Help fund a new building!

The development of a culturally sensitive learning facility where Pueblo de Cochiti community members can gather as families and learn and grow has been generations in the making. The need for such a facility is ever more pressing. The recent pandemic has underscored the critical importance of conveying our tribal language and culture to our children. This is a primary mission of KCLC. The new KCLC building has been envisioned to support this aim while conveying through its design the traditional and cultural principles and values of the community.

The evolution of this design has been a methodical process that has included many hours of community input. Multiple brainstorming, planning, and design sessions were held with parents, children, teachers, and administrators. These sessions took on broad concepts while at the same time looked at finite design details. This project truly is the vision of an entire community. This level of commitment and support has generated a tremendous amount of excitement. This project will succeed, it will get built, and it will be a highly active center of learning and community development.

The site for the new facility has been provided by the Tribal Council. The existing KCLC building is located on the same site which will house the new building. In the plan for the new building, the existing building will continue to operate throughout the construction project. With the occupancy of the new building, the existing building will be renovated and converted to provide additional administrative support and increased storage space. The existing investment will remain a valuable asset to the Center.
The remainder of the site has been reimagined to create a self sufficient facility which would have the capacity to grow, process, store, sell, and consume enough food to support the student body, staff and to some extent, the larger community. Food production elements include: a production vegetable garden, fruit tree orchard, chicken coops, green and lath houses, storm water catchment cisterns, composting areas, production kitchen, traditional paper bread baking room, pantry/dry/cold storage, hornos, weekend food market area, dining area, and outdoor eating areas. These functions are as critical to the educational curriculum as the planned classrooms, the central gathering hall, and the teachers work rooms, and offices which will support the learning efforts.