BOULDER-- Helen Auch is looking forward to not having to move for a long time.

Her family is one of the first to take part in the Boulder Affordable Housing Project. Five homes are now under construction on property surrounding the Castoria Inn on South Monroe Street.

"It means we won't be renting anymore and I'm looking forward to that," Auch said. "Since I've been involved in this project, I've had to move twice."

The first time their landlord sold the house they were renting. And this past weekend, a pipe broke and raw sewage leaked under their rental house. The county sanitarian advised them, "you have to leave, now," said Auch.

For a family with four young children, this was not easy.

Meeting at the building site Tuesday, Auch and fellow home builders Carolyn Henry and Jan Ziettlow talked about how the affordable housing project is changing their lives.

"I'm really grateful for an opportunity I wouldn't have had (to own my own home)," said Henry-- a sentiment the others shared, as well.

For the present, though, it means many of their waking hours are filled with pushing wheelbarrows, moving gravel and rocks, picking up garbage, painting siding, and helping to install insulation, floor joists and subflooring.

They will help with the tasks that do not put them at physical risk, said Barbara Miller, who's spearheaded the project. She is executive director of the National Affordable Housing Network and Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Montana.

By the time their houses are built, the Boulder homeowners and their friends and family will have contributed 65 percent of the labor to build their homes.

Their sweat equity is their down payment, a major factor in making their new homes affordable.

"We all work. We're not sloughers moving in," said Henry.

"We all have house payments," added Auch.

These start a month after they move in, and vary according to size of the house and the family's income.

A visitor to the site will see there is more than home building happening here.

"What a great way to build a neighborhood," said Auch. "We're going to have great block parties.

"I think it's real positive for the community, as well. It's almost an urban renewal project. This block will have brand-new, cute houses."

Before any of them ever picked up a shovel or a hammer, the program participants were trained in how to work as a team.

The training fostered cooperation, group problem-solving skills, mutual respect and friendships.

An important lesson is "you don't want to discount anyone's opinion," said Auch. Nor do they want gossip or judgmental attitudes filtering onto the work site.

They work together on each other's homes. This time counts toward their 65 percent goal. Any donated time from community volunteers and groups is split among them.

On Tuesday, only a few walls were up, but Henry, Auch and Ziettlow are already excited about the small details of their new homes -- like the porch designs, the house colors and even where they will plant trees.

The new homes are state-of-the-art energy efficient -- from their walls and insulation to their orientation on the lots.

All of the big windows face south and the roofing is off-white, to reflect heat in the summer, explained Henry.

"It's so energy efficient, you can heat it with a match," she joked. And they are oriented so homeowners can add solar panels later.

The new homeowners say they're thrilled with the program.

"I didn't think I would ever have an opportunity to have a home at 60 years old," said Henry, whose life savings were wiped out when an accident destroyed her family's commercial fishing business on the coast.

"I never thought someone would take my hard work as down payment. It's life changing and life altering."

Ziettlow, who is retired and lives in a room at Boulder Hot Springs, is looking forward to having a home where she can unpack her things.

"All of my furniture has been in storage for 14 years," she said. In her mind's eye, she's already placed her piano and set up her sewing room.

Miller, too, is happy with the project and its progress.

It was less than two years ago when Boulder citizens first gathered to discuss affordable housing needs.

"I'm really pleased with this project," Miller said. "I'm very pleased with the quality. It's been one of the most delightful projects we've ever done. We think the county's leadership is incredible. We've been pleased with the variety of volunteers."

NAHN is working with 12 to 14 families to help them qualify for the program, she said. "The first five were quick qualifiers."

"To afford a stick-built house in southwest Montana is beyond the reach of many working families," said Miller. "The bulk of the housing on the market is $190,000 to $300,000."

A broad range of people, including professionals, fall within the income guidelines to qualify for the affordable housing program, she said.

Besides adding more homes, future plans include building some senior housing at the Boulder site.

And NAHN has purchased land for an affordable housing project in Whitehall.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com