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Rob Lassiter's dome in Greenville, North Carolina. He will be building another dome like this on the new 7th Haven property.

7 Million Dome Homes
for the Homeless!

7th Haven a non-profit organizaion is dedicated to build 7 Million sturdy, energy efficient and cost effective homes in 7 years for the poor and homeless around the world.

We are organizing a campaign to first help the nearly 500,000 US war veterans find a home and then set off around the world to help with the nearly 470,000,000 homeless world wide.

The structure we have chosen is the creation of the late world renowned futurist, Buckminster Fuller, which is a geodesic dome.

WHY DOME HOMES?

Besides the fact they look cool and futuristic (ha), dome homes have many advantages.

The dome structure has withstood the test of time being the preferred form of structure of some of the most enduring structures ever created by man. The dome is also very energy efficient and acts like a "heat sink" allowing for cooling in the summer and warming in the winter without extensive costs for heating and air conditioning.

* They are highly energy efficient! With a monolithic dome and a 7th Haven dome you have what is called a natural "heat sink" where the dome will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Dave South of the Monolithic Dome Institute told Simpson that during Italy , Texas summers that they can air condition the 3500 square foot dome with a RV air conditioner. Try air conditioning a regular home with an RV air conditioner! They evidently heat the facility with the equivalent two 1,250-watt heaters. The R factor for the monolithic dome is 60 or better.

* The fire rating of the dome (Type II) is the same as any other concrete structure because concrete and Grancrete is considered noncombustible. Also the polyurethane foam used in the monolithic dome is fire-retardant. One homeowner reported his homeowners insurance annual premium was $174!

* It is rot-proof since Grancrete has the same properties as concrete. The wooden windows and door frames are sealed and moisture-proofed.

* It is termite-proof since Grancrete is not on the menu of termites.

* It is also very resistant to tornadoes, hurricanes and even earthquakes. This is principally due to the dome shape.

(Learn more about dome living by clicking here.)

As for being cost effective, again the dome scores high.

Why? Well we are using corrugated cardboard, recycled wood and a wonderful "green" product called Grancrete which is used to cover the exterior and interior of the domes.

The cardboard is readily available from numerous sources that would be glad to supply it to 7th Haven. Next we will be able to find the wood for the domes hopefully from either donations or removing it from building sites.

Grancrete's founders have already agreed to provide their product at wholesale. Add some nails, hinges, electrical wiring, plumbing, paint, window frames and a door and you basically have a 7th Haven dome home!

7th Haven is the result of brainstorming by its two founders, Hugh Simpson and Dr. Tim Robinson, to find ways to build affordable, cost effective shelter for the homeless world wide using all natural, recycled products.

7th Haven plans to follow the very successful model of Habitat for Humanity in the selection process for applicants. We see that it is very important to have a potential applicant involved in building shelters for others as part of the agreement of providing one for him/her.

Habitat requires that an applicant agree to spend 500 hours on other homes as part of the agreement. The Cherokees in western North Carolina also have a similar agreement.

Unlike Habitat homes, the dome and cargo homes should be less expensive to build and outfit with utilities. The average Habitat home is running around $60,000 where we see 7th Haven homes being in the range of $25,000 - $40,000. Of course through our ongoing research, 7th Haven will be looking for ways to lower these figures.

The first phase of operating 7th Haven will be to locate an abandoned manufacturing facility in the western North Carolina mountains for setting up a place to begin to build the 7th Haven homes. Due to the overseas outsourcing in manufacturing there are a number available.

Hugh has coined the phrase Micro-Manufacturing where we can again put people back to work in the manufacturing industry. These people are also excellent potential applicants who currently may be residing in dangerous broken down old mobile homes. We want to offer American war veterans first opportunity for both employment and shelter. There are currently over 500,000 USA vets that are homeless!

Like Habitat, 7th Haven would develop teams that would include carpenters, plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc. to be able take the homes to this finished state.

Future Site for 7th Haven

This beautiful site is for the 7th Haven project where we will be building different types of alternative shelter.

7th Haven will be developing a complete video series and manual for people desiring to locate another micro-manufacturing facility in their area. Of course, this will only take place after a substantial number of the different homes are built at the first facility. In addition, people interested in pursuing another location will be required to spend a certain amount of hours at the home-based facility to learn how to properly build and most importantly manage a facility. These new facilities will be eligible for funds from 7th Haven for the expansion and marketing.

So you want to help with 7th Haven. There are several ways to do just that.

(Coming Soon)

You can provide to our organization a check that covers the cost to build a 7th Haven home. That is what we are going to be asking Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, and other well known people to do. Commit to building X amount of 7th Haven homes.

You can get a group together and pitch in to build one or more homes. Churches, businesses, civic groups, etc. can commit to building a 7th Haven home right in their own neighborhood.