A MIT guy drove an RV all over the US to build affordable housing

By Slice of MIT

Although Joseph “Pepe” Fields ’67 has an MIT degree in chemistry, he’s spent his career not in the laboratory or the classroom but working all over the world in international management—and, most recently, driving a recreational vehicle all over the US to build affordable housing with a Habitat for Humanity program called RV Care-A-Vanners.

The organization consists of dedicated RV owners who work as volunteer builders, traveling wherever they’re needed to construct houses from scratch using all new materials, doing everything except licensed trade jobs such as electrical and plumbing work. “It grew out of Habitat,” explains Fields. “RVers would go to different affiliates and say, ‘We’re parked in the campsite up the road; is there anything we can do for you for the next couple of weeks?’” It became frequent enough that they decided to organize it.

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