Training and Technical Assistance

HOUSING ASSISTANCE COUNCIL
GREEN BUILDING/HEALTHY HOMES INITIATIVE

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) has created the Green Building/Healthy Homes Initiative with generous support from the Home Depot Foundation. The initiative is a comprehensive program of capacity building grants, training, and technical assistance activities to promote the incorporation of a “greener” approach to affordable rural housing development. One of the centerpieces of HAC’s approach to promoting the use of green building techniques is that it is not an “all or nothing” endeavor. When carefully planned, selected, and implemented, even modest measures can result in significant conservation of resources. Green building is also uniquely local. Because climates, customs, availability of materials, and preferences vary so much throughout rural America, green building measures that are effective in some areas may not be appropriate for others.

The Green Building/Healthy Homes Initiative is designed to support these local variations and to promote the effective use of green building and healthy homes technologies in affordable rural housing.

The components of the initiative are:

Green Fund Capacity Grants

The Green Fund provided capacity building grants to a mix of novice and experienced nonprofit housing development organizations. The grantees will demonstrate the use of green techniques in varying degrees throughout the housing development process including land planning and site development to preserve the natural environment; energy efficient design; selection and use of materials promoting recycling, reuse, waste reduction, and a healthy indoor living environment; and water conservation.

Congratulations to the 2007 Green Fund Award recipients. Click here for more information.

Training and Technical Assistance Program

A training program on green building/healthy homes is being conducted in several venues. Roundtable sessions encourage the participation of practitioners and provide peer-learning opportunities. Workshops at HAC’s National Rural Housing Conferences in 2004 and 2006 introduced green building concepts to a wide audience. Intensive training workshops will train rural practitioners on how to get started with integrating green techniques in housing programs. A green building conference in April 2006 provided more detailed education on the use of these practices for rural affordable housing.

A variety of resources are currently available on the web to help you get familiar with green building/healthy homes technology.

Information and Publications

  • A brief introduction and summary about affordable green building in rural communities is provided in HAC's information sheet on the subject.

  • A special green building/healthy homes issue of HAC’s magazine, Rural Voices, was published in fall 2005. It includes a lead article demystifying green building and focusing on the different “shades” of greening techniques. The issue also highlights several organizations that have successfully incorporated various green building technologies into affordable rural housing development.

  • HAC's green building report, Affordable Green Building in Rural Communties, explains how community organizations succeed in developing affordable green housing despite unique rural challenges. Based on a roundtable discussion that included national green building organizations, local rural housing developers with a history of green building, funders, and other green building stakeholders, HAC's report describes successful affordable green developments around the country.