The unique situation in White Earth and ultimately all reservations requires a unique response to change it. Net Zero Nations has created pathways to remove the barriers of structural poverty by meeting the need and demand for Net-Zero housing, energy independence, food security and sustainable living for the people of the White Earth Nation. The pathways leading to a sustainable community of energy efficient net-zero homes and buildings, renewable energy, and a farming cooperative are major steps to achieve energy and economic independence for White Earth along with a carbon negative world.  

This regenerative community will have 40 net-zero duplex homes, elder duplexes, an assisted living  / daycare facility, a 5MW community solar garden, and 100+ acre farming cooperative, walking trails, and playground.

Ownership in Net-Zero Duplex Homes

All of the homes built in this community will be net-zero duplex homes.  These homes will be built to Department of Energy Zero Energy standards utilizing cutting edge construction methods and systems.  By using the science of construction, we are able to build the highest quality homes at an affordable price. Learn more about the components of our net-zero construction methods .  The slab on grade homes will be mold and allergen free. 

Net Zero Elder Duplex Homes

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Net Zero Assisted Living / Daycare Facility

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The White Earth Reservation has always suffered from inefficient energy and housing infrastructure resulting in unaffordable energy that costs 45% more of an individual’s income on energy bills compared to white (non-Hispanic) households. Inadequate electric and heating systems are not only insufficient, they’re also more expensive. Exorbitant household energy bills stack up causing the constant “shut-off/turn-on” cycle from utility providers adding further hardship to families along with the expense of additional fees.  Most of the homes in White Earth are heated with electric baseboard heaters and cooled with window air conditioners. When this is coupled with poorly built homes it creates an energy burden that is debilitating. Many of the small, 2-bedroom homes on the reservation cost nearly $1000 a month to heat in the winter.

 We tackle Energy Problems in 2 ways. 

• Energy Efficient Construction

Our high performance net-zero homes utilize the most energy efficient construction methods and systems. We believe that green energy is the future of energy in White Earth. 

• Community Solar Garden

The 5MW community solar garden will provide enough energy to heat, cool, and power all the homes in the community and eliminate their utility bills. The excess energy created from the solar garden will provide enough energy to power an additional 500 homes in the local community. It also promotes economic stability and a carbon negative world.

The White Earth Reservation is a food desert and within its’ 1,300 square mile border, there is only 1 full-service grocery store. For millennia, Native food systems nourished communities and cultures. From farming to fishing to harvesting wild rice, these food traditions are diverse and rich, molded and shaped by the geographies on which Tribal people lived. Federal policies disrupted these food systems and lifeways, contributing to present-day food insecurity and poor health outcomes. Government rations and commodity distribution strongly continue to contribute to the obesity and diabetes epidemics that Native communities are currently fighting. Food insecurity on the White Earth Indian Reservation, like in many other Indigenous communities, has had profound and far-reaching outcomes that impact individuals, families, and the community.

Net Zero Nations’ Pathway to build a Farming Cooperative will assure food security, lessen the economic strain to access healthy food, increase positive health outcomes, serve as an educational opportunity to the community, promote entrepreneurship, and align with cultural values. It creates many other opportunities for the community to provide food security for all families throughout the reservation and additional food sovereignty projects.

The homes in the community will community will come with shares in the local farming cooperative. The farming operation will consist of the following components

• Orchard – An orchard of semi-dwarf fruit trees can be planted at a density of 300 trees per acre. Our 10 acre orchard will contain around 3000 fruit trees with different varieties of apple, plum, and pear trees.  The average semi-dwarf foot tree produces 400 pounds of fresh, locally grown, fruit a year. This equates to 1,200,000 pounds of fruit a year.

• Fruit Bushes and plants – The two mile long walking path will be lined with Raspberry, Blueberry, and Blackberry bushes on one side of the trail and strawberry plants on the other side. This will be over 3 acres of fruit plants and bushes and will produce around 30,000 pounds of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries a year.

• Vegetable Farm – the co-operative farm will have over 100 acres of vegetables planted, consisting of corn, beans, peas, squash, peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, onions. tomatoes, carrots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, greens, cucumbers, and cauliflower. At a yield of 50,000 pounds of food per acre for the average vegetable farm, this would produce 5,000,000 pounds of fresh vegetables a year.

• Chicken Coops – We will have a 250 hen chicken coop which will produce around 56,000 eggs a year. In addition to the yearly egg production, chickens help with plant waste, insect control,  and will help provide fertilizer for the farm.

• Apiary – Our farm can support 12 beehives per acre, so our apiaries can accommodate up to 1500 hives. The average beehive can produce up to 60 pounds of honey per hive, but the average is around 30 pounds. This equates to 45,000 pounds of honey produced per year. In addition to honey production, bees will act as pollinators for the farm.

• Mushroom Farm – We will have a 2000 square foot indoor mushroom farm. We will produce Oyster, Lions Mane, and Shitake mushrooms. This will produce around 30,000 pounds of mushrooms per year. Mushrooms were part of a traditional Native American diet,

• Aquaponics – Finally we will have a trout aquaponics system to provide yearly greens like lettuce and fresh fish. Rainbow trout were part of a traditional Native American diet.