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Sustainable living in manufactured home parks

Isabel Sanchez outside of her manufactured home next to a garden at the perimeter of her home.

Residents' corner highlights issues important to those living in manufactured home communties and offers concrete solutions.


Issue

Mapleton Mobile Home Park is in a "food desert." Even though Sprouts, Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods are within walking distance to the park, many of the Boulder park's residents cannot afford to shop at these high-end stores.

Solution

The residents established organic gardens in their backyards, grew their own organic food and shared their harvests with the other residents. Five residents also participated in a community garden space.

The residents had help from park resident and HOA president, Isabel Sanchez, a grassroots community organizer and urban farmer who guided residents in transforming the park to a community that follows sustainable principles and practices. Mapleton's rules and regulations now allow families to raise chickens, rabbits and bees. 

Today there are more than 45 organic gardens in the park, as well as five households raising chickens, three raising rabbits and five beekeepers.

Strategies

Gardens

  • Network with local farmers through farmers markets.
  • Hold festive seed swap parties.
  • Fairshare with other residents, especially seniors.
  • Those who physically can't garden, can do projects with children.

Chickens

  • Bring in cooperative extention staff to talk to residents about raising chickens for eggs.
  • Create a neighborhood agreement regarding upkeep of chickens, location of chicken yards and agreements with neighbors.
  • Start small.

Bees

Rabbits

Education and collaboration

  • CU Boulder's Foundation for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability (FLOWS) taught how to capture water from the gutters for xeriscape gardening. FLOWS also checked the water pressure within homes and tested whether there were leaks in the lines.
  • Growing Gardens taught gardening, cooking and nutrition classes to residents.
  • Scheduled visits with elementary school children to help senior community members with projects.
  • Scheduled visits from local residents and university students to teach them about permaculture and sustainable projects.
     
  • More information: How to bring sustainable practices into your manufactured housing community 
    (Info to be gathered by Casey)