Grateful Family Shares Joy of New Home

In the kitchen of her new Salt Lake City home, Phurbu Dolma tastes freedom.

Dolma -- who once needed help from her husband, Thupten Kunga, and their seven children to maneuver her wheelchair through the narrow doorways and small rooms of a two-bedroom apartment -- now can sit at her waist-high countertop and chop vegetables, fold pot stickers or load the dishwasher.

When she is tired she can wheel herself into her bedroom or out onto the new shady porch, all without assistance.

"Getting around and moving are the best part," Dolma said Saturday during a house warming party for the eclectic group of community members who envisioned -- then built -- the 2,047-square-foot home at 64 Andrew Ave.

The finished home, which includes five bedrooms, two baths and a Tibetan Buddhist shrine, is the perfect fit for the family and their culture, as well as the central Salt Lake City neighborhood.

"It's so exciting to see them moved in and to have participated in a project in architectural school that makes a difference in the community," said Jane Barrett, one of about 48 University of Utah students who helped design and build the project over the past year and half.

The foundation for the home really began in 1993 when Kunga was one of approximately 150 Tibetans who came to Utah as part of a U.S. resettlement program. Kunga worked to gain his U.S. citizenship and eventually was able to bring his wife and children to America.

The family experienced a huge setback in September of 2000, when Dolma was in a car accident that left her paraplegic. With Dolma unable to work and medical bills that mounted to nearly $200,000, the family was in need of outside assistance.

Attorneys in the firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer stepped in, helping Dolma get an insurance settlement. They also helped convince Intermountain Health Care to forgive the medical debts.

The insurance money was donated to Community Development Corporation of Utah to help build a wheelchair-accessible home that would accommodate the nine-member family and incorporate their religious needs.

The CDC partnered with the U. Graduate School of Architecture which designed and built the home using affordable, energy-efficient materials, including Douglas fir train trestles recovered from the Great Salt Lake and 18-inch thick bales of straw.

With donated construction materials and volunteer labor, the cost of the home was around $20-per-square foot, compared to the usual $150, said U. professor Hank Louis, who oversaw the construction.

Louis said the family will see additional savings in their energy bills since the straw insulation will help keep the south-facing home warm in the winter and cool in summer heat.

The project was deemed such a success that Louis now plans to have U. students participate in a similar home-building project on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County.

Overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, the Kunga family threw Saturday's housewarming party, giving volunteers white silk scarves -- a traditional Tibetan symbol of welcome and friendship -- and serving them chow mein, pot stickers and other traditional Asian food.

"We thought owning a home after mom's accident would be hopeless," the family wrote in a prepared statement. "But we were wrong. You have built our dream."

Printer Friendly Version       Back to Top