ZAHP! The Zootown Affordable Housing Podcast
By Rebecca Kelley
ZAHP! The Zootown Affordable Housing PodcastMay 20, 2020
S2/E6: Kirsten Matteson of MSU on her Experimentation with Hempcrete
Kirsten Matteson has a PHD in structural mechanics. Currently an assistant professor in the department of Civil Engineering at Montana State University in Bozeman, Kirsten is especially interested in materials with potential for positive global change. Among other projects, she has worked together with MSU students to do research on hempcrete as a novel material, looking at its use in structural engineering applications. Kirsten worked on this project in conjunction with Kirby Hancock (listen to S2/E3 of ZAHP) with partial funding from the Montana Farmer’s Union, experimenting with different mixes and incorporating cement to see what yielded the best results in optimizing the strength of hempcrete as a building material. To hear the results and find out more, listen to our interview!
S2/E5: Conversation with Heather Harp, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Missoula
This episode is an interview with Heather Harp, Missoula City Council member and also Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Missoula. Habitat for Humanity is a nationwide organization that enables income qualifying families to better afford a new home by contributing 200 hours of their own sweat equity to the process of building it. Heather has some much needed, ambitious goals for Habitat home building in 2021, listen to our conversation to find out more!
S2/E4: Jason Guzmer and the Solar Nest
Jason Gutzmer is a local builder who constructed an annualized geo-solar home he calls ‘El Nido Solar’ (the Solar Nest), off an alley in the middle of Missoula. He is also a local educator and visual artist/filmmaker/anthropologist with a background spanning 20 years in permaculture design practice across 14 countries. Some projects he has worked on include taking a mobile eco village throughout Latin America, creating an eco village in Montana and working as a green educator in Indonesia. The Solar Nest blends many ways of harvesting the sun's heat, including the geo-solar system designed by Jason. Wondering what a geo-solar home is? Listen to find out.
S2/E3: Interview with Kirby Hancock, Architect and Founder of Transformative Ecologies
In the course of making ZAHP! And also starting my own project, MAP, I have spent a good deal of time investigating viable options for alternative building materials. My favorite one thus far is hempcrete, and for this reason I reached out to Kirby Hancock. Kirby is an architect working with Think Tank Architects of Bozeman, and is also the founder of a company called Transformative Ecologies. Recently Kirby collaborated with the Montana Farmer’s Union and MSU to experiment with Hempcrete, which is what drew me to seek out an interview with him. Hempcrete is a mix of hemp stalks and lime that can be used as a building material. In this conversation we talk about some barriers to the use of hemp building products in our state, from lack of processing facilities to lack of sufficient testing and conventional use. We also cover a few other bonus topics so if you’re interested in alternative materials, don’t miss this interview!
https://www.transformativeecologies.com/
S2/E2: Interview with Renowned Permaculture Guru Paul Wheaton
Dear Listeners,
I hold close to heart the notion that truly affordable/sustainable living is tied into local, regenerative food production. Paul Wheaton is a widely known permaculture gardener, podcaster, writer, experimenter, and information spreader. He has authored a book titled: Building a Better World in Your Backyard - Instead of Being Angry at Badguys. He is also over 500 episodes into his podcast, called Homesteading and Permaculture, and you can find all the information you desire about Paul Wheaton and his work by visiting his website, permies.com. Paul owns land outside Missoula area where he conducts experiments with net zero living and ways to do things differently from the conventional norm. He hosts a variety of learning opportunities on his land that are both short term and/or long term in nature. Some folks have visited him to learn more and ended up staying to pursue their own adventures/experimentation with growing food sustainably and living more in harmony on the land with Mother Nature. Paul has been pursuing his passion for permaculture for 20 years now, and we are extremely fortunate in Missoula to have such an amazing resource living so close to our town.
S2/E1: A Look at the Current Real Estate Market with Realtor Jason Baker
Dearest ZAHP! listeners,
With Corona Virus showing no signs of abating around the world and the US elections just around the corner, I decided it would be a good time to start a new season of ZAHP! After 20 episodes in Season 1, I look forward to a second season filled with a bunch more timely, information filled and pertinent interviews! You probably won't be surprised to find out that as people deal with the effects of unemployment or inability to work due to Corona Virus, home prices in our town have been rising even faster than before. To get a look at how Corona Virus has been affecting our housing market, I got in touch with local realtor Jason Baker, of the Jason Baker Team at Rise Realty. Jason was very kind to sit down and have a conversation with me about the latest numbers, what they mean, and how Covid has been causing housing prices to go up. I am so grateful to be kicking off Season 2 with this information packed interview. As always, if you have any questions you can always send me a message from the ZAHP! page at Anchor.fm. For more information on Jason Baker and his team, visit http://www.jasonbakerteam.com/, and as always, thank you so much for listening to ZAHP!
20: Tour of Henry King's Coverted Bus
In this interview, Dallas Cowboys fan Henry King was kind enough to walk me through his nearly finished, thoughtfully converted bus, soon to be home. Henry takes the time to show me every inch of his intelligently utilized space, with hidden storage, an incredible sound system, flight simulator, tub, washer and dryer, queen sized bed… everything he needs and wants in his space to feel at home. He has been working on his bus and gathering the different parts for years, and the final layout looks nicely suited to meet all the needs of a dedicated, creative bachelor who is just about to move into his free wheeling, long term living space. For a visual of Henry's bus, check back for a youtube link to video footage of Henry's bus, taken by Tahj Kjelland, coming soon!
19: John Porterfield of Woolen Hemp
Episode 19 of ZAHP is an interview with John Porterfield. He is part owner of Montana Grow, which creates a MT sourced, silicon based crop supplement called Ignimbrite, and you can find out more at ignimbrite.com. John has grown hemp in the past and contributed materials to different hemp related projects, including the work of Frances de Forrest and my own project, MAP, the Montana Attainability Project, to which he donated a hefty pile of hemp stalks and the use of his wood chipper so that I could get started experimenting with Hempcrete. Currently he is developing the use of hemp fiber and wool in Montana at his textile manufacturing mill in Malta, MT, where these miracle fibers are blended into very soft, high quality pillows and duvets. For more information visit www.woolenhemp.com. He is also part owner of Wildhorse Hot Springs, and among other things, we talk about John’s ideas for harnessing their healing waters for heat and food growth.
18: Homenow Downpayment Assistance Program offered by Mofi.org
This is an interview with Dave Glaser, President of Mofi, Julie Lapham, Mortgage Banker at Mann Mortgage, and Bre Smith, a homebuyer whose growing family has used Mofi's downpayment assistance program to purchase a home 3 times! If you have a credit score of 640 or higher and your income qualifies (below a certain range) you may very well be eligible to purchase a home with downpayment assistance. This interview is full of information but if you need more, go straight to Mofi.org! Thank you for listening to ZAHP! It is now produced fully by me, Rebecca Kelley, and I look forward to now being able to promptly bring many more pertinent interviews on the subject of affordable housing to your ears. Thank you also for your interview referrals, they are much appreciated!
17: Two Part Interview with Long-time Converted Bus Expert, John Runningbear
John Runningbear has an engineering background and has been living in and working on converted busses for 30 years. He currently resides with his wife and 3 large dogs in their tri-level bus just outside Missoula while running his RV repair business, Big Dog RV Services. He has started 2 intentional communities in Wyoming and Arizona and is working on getting a 3rd going in the Missoula area. This is a 2 part interview in which we meet Nicole, a nursing student who John has helped convert her own bus just this past winter. Then we get a look inside John’s own bus, which is an ongoing experiment with functioning off grid systems that John has been refining since he started living in busses 30 years ago. Thank you for your patience as ZAHP! experiences some delays due to Covid and my recent move to Hot Springs, MT. Fortunately things have settled and I look forward to bringing more of my recent interviews to your ears promptly. Rest assured that ZAHP! is going strong! In the meantime, stay well and thank you for listening and for your interest in examining creative solutions to the issue of affordable housing!
Find out more about John Runningbear and his RV Repair Business, Big Dog RV Services at:
16: Hemp Advocate Frances DeForrest
I recently moved to Hot Springs, MT, to begin research on a project that I am starting called MAP (the Missoula Attainability Project). I have taken an interest in hemp, and the first name that came to my ears in regards to making use of this plant was Frances DeForrest. Frances has been a nurse for 20 years and currently works from home as a triage nurse, helping people who call in from all over the country. She is also an active hemp advocate. She has a nearly completed gypsy bardo made with hempcrete and other hemp products that she can travel with and use for educational purposes. She also has plans for her own hempcrete home, and has experimented with many other uses for this versatile plant. In this episode we talk about Frances's diverse body of work with hemp, building with hempcrete, and the MAP project. Thank you for listening to ZAHP! and for your continuing referrals for amazing interviews!
15: Amy Allison Thompson, Executive Director of the Poverello Center
Amy Allison Thompson has been the Executive Director of the Poverello Center, Missoula’s homeless shelter, for 3 years. She has her BA in Psychology and Masters in Social Work, both from the University of Montana. She has an extensive background in social work, and spent many years working with the homeless and other vulnerable groups at the Pov and other locations before filling her current position. In this episode we talk about the importance to society of housing the homeless, and how the Poverello center helps those who live without a permanent and safe place to take shelter. We also discuss changes caused by Covid and how isolation works when you don’t have a secure place to hunker down. Amy also spends some time talking about changes she would like to see occur, that would help alleviate Missoula’s housing crisis and provide more and better options for the local homeless population.
For more information about the Poverello Center, visit their website at https://www.thepoverellocenter.org/.
14: Interview with Local Writer Emily Withnall
For this 14th episode of ZAHP! I had a virtual conversation with Emily Withnall, a local Missoula writer who has conducted many housing related interviews around town, and has a personal history of growing up in poverty in northern New Mexico. She talks about it in detail in "The Snack Shack Blues", recently published in Gay Magazine. Find it at: https://gay.medium.com/the-snack-shack-blues-9b0df6f13042?source=friends_link&sk=a8fd73d331e30dda2908369f0cd54374
Another of her articles is about the housing crisis in Missoula, called "Shelter from the Storm", and was recently published in Progressive Magazine. Find it at: https://progressive.org/magazine/shelter-from-the-storm-withnall/. We talk about Emily's experience finding housing in Missoula as a newly arrived single mom graduate student with 2 children, 2 cats, and a low credit score. Her experience in Missoula unfortunately is not unique and provides a good example of what many people experience when first looking for a home in our town.
13: Andrea Davis, Executive Director of Homeword
This is the 13th episode of ZAHP! Andrea Davis is the Executive Director of Homeword in Missoula, MT. Homeword is a local organization that offers the Missoula Community low cost home buyer education as well as free home buyer and financial counseling opportunities. Homeword also works hard to bring more affordable housing options to Missoula and Montana home buyers and renters in the lower income ranges. For more information, please visit homeword.org .
12: Chris Cawley's Bus Conversion
This 12th episode of ZAHP! is another converted bus interview with Chris Cawley. He has a construction business in Missoula called Earthwalk Environmental, and is registered with the state for construction and environmental restoration. His current project is to convert a 20 year old school bus into a beautiful, low impact mobile living unit that is almost finished! I had a wonderful time touring the bus and talking to Chris about all the work and materials he has chosen to put into it. If you want to find out more about Chris Cawley, check out earthwalkschool.org or email him at chris@earthwalkschool.org.
11: Tahj Kjelland and his converted bus, La Rana!
For this 11th episode of ZAHP! I sat down with local hip-hop and spoken word artist Tahj Kjelland. Check out the wonderful work he does with school kids across the state via his non-profit Express 2 Speak, at express2speak.org. Tahj is also a handy man who finds creative ways to be a living part of the alternative home movement. Among other things, he has a well-traveled bus called La Rana that he has been converting into a living space. Following you will hear a 2 part interview, the first recorded off the bus, and the second recorded on it. If you enjoy this interview or have an interest in mobile living spaces, check back with ZAHP! next week for a tour of another converted school bus.
10: Casey Valencia, Executive Director of the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD)
In the 10th episode of ZAHP! I met and spoke with Casey Valencia, Executive Director of MUD, the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project. We talked about how the tool library makes DIY home projects more affordable, and Casey updates me on the recent work to their shipping container spaces. Also we touch upon the future of MUD, education opportunities for the community, and how to get involved! For more information, visit mudproject.org.
9: Interview with Dan Kemmis, former Mayor of Missoula
Dan Kemmis has a very impressive resume. He is originally from Eastern Montana, attended Harvard and received a Bachelor of the Arts in Government, graduating with high honors in 1968. In the 90’s he served as Mayor of Missoula, and prior to that he was the Minority Leader and Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, a position that he left to earn a degree in law from the University of Montana. He has also authored several books exploring community and democracy, including Community and the Politics of Place, The Good City and the Good Life, and Citizens Uniting to Restore our Democracy, and his writings have also appeared in many journals over the years. He has received numerous awards for his work, and he is easy to find online if you want to know more. I had a wonderful time speaking with him, even if I didn't get to meet him in person, and I hope that you enjoy our interview as much as I did! Thank you for listening!
8: Conversation with Laval Means and Aaron Wilson of Missoula's Department of Development Services
In this eighth episode of ZAHP!, I visit with Laval Means (Planning Services Manager) and Aaron Wilson, Transportation Planning Manager) at Missoula's Department of Development Services. . Aaron Wilson tells us about transportation costs and how they tie into the affordable housing issue. Laval Means elaborates on long term planning for the city of Missoula and what changes are being made since Missoula signed its housing policy in June, 2019. For more information, refer to episode 1 of this podcast..
7: Bob Ruby and the Tiny House Village Project Missoula
Bob Ruby lives in Missoula and is a man of many interests. For the purposes of this episode, however, we talk about his plans for a sustainable, tiny house village that he plans to implement when the right piece of land is found in the surrounding area. Bob has many creative ideas for his tiny house village, and after listening to this episode you can contact him to find out more by searching for the 'Tiny House Village Project Missoula' page, or searching for 'Bob Squatch' on Facebook.
6: Nate Richmond, CEO of BlueLine Development
BlueLine Development (https://bluelinedevelopment.com/) is the developer currently collaborating with the Missoula Housing Authority, Homeword, and other local and statewide entities to build over 400 units of affordable housing in Missoula in the next 2 years. Find more information on the 200 unit Villagio project at https://missoulahousing.org/development-projects, and by Google searching the Trinity Project, projected to add another 202 units within the next 2 years. In this interview we talk to CEO and co-founder Nate Richmond about how these projects are made possible, what challenges they face, and the societal issues they aim to provide relief from.
5: Neighborworks and Homeword! Interviews with Kaia Peterson of Neighborworks and Jessica Burson & Julie Pavlish of Homeword
****Episodes 1-5 of this podcast were recorded prior to my changing hosts to Anchor FM. This podcast is no longer hosted by Podbean.***
Kaia Peterson is the Executive Director of Neighborworks Montana https://www.nwmt.org/, an organization that works statewide to create attainable home opportunities for people whose income qualifies. In Missoula Neighborworks sponsors HUD approved home buyer education and counseling, offered locally by Homeword. Neighborworks also provides lending in the form of individual home loans as well as financing for affordable housing developers. Finally, they help manufactured home owners purchase and manage their homes and mobile home parks via a resident owned community program.
In early May 2019 I spoke with Jessica Burson (Homeword's Communications and Fundraising Manager) and Julie Pavlish (Homebuyer educator at Homeword), http://www.homeword.org/, for Missoula Community Radio's Multipurpose Show. In this interview we talk about Homeword's tiny home project, Montana Street Homes, and Julie Pavlish speaks about Homeword's offerings in home buyer education and counseling. Check back with ZAHP! for an upcoming interview with Andrea Davis, Executive Director of Homeword.
4: Heidi West, City Council Member, NMCDC Coordinator & Community Organizer
3: Eran Pehan, Exec. Dir. of Missoula's Dep. of Housing & Community Development
2: Tiny Home on Wheels with Blake Kelley
