How a forester and Indigenous band built a modular housing solution for rural Canada

Two decades ago, Mike Anderson was asked to build a powwow arbour. What followed was a construction project that would eventually inspire one of Canada's most promising Indigenous housing solutions.

When the Skeetchestn Indian Band approached the forester in the early 2000s, they needed a 12,000-square-foot structure built in under four months for a major community gathering. Anderson brought together a journeyman carpenter and half a dozen youth from the community. The project was completed on time. More importantly, Anderson watched the young people take pride in learning skilled trades while turning raw logs into a significant place for their community.

That experience planted a seed. Two decades later, Anderson has developed Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes—a scalable housing solution that gives economic opportunity and training to Indigenous people while providing affordable housing for Indigenous and rural communities across Canada. The homes are designed, built and led by Indigenous people, using wood harvested sustainably on Skeetchestn traditional territory.

Located about 40 minutes west of Kamloops, the Skeetchestn Indian Band is one of 17 communities making up Secwepemcul'ecw. Anderson, who is not Indigenous himself, has worked with the band for nearly 30 years and served as former CEO of the Skeetchestn Natural Resources Corporation, a sustainable corporation owned by the nation.

The homes themselves are built on a distinctive geometry: a 12-sided design based on the traditional Secwepemc pithouse, or kekuli. Three sizes are currently available—600, 1,040 and 1,490 square feet. The structures are completely customizable and can include basements or multiple storeys, or be built in clusters.

First sketched as a side-of-the-desk project, the first prototype was completed in 2003 and a demonstration home was built in 2016. Over the past three years, the company has built around 25 units. A handful sit on the Skeetchestn reserve, including a show home. Others have been sold to Logan Lake and Enderby. Recently, the company established a partnership with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band that will provide about a half-dozen modular units for a housing project.

The homes are sold as kits for $100 per square foot—each includes a Douglas fir timber frame, structurally insulated panels, walls and ceiling, metal roofing, up to six windows, a door, a skylight, steel fasteners, conceptual design drawings, assembly instructions and links to supporting videos on YouTube. Turn-key ready structures cost $300 to $400 per square foot, depending on the unit.

The timber comes from Douglas fir sustainably harvested on Skeetchestn traditional territory and processed at the local mill. In forestry terms, this creates what's known as a value-added product—timber altered into something of higher value than raw logs. The B.C. forestry industry has increasingly focused on value-added products as a way to retain more economic benefit from harvested timber.

What began as a construction training opportunity has become a model for sustainable housing that builds Indigenous capacity, creates skilled jobs, and answers a critical shortage across rural Canada. The homes carry the geometry of a people's history while offering a practical path forward.