The Great Agreement

A great agreement places humans as stewards of the earth. Humanity's end of the deal is to balance and harmonize nature. To uphold that deal, every decision OLCERI takes is aimed to serve the seven generations before us, the seven sacred directions, and the seven future generations. Our grassroots approach promotes sustainable community development that provides for free, equitable, and just society with a fair and rightful resource distribution.

At OLCERI, We listen to our feelings. We follow our hearts. We do what is good for the people and the planet. We have great hope and we wish for you to join us.

Hecel Lena Oyate Ki Nipi Kta Cha Lecamu. Mitakuye Oyasin

(Translation: We are doing this so the people can excel and thrive in life. We are all related.)

Life on the Rez

Living on the reservation shapes the physical and mental lives of the Lakota. Dreams and hope are fostered in supportive environments. A list of troubling statistics tell a dark story about Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. People struggle to thrive in a hostile environment. Using ancient wisdom and modern technology, can we return the rez to a healthy, sustainable, climate-resilient refuge?

OLCERI: An Agent of Change

For decades, the founders of OLCERI strove to support the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We’ve provided hands-on education, offered direct assistance with local food sovereignty, and established and helped maintain hundreds of family gardens. Scores of residents have been trained in the skills of green architecture and land restoration (permaculture). We have also intentionally created fruitful bridges by welcoming outsiders who volunteer their time.

Over the past several years, momentum has been building in the area of sustainable housing. We worked to create durable, mass-reproducible, climate-fortified, fully-equipped, multi-generational homes using well-tested green technology. Now that we have established an effective model, OLCERI seeks to construct thousands of such dwellings across the reservation and eventually expand throughout the world.

The Need for Livable Homes

The Lakota word “tipi” is difficult to translate into English. In Lakota, words carry emotion. It is not necessarily a tent with poles, and it is more than just a place to lay your head. Tipi is a good, safe, happy place, where one connects with relatives and one's needs are met. When Maslow's hierarchy of needs is met, people can reach their highest potential. Living in a tipi ensures feelings like belonging, inclusion, and heart-felt pride. So one’s tipi could be anywhere, even in a house built from old truck tires!

A thriving, happy life is difficult when the physical elements of a home are inadequate. Protection from the cold or heat, access to potable water or modern restroom facilities, are not always available in many of the housing structures now in use across the reservation. Unaffordable expenses are required just to heat and cool.

We know that green architecture changes the game. OLCERI is now ready to provide the essential infrastructure needed to train local crews to build highly resilient earth-bermed homes complete with underground food-growing greenhouses, food-storing root cellars, on-site waste recycling, and off-grid power systems. Sustainable technology can reduce annual heating and cooling costs to zero.

Cultural and economic revitalization support a return to a spiritual way of life. We don’t know what the future will hold, but we do know how to build strong and enduring foundations for our grandchildren to stand upon.

Innovative “Green Home-Building” Technology

OLCERI modified the standard earthship style design with unique innovations in labor and resource optimization, modern processes, and the use of recycled local building materials. Our industrialized approach to building technologies and labor force can be applied to a variety of building styles and self-sustaining projects.

In concert with the right funding and support, the initiative will be scaled to replace and upgrade all housing across Pine Ridge. We look ahead to share with other reservations and places where climate change and global warming require such innovations.

The basis for a local economy is rooted in built-in greenhouses and workshops. The home itself becomes a self-funding unit. Beyond that, the business of designing and building next-generation residential, commercial, and industrial structures could become a major source of jobs for tribal members.

Climate Resilience Training Program

On-the-job training at our OLCERI Indigenous Wisdom Center training facility is central to the development of teams of carpenters, plumbers, welders, fabricators, equipment operators, earth workers, and engineers. In response to the challenges of expensive education, unemployment, and a housing crisis, we aim to create a seventh-generation workforce hundreds of members strong. Offering a debt-free, native-centric environment will empower and educate youth while giving them the necessary skills to live well and contribute to the community. Our builders will be trained in marketable, green, and cutting-edge skills. The youth will become the backbone of a shovel-ready home building program and will go forward to construct a climate resilient future for our people.

Here’s How You Can Get Involved!