When Missoula FFA advisor Tom Andres created The Tiny House Project, a student-focused construction program, his goals were two-fold: provide hands-on learning opportunities and make a positive, lasting difference. During this year’s Montana FFA State Convention, Andres brought his ideas to the big stage, and his chapter recruited 200 FFA members from across the state to help build a house from start to finish.
“The point of implementing The Tiny House Project at state convention was to build enthusiasm within the state and confidence in those teachers who may not be as comfortable with a construction project like that,” Andres says.
Before the convention, Andres acquired and filled a Conex Box shipping container with all the materials needed to transform it into an affordable house. Throughout five days, participating Montana FFA members signed up and rotated through two-hour shifts to bring the house — and Andres’ ideas — to life.
“We built an entire house that’s ready to be lived in,” Andres says. Building these types of houses is normally a semester-long project, he adds, since each house takes about 45 hours of construction time. Students also complete online modules to learn about safety and construction codes in the industry.
Floor plans for the Tiny House Project homes that are created out of repurposed shipping containers.
Andres not only completes this project with his classes at Big Sky High School, but he also gives other teachers the resources to do the same with their FFA chapters. Before implementing the program in their school, however, teachers must participate in a week-long training.
Once the tiny houses are finished and approved according to code, they’re sold to organizations that will use them for affordable housing in the community. Throughout the process, Andres says he enjoys seeing students rise to the challenge of building someone’s future home.
“If a student gets an F on an assignment, they might just crumple it up and throw it away,” he says. “But if students don’t pass the inspection on a tiny house, they don’t move forward. They learn to fix it and do it right.”
This was the case for Missoula FFA member Dane Geraldson, who participated in the project because he wanted to help his community while applying the skills he’s learned.
“There are so many people who can’t afford to get a big house, but these tiny houses will give them something to call home,” he says.
When asked about his future plans for the program, Andres says his mantra is “Slow and steady wins the race,” as following code and maintaining accuracy are the top priorities. “I plan on seeing this project grow every year, little by little. This year, our goal is to build 10 houses throughout the state of Montana.”
