Alberta company donating tiny homes to northern BC volunteer campaign
After seeing a story circulating in the news cycle, Shawn Balaghi wanted to help.
He’s the president of InGreen Building Systems, an Alberta-based construction company that designs and builds high-efficiency pre-fabricated homes and commercial buildings that are eco-friendly and zero waste.
Balaghi had read about volunteers on CBC News building tiny homes in an encampment in Prince George, known as the Moccasin Flats.
After reading the article, Balaghi and Reto Steiner, InGreen Systems’ CEO, connected with the volunteers and asked if there was any way they could support this project.
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“The volunteers indicated that they are in desperate need of a way to speed up the building project as a rough winter is rapidly approaching northern BC,” Balaghi said in a statement.
“After speaking with the volunteers, we took it upon ourselves to draw up plans for transitional pods specifically designed to prioritize the privacy and safety of the individual residents, withstand harsh winter conditions and be assembled in less than four hours on site.”
InGreen Building Systems built the tiny homes, loaded them on a flatbed truck and sent them to the Prince George Moccasin Flats area, where the volunteers were waiting for them.
“We were impressed with the work and dedication of those who have been volunteering their time and resources to try to build safe and winter-proof pods for people in Prince George experiencing homelessness,” Balaghi said.
InGreen Building Systems will be donating the design and the build for enough pods for all residents of the encampment, and are raising funds to buy the raw materials so that they can get them on site as quickly as possible.