Cody Olsen remembers when his parents built their own home in Nibley, Utah between 2006-2007. Little did he know that 17 years later he too, would build his family home in the same way his parents did.

Cody and Melissa Olsen married during the Coronavirus pandemic when the economy changed drastically. The short supply of building materials and construction workers significantly increased housing prices and left the Olsen’s with questions about their new future. When the new couple presented the dilemma to Cody’s parents, they responded by saying, “Why don’t you build a Mutual Self Help house like we did?”

In June of 2022, Cody and Melissa met with Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corporation (NNHC) to learn more about USDA’s Mutual Self Help program and took the first steps to begin the program. The couple successfully qualified and were added to NNHC’s waiting list in June 2023.

Finally, in March 2024, Cody and Melissa began building their future home along with seven other families in Hyrum, Utah. In the small town close to Cody’s childhood home, the group is building more than just houses for their families. They are learning skills that build stronger foundations through resiliency, self-sufficiency, teamwork, and communication. Additionally, they are gaining appreciation for the many complexities that go into building a home.

Melissa says, “It’s fun learning what goes into a house and why it’s important, like why we need a header or footer.”

Each household works at full-time jobs and contributes at least 35 hours per week building their homes. Saturday is their longest day of the week on the build site, which includes ten hours of construction.

Cody says, “We’re exhausted, but it is totally worth it. We are building more equity in one year than we could do otherwise.” The Olsens are excited to welcome a baby girl to grow up in their new home this summer and are thankful the USDA Mutual Self Help program is helping them to foster a strong foundation for her success.