The Tiny House Project helps students develop technical, leadership, and communication skills. The Building It Forward grant gives students the funds and opportunity to design and construct a tiny house from scratch for one year. Our students have been recognized for their diligence and creativity with this project. KVEC hosts the Fire Summits in Pikeville every April, when the tiny houses are complete. Attendees from all over Appalachia are able to see what the students have done through their partnerships with KVEC, and the tiny houses are a major part of that. The partnership with Lee County ATC and KVEC will hopefully continue to provide students with excellent hands-on training and technical skill development at a high level.
The skills and confidence students learn through the Building It Forward project make it an extremely worthwhile and successful venture. In the 2017 school year, the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) awarded Lee Co. Area Technology Center with a $15,000 grant for students to design and build a tiny house. Students were required to learn to build the house, make blueprints, and present their results for approval. The tiny house was auctioned for sale. Another $15,000 was awarded to Lee County ATC in 2018 to build another tiny house. When this house was sold at KVEC’s auction on The Holler, the ATC was awarded another $15,000, plus 80% of the selling price above $15,000 for the 2019 tiny house.
Innovation Portfolios
