PORT HADLOCK — This is just the beginning, and it’s a brightly colored one.
“This is the prototype for what we can do for farm worker housing and affordable worker housing in the area,” said Shanell Rosenfeld, one of the people celebrating completion of an unusual tiny house in Port Hadlock.
It’s called Meadow Manor, and it’s only 10 feet by 16 feet — but it’s extra high, with a loft bed over the desk, storage locker and tiny kitchen. Volunteers, staff, interns and high school students at the Community Boat Project built it for a future farmworker village in Chimacum, one of the places in Jefferson County where people struggle to find decent places to live.
This tiny house is on display now outside the Old Alcohol Plant, 310 Hadlock Bay Road, adjacent to Bayside Housing & Services.
Bayside, the nonprofit organization providing transitional housing and support in East Jefferson County, is a close partner with the Community Boat Project.
Last Friday, Wayne Chimenti, director of the project, asked his construction crew to see Meadow Manor off.
Place a hand on the side of the house, he said, and think about the people — perhaps living in a car or a tent — who will make this place home.
“Let’s give them blessings. Let them have a better life,” Chimenti said.
The crew then shared some coffee, tea and bagels while Chimenti spoke of what’s coming up.
More tiny houses: the next one smaller than Meadow Manor and designed for one of Bayside’s tiny-shelter villages, either Peter’s Place in Port Hadlock or Pat’s Place in Port Townsend.
The Community Boat Project is adding partners now: the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) in Seattle and a Renton-based program called ANEW that provides pre-apprenticeships for people who want to go into the construction trades.
These alliances, Chimenti said, mean he can continue training people for real-world jobs while building tiny houses for Jefferson County.
The Jefferson Land Trust is also a partner in this venture, as it secures property for the Chimacum farm worker village. It could be a year or so before that comes together, Chimenti said.
In the meantime, Community Boat Project crew members — including newcomers — will build tiny homes to serve as transitional housing for Bayside clients.
One of the keys to success at Peter’s Place and Pat’s Place, Chimenti said, is Bayside’s case management. Each person who comes to stay in one of the tiny-home villages receives help with health, employment and life planning.
The boat project, which operates on-the-water and boatbuilding programs as well as its tiny-home building endeavors, will be building homes that are simpler than Meadow Manor.
This prototype, Rosenfeld noted, is large enough for a couple or even a small family; it has its own 8-foot by 8-foot bath house, built separately. In terms of farmworker housing, it’s a long way from the crowded structures seen elsewhere in the country.
“It’s a home. You’re working. You want to come home at the end of a hard day to a place that’s comfortable,” Rosenfeld said.
“Just having a space to yourself is a big deal.”
The construction crew kept beauty as well as functionality in mind, she added.
Muralist Danielle Fodor created the exterior’s dandelion motif in yellow, green and purple; for the interior, Fodor painted a flowing, abstract design. She was still adding touches on the house as it was being moved out of the shop.
When asked how long the Community Boat Project will continue constructing these snug houses, Chimenti didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Until the homelessness crisis is over,” he said.
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
