Launched in 2016 with a $50,000 grant from Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, TRADART’s Tiny Houses program culminates in a fully-functioning tiny home. Watch the below videos to see students in action and learn more about the program’s impact.
Since 2016, Advanced Woodworking and Construction Technology high school students have been building 230-square-feet houses (complete with a bathroom, kitchen, and a loft for a queen-sized bed). Placed on top of trailers, the first round of houses were finished in spring of 2018 and auctioned off.
The Tiny Houses Program at Santa Barbara, San Marcos, and Dos Pueblos high schools received funding from the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) in the fall of 2017. Following the initial $50K grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, and in addition to $25K from the SBUSD and TRADART’s supervision and monetary help, the Tiny Houses Program will be self-sustained by the proceeds of each individual sale.
All three high school woodshop teachers value the knowledge they are able to impart through the Tiny Houses Program. By working together on one focused, group project, students learn varied skillsets and the ways in which each is crucial to the outcome of the project.
We are pleased that all three of the three tiny houses were sold in 2018! Thank you to the Santa Barbara community for all the support and interest in this program.
If you are interested in getting involved or donating, please get in touch.
THE CURRENT WOODSHOP TEACHERS ARE:
Caleb Chadwick (Santa Barbara High School)
