It is estimated that 8,000 homes in the Navajo Nation are without reliable water. And many are without commercial power. The Indian Health Service (IHS) and Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) will not be able to provide services to many of these homes anytime in the foreseeable future because of geographic isolation and cost constraints. At stake is the traditional culture of the Navajos. As they move into subdivision to get “modern” conveniences, they are increasingly separated from their pastoral heritage.
The organization I work for and its cooperators are working on retrofits to existing 2-bedroom ramblers. These retrofits still require water hauling, but provides indoor water and power (solar). An alternative to this approach, would be to construct new houses which are designed to be water and energy efficient. Over the last few months we have looked at several possibilities.
Newer styles of water and energy efficient homes are being constructed by DesignBuildBluff (a non-profit NGO) working in the northern portion of the Navajo Nation. The actual design and construction work is being accomplished using students from the University of Utah architecture department. Two of the houses constructed have large rain harvesting systems encorporated into the roof structure.
At the University of Arizona, students designed a simple rainwater harvesting system for a small house (located at Bioshere 2 near Tuscon). The cistern system is designed to provide adequate water for a small drip irrigation system and to flush one toilet. During a one-inch rainfall, 1,000 gallons of water can be collected. Two 2,500-gallon cisterns provide enought water storage to last for several dry months.
Another more extreme style of a self-contained home are being constructed in the Taos NM area at Earthship. These troglodyte homes have solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems on the roof. They use the water collected three times. The first iteration, which is used in sinks and tubs, is treated through an indoor garden (which can be used to grow food, and the last iteration is used to flush the toilet.
While these may seem like extreme examples, for Navajos living in very remote locations, they may turn out to be technologies that will help them maintain their pastoral heritage.
