After a long wait, Butte County women watched a family move into the home they had built and envisioned for the last five years.

Not many women get the opportunity to build a home, but Jayne Ragland, Butte County’s Women Build Coordinator, made this a reality for around 130 local women. From putting the walls up, to plumbing, to electrical these women did everything.

Ragland had previously lived in Virginia and worked on a Women Build team. After moving to Chico she decided to start a Butte County organization, so other women could have the wonderful experiences she had.

“I loved meeting the women that I’ve met, and I love the sense of community that we get all coming together to work on a project for another family,” Ragland said.
Women Build is a volunteer program created by Habitat for Humanity that allows women to get together to address the housing crisis facing millions of families worldwide. These women plan for the house, as well as learn the skills to build a house from the ground up.

In 2005, Ragland brought people together for meetings and fundraising and by 2007 the group began building. The house sat empty for about a year, but eventually a family was chosen and ready to move in.

On December 19, 2009, Daisy and Jesus Vallabares and their two little girls moved into their new home. A dedication ceremony was given that day to celebrate the accomplishment of the women and the beginning of the family’s journey in their new home.

This three bedroom, one bath house was built on East 16th St. It has hardwood floors throughout, a beautiful kitchen and is painted sage green with white trim and a deep red door.

“Finishing the house was a dream come true,” Ragland said. “To finally see our family in the home really hit me hard. It was very emotional for me.”

Mary Rumiano, one of the women who helped during the build, was also happy to see the family move into the house.

“I think they are very appreciative of this opportunity and the fact that a bunch of women built it,” she said. “It feels great to finally see someone enjoying all of our hard work.”

The women on the project were very committed to building the house. They didn’t have to be there every Saturday, so all the people that came were there because they truly wanted to be. They had fun learning new skills and gaining confidence in the process.

To be a part of Women Build you don’t even have to know anything about building a house, Rumiano said.

“Lots of the women learned more than they ever thought they would about house building,” she said.” It is a great learning experience.”

For Ragland, watching the women evolve throughout the project and then seeing the pride they had for themselves after completion was one of the most rewarding parts about the project.

“I really enjoyed seeing their growth,” she said “It made me really happy. You could just see them go from insecure and quiet to confident women in their skills.”

When the project started many of the women didn’t even know how to swing a hammer or use electric tools, she said. But once they learned there was no stopping them.

Now that they’re done with their first Women Build project, the women are ready and excited to do another one, Ragland said. Fundraising for their next build will began this spring.

“It was really a great project for the women of Butte County and I’m hoping that we get a lot of new women this year,” she said. “It’s so life changing.”

To find out more about Butte County’s Women Build visit www.buttehabitat.org/page/women-build1.php. If interested in being a part of the next build contact Ragland at Jayne_womenbuild@yahoo.com.

By Kayla Cook