Local builder joins Haiti reconstruction efforts
James Barton Design-Build owner James Madsen, his family and team of eight other builders plan to build two homes in eight days
by Jessica Harper
Dakota County Tribune
Little reconstruction has occurred since a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti last January. The crew that James Madsen and his family will be traveling with will be one of the first to begin reconstruction of homes. - Photo submitted
James Madsen, owner of James Barton Design-Build in Apple Valley, has completed every type of home remodeling project from simple kitchen remodels to $800,000 home renovations.
But this winter, Madsen will face his biggest challenge yet – building two homes in eight days.
Madsen and his family will travel on Dec. 1 with a group of eight other Minnesota builders to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to help with reconstruction efforts in the shattered nation.
“Our goal is to give people hope and let them know that people care,” Madsen said.
The group is being organized by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and the Builders Outreach Foundation.
Since the impoverished nation lacks running water and electricity, the group will be forced to use non-electric hand tools and manually mix cement.
James Madsen, owner of James Barton Design-Build, his wife Mary Jo Lageson and their sons Jared and Erik (not pictured) will join a group of eight other builders Dec. 1 in building two homes in eight days in Haiti. - Photo by Jessica Harper
Although the project will be labor-intensive, Madsen said he looks forward to working with hand tools again.
“It will be nice to get back to the craftsman side of the business,” he said.
Additionally, Madsen said building the homes will be a bit easier than his typical projects because there will be no permitting process or finishing touches.
Working conditions will be difficult, though, due to Haiti’s scorching heat and humidity. With temperatures climbing into the 90s during the day, crews can only work four hours at a time or risk exhaustion and dehydration, Madsen said.
Additionally, the crew will be exposed to unsanitary conditions and disease.
Their own living conditions will be modestly better than that of most Haitians. The crew will be staying in a guest house set up by Worldwide Village, the nonprofit that operates Feed My Starving Children. The house will have no indoor plumbing, electricity or other modern amenities.
Madsen, a former member of the Army National Guard, said he is not worried about the unsanitary living conditions that face him because his seven-year career in the Guard taught him how to adapt to such situations.
“Most importantly, it taught me how to work with different cultures and work beside people rather than act like we’re taking over,” he said. “Our goal is to work next to Haitians to help them be self-supportive.”
The team will be working side by side with the people of Port-au-Prince in hopes of teaching them skills they can use to continue reconstruction once the team has left.
Once finished, the two 576-square-foot homes will have three rooms, a tin roof and will each house about 13 people. The homes will not have indoor plumbing or electricity; a communal bathroom will be built nearby.
“It doesn’t sound like much to us here, but it is better than what they have now,” Madsen said, noting that Haitians are currently living in dismal conditions in about 17,000 tent cities throughout the nation.
Although the devastation will be hard to look at, Madsen said he hopes it will be an enriching experience for his 15-year-old son Jared and 16-year-old stepson Erik Lageson.
“I want to show my boys that even when our country is at its worst, we are still lucky to be where we are at,” he said.
His wife, Mary Jo Lageson, concurred. “It’s important to learn at a young age how important it is to give back,” she said.
Madsen hopes business owners in the Apple Valley community are also in the giving spirit as he seeks corporate sponsors and donations prior to his departure.
His goal is to raise $5,000 for the trip and another $5,000 to purchase humanitarian goods such as clothing, personal hygiene items and other items to distribute to Haitian families and a local orphanage.
“All donated money and supplies will go directly to the families and children we will be working with – it won’t be going through another organization that needs to cover administrative costs,” Madsen said.
Madsen is also seeking donated hand tools, which the group plans to leave in Haiti.
All donations are tax-deductible and can be mailed to James Barton Design-Build at 5920 148th St. W., Suite 100, Apple Valley, MN 55124.
All checks should be written to James Barton Design-Build Haiti Relief.
Those interested in becoming a corporate sponsor should call James Madsen at (952) 431-2640.
All corporate sponsors will have their names printed on promotional materials prior to the trip and T-shirts that the crew will wear while in Haiti, Madsen said.
Jessica Harper is at
jessica.harper@ecm-inc.com.
