Casa Milagro

10/01/2021

A huge shout of love and gratitude to the folks at Paseo Pottery in Santa Fe! They warmly received our residents into their studio to create - and then delivered the fired pottery, a vase they made for us, donations that had been dropped into the vase, and beautiful bouquet to our doorstep. What awesome community builders! Our hearts are full and our residents are excited for their next visit to the Paseo Pottery studio.

01/16/2021

Today is an exciting day for Casa Milagro... Today is the day Positive Energy Solar delivered the design plan for our solar installation!

Next this plan is sent to PNM. We expect it to take about a month to hear back from them. And they may push back on the size of the project, given some regulations that exist which limit solar capacities on transformers with more than one billing meter... blah blah blah.

But the team guiding our process is smart and committed to making the right thing happen. So here we present (drumroll please.....): our solar site design.

Many many thanks to two amazing organizations, Cornerstones Community Partnerships and New Energy Economy, for their amazing support of this project!! Also, to Positive Energy Solar who donated the actual panels bringing down the cost significantly. A most generous gift and demonstration of their solidarity with people experiencing poverty and homelessness in our community! Keep shining, amazing community partners!

12/18/2020

12/11/2020

Greetings friends of Casa Milagro!
"You know who is awesome?" series, part 2:
Featuring Rob Foley, Derrek Padilla, and the rest of the New Mexico team at the International Center of Appropriate Sustainable Technologies (iCAST).

They work with organizations that serve residents experiencing poverty ("low income") and help make their facilities energy efficient using innovative new technologies.

We reached out to them earlier this year to help replace our failing furnaces. Using grant money to reduce our cost SIGNIFICANTLY, they were able to shift our heating and cooling system to state-of-the-art electric heat pumps. It's December now and we've been heating the house for several weeks and our bills are WAY down compared to last year.

Of course, our carbon foot print is way down too. And it will be reduced further when our solarization project reaches the finish line, at which point our heating and cooling system and all other electrically-sourced fixtures and appliances will larger be run by the sun's energy shining on the panels in the back yard.

Furthermore, Rob and the ICAST team helped us improve our insulation, replace old windows, weatherize around exteriors doors, and more. This is truly transformational change for this facility.

When Rob came and saw the potential to make a difference at our facility, he took it on like it was his own project, for his own family.

So we celebrate the ICAST team! Huge shout out to you all for being amazing humans and making Casa Milagro a much more comfortable home for those who live here.

Photos attached are of window work, furnace work, electrical panel upgrade, and more. If you like to geek out about energy efficiency, enjoy!

11/24/2020

So you know who is awesome, y'all?
Barb Odell, Ken Kuhne and the Grow Y' Own crew!

In the thick of the pandemic, Barb had the generous and kind thought to donate two Grow Y' Own raised beds to
Casa Milagro. Ken and his crew from Grow Y' Own came and installed the beds, complete with drip irrigation and summer and winter covers, and planted a variety of seeds.
Within a few weeks we were already harvesting abundantly! Here are some photos of the process:

08/27/2020

Good news/ update! We asked the community for help and we received it:

The folks at the International Center for Sustainable Technologies (ICAST) who are replacing the heating/cooling system at Casa Milagro are providing two portable coolers - one for each end of our facility - for the period of the renovation. This will help keep our people cool and well during the gap time between the loss of our old swamp coolers (scheduled now for tomorrow) and the installation of our new electric heat pumps (date tbd, hopefully within 2 weeks).

For those who don't know, these new electric heat pumps, which will, very efficiently, provide heat in the winter and cooling in the summer, will soon be run on SOLAR power, reducing our program's utility bills by at least 90%, as well as our carbon footprint.

We are excited and grateful about this positive change. This world needs transformation in so many ways. And a significant piece of this is: our polluting ways need to be left in the past. The hour is already late to turn away from dirty energy, so let's go! We need to act as boldly as we can. All around this small planet, we are in this transformation together!

If you want to give to the Casa Milagro solarization fundraiser, which was put on pause after our launch in March 2020, due to the Covid impacts, here is the link to the New Energy Economy campaign on our behalf:
https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/casamilagro
Covid is still lingering, but it seems about time to start re-energizing the solarization campaign. Please give if you can. You will be giving to a great program supporting people in need, and simultaneously, to supporting the energy transformations we all need to happen everywhere in order for us all to thrive as much as possible.

When we are living in disharmony from nature there are mental health consequences. A lot of people here, and in our communities, are experiencing climate anxiety about what we are doing to our planet. Being able to respond in our own way right here, by going solar, is a very healing thing. - DB

08/24/2020

Hello wonderful friends of Casa Milagro! We are reaching out for support today. Are you aware of anyone who has old or extra window unit air conditioners or swamp coolers to spare for some reason? Casa Milagro is in the middle of a renovation to increase our energy efficiency. (Yay!) But once the renovation begins, this Thursday, we will be without any cooling until the new HVAC system gets installed, which could take a while (maybe 2-3 weeks?). We just need a temporary way to take the edge off the heat until the new system is up and running. Our general contractor suggested a couple of window units, which we then pass along to others in need in a few weeks. Let us know if you hear of someone getting rid of a window unit, because they are upgrading or whatever the case may be. We also welcome other creative ideas. And thank you! Sending out love and unity of purpose to all in these challenging times!

04/22/2020

In honor of Earth Day, here are a few pictures from a recent tree planting day at Casa Milagro. Many thanks to Becky Brandon for providing the saplings!

As we proceed in making community and extending belonging, may we remember that this extends out to include all of life -- all creatures great and small, trees, plants, creepy crawlies, the swimming ones, the flying ones, and healthy air, water, soil for all of us. May we humans rediscover a healthy sense of belonging in the great web of life. May we have the courage and the grounding to work, adapt, change to restore dignity on all levels and in all communities. Happy Earth Day!!

02/21/2020

Friends of Casa Milagro, We are looking to hire some evening and weekend support staff. The most important qualities to bring to the Casa MIlagro milieu are calm, positivity, good listening skills, and team spirit. If you or someone you know is interested in serving our neighbors in a community house like ours, please send resumes and cover letters to Desirée at [email protected]. Thanks and blessings!

02/05/2020

Check out the newest member of the Casa Milagro community!
N has been wanting to adopt a four-legged for a while and finally, happily, did. :) Photo cred to Maria!

02/05/2020

Presenting Damian's newest piece.
(He's feeling so proud of it, he said to post it with his first name!)
He's interested in selling it, so if you are interested, you can get in touch via Casa Milagro.
Peace to all!