. In collaboration with Ecotrust Canada, Wahkohtowin started to look at how locally harvested lumber could be used to build environmentally friendly, durable homes for First Nations communities.
“I was thinking about what long lasting products we have in our communities. Just about every reserve has a log home that’s still functioning, usually with a little great granny living there,” chuckles Flood.
Not long after, Flood came across Boreal, a Quebec housing provider that designs prefabricated log homes. The structures are built using a manufactured lumber technology called ThermologTM., which is well-rated for flame retardancy, air tightness, insulation, and other standards. Homes also have a life expectancy of 100+ years and are customizable, yet affordable.
These features differentiate the log homes from the drag and drop modular housing predominantly found in First Nations communities today — structures that One Bowl has seen deteriorate in as little as seven years.
Utilizing the Boreal designs as a starting point, One Bowl offers these bespoke dwellings to Indigenous nations across Canada. Their customizable nature means people can create homes tailored to their needs, for example adding Elder areas, mud rooms for storing equipment, and designs better suited to snowy and windy conditions. The homes can also incorporate building materials supplied by other Indigenous businesses.
Another appealing feature of the log homes is that they can be built without heavy machinery or external labour. According to Wahkohtowin, it takes less than two weeks for eight untrained workers to build an 1,800-square-foot home (under supervision).
“We’re not looking at giving the nations a solution that they have to rely on external support to construct. Our goal is to build out internal labour capacity,” explains Candace Larsen, Business Development Manager for One Bowl, the arm of Wahkohtowin that manages Tree to Home. Larsen’s role was created with the support of McConnell Foundation funding.
By investing in upskilling local workers using a train the trainer approach, the idea is that within a few years First Nations could have everything they need on-reserve to construct their own log homes. “This is a healing process for nations to feel included in the Canadian context going forward,” says Flood.
National solutions need to start locally
Wahkohtowin and One Bowl have constructed 15 homes, and currently have 90 quotes in hands that will empower communities to self-supply. Though their approach received interest from more than a dozen nations from across Canada, several steps are still required to fulfill the vision of an end-to-end, Indigenous-led housing transformation. In April, One Bowl was nominated as semi-finalist in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Level-Up challenge. “This win has allowed us to further our mission, vision, and establish meaningful Indigenous ownership in local facilities. Becoming CMHC finalists would mean scaling our projects significantly: we envision a local bio-economy park, a high-density housing development, and to fully establish an end-to-end Indigenous housing supply chain solution,” says Larsen.
That also includes finalizing the ownership of a sawmill and manufacturing plant in northern Ontario so Thermolog homes could be constructed using sustainably harvested species from the Boreal Forest. Wahkohtowin is also trying to present its regionalized supply chain approach as a model to inform the forthcoming National Indigenous Housing Strategy.
At the end of the day, Tree to Home is a housing solution that aims to solve so much more than the housing crisis. “There is reconciliation that’s happening, equity that’s happening in the supply chain, and stewardship,” says Larsen of the program. “Something like choosing your home is so significant and creates long term wellness, community, and a sense of ownership.”