Sustainafest is a unique partnership among the sustainability experts at Council Fire, a world class sustainability consultancy; Key School, a pre K-12 school located in Annapolis, MD and Living Classrooms Foundation, a regional education non-profit focused on experiential learning.  From July 7th – 28th this summer, 50+ middle and high school students from Annapolis, Baltimore and surrounding areas will join forces with military veterans, building experts, educators and the sustainability leaders from SustainaFest to take on the challenge of building the Minim House. Check out the Sustainafest Tiny House Blog, Facebook page, and ABC News story.


These kind words came from the SustainaFest Board Chair after completion of the house:

Dear Brian & Minim Homes:

It’s hard to capture in a brief letter the truly moving and transformative nature of this summer’s Student Sustainability Lab Tiny House Project.  I offer this short video and just a few quotes from our participants and the media to begin to give you a sense:

“This might be a tiny house but this tiny house represents a big, big movement.”  Martin O’Malley, Governor, State of Maryland

“This has been one of the two most powerful learning experiences I have been a part of in my career.” Sarah Judd, 27-year Educator & Learning Specialist, The Key School

“Middle schoolers in Annapolis are building a house of the future.”  Jessica Kartalija, News Anchorwoman, CBS WJZ-13

“I can do this.  I just built a tiny house with a group of people. What else can I do? The sky’s the limit.” Cameron Salvon-Harman, Middle School Student, The Key School

Our 40+ middle and high school students took on the challenge of building a tiny home in a matter of weeks and they succeeded beyond all expectations. And the world took notice.  From Annapolis to Seattle to Europe and beyond, the airwaves carried news of our efforts and people tuned in, listened, read, watched, tweeted, liked and shared as our sustainable shelter project took shape.  As this interactive & clickable infographic makes clear, the story literally went global and captured the hearts and minds of tens of thousands.

And none of it would have been possible without your critical and multi-faceted support.  Of course, your contribution of resources made the project feasible.  But, beyond that, your affiliation brought additional credibility and interest with the broader public, all of which drove attention and impact.  Simply put, we could not have done it without you. 

Moving forward, we are filled with excitement and anticipation for the future, and for good reason.  Perhaps not surprisingly, numerous schools, organizations and individuals have approached us with proposals to participate in our programming. Fall 2014 will be filled with new plans and partnerships to implement the Student Sustainability Lab program in additional schools and work with other organizations to build more sustainable shelters. The powerful combination of a promising future and a strong support network has us confident of achieving our mission to educate and engage people of all ages and interests to take action in their everyday lives to strengthen our community, improve our environment, and support our local economy.

With our deepest gratitude,    

George A. Chmael II 

SustainaFest Board Chair