Crooked Forest Institute

06/06/2026

We’re looking for 1–2 volunteer coordinators to help us connect people with upcoming workdays, workshops, and community projects 🌱
This is a great role for someone who wants to support local affordable housing and community work.
Interested? Email us with your name, availability, and a little bit about yourself: [email protected]💌

06/05/2026

Looking for ways to learn adobe and earthen building hands-on?
Here are two upcoming opportunities happening around New Mexico. These are not hosted by Crooked Forest Institute, but we’re happy to share them because they offer a chance to gain experience, learn from people doing the work, and connect with adobe, preservation, and community-based building practices.
Please follow each host’s directions to sign up and confirm details.💚

05/31/2026

“This is actually considered a future material, even though it’s an historic material,” he said. “More and more people are starting to design with it because it makes sense.”

The team used advanced building energy simulations and life cycle assessment tools, he said, to analyze and refine the building design to reduce energy losses, improve energy efficiency, enhance indoor comfort and lower the overall carbon impact and operational costs over the building’s lifespan.

The total construction budget for the SAAH prototype, including site improvements, is $246,000, or $202 per square foot.

The house will be marketed for $260,000 with eligible buyers having 120% of the area median income, or $115,900 annually for a family of four.

The house on San Salvador Avenue represents the very first time rammed earth’s been used on an affordable home prototype.

05/22/2026

"When we enter into an adobe building, people say it feels really good in there, and they describe it as a feeling. And I think that feeling is connected to our humanity. We feel right in an adobe building in the same way that a bird might feel right in a nest."

--Ronald Rael

For thousands of years, civilizations around the world have built houses out of earth – whether it be mud brick, wattle and dab or rammed earth. But adobe (t...

05/16/2026

We are so grateful to share that Crooked Forest Institute raised $2,621 through Give Grandly and Southern New Mexico Giving Day!🎉

Thank you to everyone who donated, stopped by our booth, asked questions, and helped spread the word. Your support means so much to us as a new nonprofit working to build something rooted, practical, and community-centered here in Grant County.
Every donation helps us move closer to our long-term goals: creating affordable housing and exploring models like community land trusts that can keep housing accessible for future generations.
We are still in the early stages, but the encouragement we received during Give Grandly reminded us that this work matters and that people here care deeply about housing, land, sustainability, and community resilience.
Thank you for believing in this vision and helping us keep building it, one step at a time. 💚🌱

05/15/2026

Today is World Community Land Trust Day 🌎🏡
Community Land Trusts are one of the models that help us imagine a different relationship between land, housing, and community.
In many places, land is treated mainly as a private investment or something to be bought, sold, and developed for profit. CLTs offer another way. They hold land for the long-term benefit of a community, helping make sure that homes, gardens, shared spaces, and local resources can stay accessible over time.
For Crooked Forest Institute, this matters because the housing crisis is not just about building more houses. How can communities create stability for future generations?
As we continue learning, building, and imagining what affordable housing could look like, CLTs give us an important framework for combining community care, skilled trades, regenerative agriculture, and long-term affordability.
Today, we’re celebrating the global CLT movement and the people working to keep land rooted in community benefit.

Learn more at https://worldcltday.org/

05/08/2026

Meet Teri
Right now, Teri is renting a manufactured home. She’s been there about three years, and like a lot of people, it works for now—but it doesn’t feel stable.
She’s in a season of transition, and even though her housing costs are around 30% of household income, that doesn’t automatically mean security. Renting can still feel temporary, uncertain, and out of your control.
She’s been thinking about this for a long time. Not just her own situation, but the bigger picture—what housing could look like if it actually supported people.
She’s been trying to imagine and move toward something more sustainable. Something rooted in shared land, access to healthy food, and a community that people can rely on.
She’s looking for stability, peace, affordability, and a safe place to live.
Not just a house, but something that can hold up over time.
“I’d love to see a CFI model in every community.”

Does this story resonate with you? We’d love to hear from more people who are looking for healthier, more affordable ways to live. Email [email protected] for more information💚

05/05/2026

This week’s podcast reminder 🎙️
If you missed it, join us for a deep-dive conversation with Ian McSweeney and Kristina Villa, Co-Founders of The Farmers Land Trust.
In this episode, we talk about land access, regenerative agriculture, and how nonprofit land-holding structures can help young farmers gain long-term, affordable access to farmland while also helping working farms preserve their legacy.
This conversation connects directly to bigger questions around land, food systems, community resilience, and what it means to care for land across generations.
Listen through this link: https://crookedforestinstitute.podbean.com/e/the-farmers-land-trust-podcast/

You can also learn more about The Farmers Land Trust, their nonprofit work, and the Farmland Commons model through their website: https://www.thefarmerslandtrust.org/https://www.thefarmerslandtrust.org/

As always, thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy this episode of The Crooked Forest Podcast💚🌳

04/23/2026

We had such a meaningful time at Give Grandly last Saturday and are feeling so grateful for everyone who stopped by our booth, donated, shared kind words, and supported Crooked Forest Institute. 🫶
Your support helps us keep building toward a future rooted in affordable housing right here in Southwest New Mexico.
Thanks to a generous matching gift, donations were matched dollar-for-dollar up to $500, helping every gift go even further.
There’s still time to give before fundraising closes tomorrow, Friday, April 24. You can donate online at https://www.southernnewmexicogivingday.org/organizations/crooked-forest-institute
and help us keep this work growing.
Thank you for believing in what we’re building. 💚

04/18/2026

Imagine that your ancestors in 1026 built the house you live in now...