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It's Saturday afternoon at a Habitat project in Redwood City, California. Low clouds spit rain on a strip of two-story townhouses under construction along a freeway frontage road. Farther along Rolison Road, run-down apartments stare up at a huge brick noise barrier.

Despite the locale, Habitat's neat homes of 1,100 to 1,300 square feet (there will be 36) don't look like poverty housing. In fact they will sell to qualified families for about $150,000, far more than the price of Habitat homes in other parts of the country. We're in the heart of Silicon Valley, where modest suburban houses can go for a million dollars. Here the issue isn't substandard housing; it's affordable housing of any kind for teachers, plumbers, gardeners.

Somewhere between 30 and 50 volunteers swarm the site today, all under the watch of Volunteer Supervisor Dawn Adams. Two years out of college, she seems too gentle to boss construction crews. Adams volunteered during her undergrad years at nearby Stanford, then spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer before Peninsula Habitat offered a permanent position. Initially she knew little about construction, but she must be a quick learner: she's got all the volunteers organized and working hard.

Today there's a team from Christ Church (Episcopal), a group of Intel employees, and a cadre of Buddhists. Adams says that church volunteers make up the backbone of her regulars, but this particular Habitat affiliate downplays its faith connection. For example, most Habitat work sites begin each day with brief devotions; not Peninsula Habitat. Disappointed at first, Adams says she has learned to appreciate working alongside people who don't necessarily share her faith.

"It's a Buddhist-Christian weekend—they go together rather well," says Jennifer, a volunteer from Christ Church. With a laugh she says she first learned of Habitat by watching a parody on The Simpsons. Another volunteer, Dean, came with a group from Intel. He says employees receive regular e-mails encouraging them to volunteer at Habitat.

Armando is also hard at work, with a brother and a friend. He is a prospective Habitat homeowner putting in his 500 hours of "sweat equity." He first heard of Habitat when a letter came to his family inviting them to apply for a home. One of Peninsula Habitat's brochures mentions the difficulty of building trust with prospective homeowners, and perhaps Armando is an example of that—he's mildly troubled by the requirement that his family not sell the house on the open market. In this area, such a sale might double your money overnight.

Even in Silicon Valley, the classic Habitat method applies. It starts with volunteer labor. Habitat builds simple homes that volunteer crews can manage. (A few jobs, like site surveying, plumbing, and fire sprinkler systems, go to paid subcontractors.) Volunteers say they do it because it's fun. They can see what they accomplish, there's great camaraderie, and they work side by side with the people they're helping.

On the other side of the equation, poor people can afford these homes because of the volunteer labor and, often, donated materials. By not taking a profit or charging interest, Habitat cuts payments in half. Yet homeowners don't feel like recipients of charity. They put in 500 hours of work—that's more than a year of Saturdays—and make house payments. Many Habitat affiliates also require homeowners to take classes in home maintenance and budgeting. Everybody comes out with dignity, and people who can't afford a house get one.

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June 10 2002, Vol. 46, No. 7