Breaking Ground: Heifer International

Ever thought of donating a llama or water buffalo to a third-world country in your loved one’s name for their next bithday? Welcome to gift-giving redefined, courtesy of Heifer International.

Heifer HQ building surrounded by wetlands

Founded by Dan West in 1944, Heifer International’s mission is to “Work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth,” according to their web site. It is an organization that illustrates the parable about teaching a man how to fish. This organization allows individuals and organizations to purchase various livestock including heifers, llamas, chicks, rabbits, etc. and donate them to third-world countries in a person or organization’s name. A receiving family not only receives a source of food, but they pass on the gift by giving the offspring of the animals or their products (such as eggs) to other families in the village. So, in essence, it is a gift that keeps on giving.

Not only is Heifer’s approach unique, but so too is its headquarters, located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The office, which opened in January 2006 and cost $17.5 million, is a true example of “green” building on a brownfield. Winning the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Institute Honor Award for excellence in architecture in 2008 was simply a pit stop on this organization’s award-winning journey. The facility, along with its surrounding structures, have gone on to win multiple awards for its environmentally-friendly design. Prior to cleanup and construction, the land contained buried tanks and contaminated soil (e.g. oil bi-products). Design began in 2000 and actual construction started at the end of 2004.

Some of the facility’s green features include:

• 94,000 square foot structure with only a $400 monthly water bill
• Headquarters is surrounded by a wetland
• Wetland, which has a retention base, can manage 2.5 million gallons of water
• Rainwater is also collected in parking lots and is used for irrigation, for toilets and other grey-water use
• Parking lot utilizes permeable paving, where water flows into a pipe that pumps it back into the retention pond, then back to wetlands

With the introduction of the wetlands to the area has come the re-introduction of wildlife to the community. A reduction in flooding in these communities is also a direct result of the wetlands and Heifer’s innovative water management systems. Additionally, Heifer has added value to the area by literally cleaning it up. They have also introduced a non-profit sector to the area. The growth of this non-profit community has also led to an increase in the amount of public transit that is now servicing the area.

Heifer parking lot with wildflower medians

Not only are the benefits experienced in the surrounding communities, they are also experienced at Heifer itself. Employees enjoy a healthy work environment that is bathed in lots of natural light. Natural lighting can be found at every work station. Each station also has light shelves to refract the light should it get too hot. Currently, the facility houses 210 workstations, but it has the capacity to house as many as 500. In this day and age when everyone is talking sustainability, Heifer International is proving they can “walk the talk.”

Further information can be found at: www.heifer.org

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