A group of Maui residents are coming together to build tiny homes through a crowdfunding project.
According to Good Morning America, the idea was sparked when Lahaina restaurant owner William Fincher lost his home and two of his businesses in the deadly wildfires that broke out in early August.
Fincher noted, “In my experience, everything here in Hawaii takes longer than they say it will. So, realistically, I’m just kind of preparing my family and myself to not be able to build for several years.”
That’s where home builder Juan Ricci comes in. He said, “The rebuilding of Lahaina’s not going to happen in a couple months or a year, you know. It’s going to be a long time until Lahaina gets built.”
“We need, like, a solution for the long term,” he added.
Other residents feel the same way and that is how a group of residents came together to learn how to build tiny homes. Ricci is teaching Fincher and others how to build houses so their lives can return to normal.
Ricci stated, “I’ve been teaching people. They’re not construction workers, but they can help out on the tiny home project.”
A GoFundMe campaign is funding this endeavor and has raised over $14,000 so far, but they have a long way to reach their $100,000 goal.
Their mission is “To build long-term homes for residents affected by the Maui fires in Lahaina, Kula, and West Maui, and train local workers to do so.”
The campaign statement also reads, “Ricci Builders has organized this fundraising campaign to support the men and women working tirelessly day in and day out in their attempts to help our community recover from the destruction of the fires.”
“These are people who have lost their homes, and their jobs, some have lost family and friends, yet they are here every day, showing up and doing the work no one else is here to do,” it goes on.
“This is an organization solely dedicated to the people affected by the Maui fires and the members of the community supporting them. It was created by Maui residents, for the Maui community we love and support so much,” the statement adds.