Tiny home village for homeless opens in Wisconsin

A row of tiny homes in Madison, Wisconsin

A row of tiny homes in Madison, Wisconsin

Out of the Occupy Madison protests a cool idea was hatched: Building 98-square-foot homes for those without. The homes have a bed, kitchen, bathroom, storage and propane heat. Future residents take part in building the homes.

The homes cost just $3,000 to construct, most of it funded by community donations. A revolving crew of volunteers provided the labor, including Betty Ybarra. Previously homeless, she now resides in the home she helped construct. “It’s exciting. I’ve never even owned my own house,” Ybarra told WMTV

After getting shuffled around the city while they figured out the best place to build the village, they finally settled on a location and it officially opened this week.

"Rather than taking people form the streets and putting them in a building, we thought we could work together to create our own structures," says Luca Clemente, with Occupy. "We don't give houses to homeless people, we enable people to build their own houses to create their own futures."

When complete, there will be nine homes in the village made from reclaimed and recycled materials. Organizers hope to add a garden, tree orchard and chickens.

See more on the tiny homes and the people behind the idea below the fold.