Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 12, 1 December 1987 — Hawaiian Families to Construct Own Homes [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian Families to Construct Own Homes

OHA Obtains Funds for Self-Help Housing Program

Moses K. Keale Sr., chairman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of T rustees, announced on Nov. 3 details of a program whieh, "has the potential of providing a way for significant numbers of Hawaiians to own their own homes for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them on the open market." The pilot self-help housing program on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands at Lualualei is made possible by a federal grant obtained by OHA from the Administration for Native Americans.

Keale said that the first phase of the project will involve between seven and 15 Hawaiian families who will be assisting eaeh other in constructing their homes. An additional 60 Hawaiian families are being sought to participate in similar programs on the neighbor islands. Participants will undergo an eight-week course in home ownership skills. A construction supervisor will teach all the necessary home building techniques and will oversee all phases of the actual construction. Eaeh family contributes 32 hours a week of labor to build the house as a team, performing all construction work except for electrical and plumbing components. The final product is a high-quality, three-bedroom, one and one-half bath, doub!e wall home constructed of Douglas fir at a cost of about $30,000. The market value of the homes will be at least $60,000.

Financing will be arranged through the Federal Housing Administration or the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). With FmHA loans, no down payment is required and the interest rate is adjusted according to ineome. The average FmHA mortgage payment will eome to about $250 a month. OHA has contracted with the Oahu Self-Help Housing Corporation, a private non-profit agency, to administer the project. Keale said the project is remarkable for a number of reasons. He said it is one of the few times that ANA (Administration for Native Americans), has channeled funds directly to a government agency such as OHA.

Keale credited Senator Daniel K. Inouye for facilitating the grant. In addition, Keale said, it is the first time that the "Team Self-Help Housing Method" is being utilized on Hawaiian Home Lands, and it is the first time this type of construction will be financed by loans insured by the FHA. Keale said: "One of the primary goals of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is to promote self-determination and

self-sufficiency among our people. "It is one through whieh OHA, acting in its capacity as the principal Hawaiian coordinating agency, has been able to initiate a program whieh brings together a variety of state, nahonal and private entities. They include the Administration for Native Americans, Federal Housing Administration, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Oahu Self-Help Housing Corporation."

Moses K. Keale Sr., second from left, talks about the Oahu Self-Help housing program during a news eonference in the Honolulu conference room of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The OHA Board Chairman is flanked to his right by OHA Administrator Kamaki A. Kanahele III and to his left by David Peters, administrative assistant to Sen. Daniel K. lnouye who was responsible for getting the federal grant so Hawaiians ean build and own their own homes, and Claudia Shay, director of Oahu Self-Help Housing ine.