Noah Keller, Twin Cities Habitat Global Engagement Program Manager, shares insights from the 2026 Global Village season. In addition to deep local engagement, Twin Cities Habitat also supports the global mission by partnering with affiliates abroad—including those participating in the 100,000 Floors to Play On initiative. Launched in 2022 by Habitat for Humanity International and the Inter-American Cement Federation, the program aims to replace 100,000 dirt floors with concrete in the Latin American / Caribbean region.
Twenty-four concrete floors later, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity volunteers successfully wrapped up another season of Global Village impact! For homeowners in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, this simple upgrade from dirt to concrete floors can be life‑changing, leading to better health and wellbeing for families.
And, OK, it was 22 ¼ floors. The mixer broke down midway through one site in the Dominican Republic, and we didn’t quite have time to finish the last one in Guatemala. Minor details, but honesty is important in the often competitive, or at least comparative, arena of Global Village work output. Regardless, we paid for all 24 floors. Supporting Habitat’s work – and partner families – in all ways possible is what Global Village experiences are all about.
In February 2026, a group of 18 volunteers traveled to the Sabana Grande de Boyá region of the Dominican Republic. In a somewhat rare Global Village circumstance, we were able to return to the small community of Los Guineos, where we’d mixed concrete the year before. Several team members were on both trips, and as we got off the bus to greet our hosts, their atmosphere of recognition was a heartwarming way to start the build week. While in the D.R., volunteers loaded gas-powered concrete mixers and then delivered the concrete per the professional masons’ instructions.
Habitat Guatemala volunteers, on the other hand, mixed concrete by hand as they orbited what is best described as a miniature volcano. The blend of materials that form the volcano—including cement, rock, sand, and water—gradually coalesced with every turn of the shovel. One reason for utilizing this method is that getting a mixer to many of the sites would simply not be possible. Many communities that Habitat serves there are remote, and some houses are reached by paths that wouldn’t support that type of equipment. So, they do what needs to be done; as volunteers, we do the same. This was how a team of 16 from the Twin Cities churned out their share of new floors for families in Ixcanal, near Guastatoya, Guatemala, this past March 2026.
The trips contrasted in other ways as well:
We had moderate weather in the Dominican Republic vs. HEAT in Guatemala.
A quirky lodging situation in the D.R. included free-range peacocks and cold showers vs. a modern hotel in Guatemala.
The schedule worked just as planned in the D.R., while we had to pivot in Guatemala due to various protests and roadblocks between our hotel and the build sites.
All that said, the themes of each Build Week were predictably similar:
We learned the masons’ approaches to each task the first morning and found the flow of the work by the first afternoon.
At each site, we looked out for each other while experiencing sore muscles, blisters, laughter, new Spanish vocabulary, and a sense of achievement.
Each host affiliate also offered another project type in addition to the floors: a community kitchen in the D.R., and house construction in Guatemala.
Finally: Volunteers, homeowners, Habitat staff, and masons started the week as strangers but felt like ‘goodbye’ came way too soon on the last build day.
The sense of time is almost indescribable during a Global Village Build Week. There’s usually less cell service (and the work isn’t exactly conducive to screen time), and that is certainly part of it. At the start of the week, the combination of the work being both arduous and different than what most of the team is used to makes one wonder if it’s going to be a looooong week. But before you have time to revisit that concern, it’s Friday morning, you’ve found your groove as a concrete mixer, and all you want to do is sign up for another Global Village build!
The international affiliate network that Habitat has developed is amazing for both its impact on partner families worldwide and its ability to connect volunteers to unique experiences that balance construction, travel, and teamwork while making a positive impact.
Interested in learning about future Global Village opportunities? Email globalvillage@tchabitat.org.