Up and Coming Firewood Hub in East Navajo Nation, New Mexico

By Hannah Stinson

Earlier this fall, before the seasons had shifted, I traveled through the Southwest with the Wood For Life Training and Workshop as my destination. At the workshop, I met Thalia Garmendez, the Program Coordinator for Tse'ii'ahi' Community Center (pronounced "Tseh-ee-ah-hee") under the non-profit organization, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo,Tse'ii'ahi' Wood Bank Hub. Thalia is an outstanding leader in her community and she has a vision for how the expanding firewood assistance program that serves the Navajo people of Standing Rock, New Mexico, a chapter of the Eastern Navajo Nation, could better serve her community. 

We chatted around the gas fire pit back at our retro hotel, where I learned about Thalia’s background in mechanical engineering and upbringing in Crownpoint, where resources have always been limited and so are jobs. After completing her undergraduate degree, Thalia moved back to her hometown to be closer to her mother. Thalia manages and directs all programs of the community center on her own while they recruit a full-time director. Programs offered include a community garden, indoor cultural events and activities, and a firewood lot. She accepted some in-home safety supplies and is planning to introduce wood stove and fire prevention education to their resources available to the community.

Deck of firewood logs stored for processing

After the workshop, I met her in Standing Rock to see the grounds of their woodbank lot and future goals myself. With the help of Navajo member Ames Meyer, they received three truckloads of logs from the Southwest Wood for Life initiative; the logs, some 20 feet or more in length, were stacked in 5 large piles surrounding the small community center. Many logs are preseasoned because of the forestry projects they originated from and the New Mexico climate results in very fast drying time . With borrowed equipment and some volunteer help from Ancestral Lands Corps they had processed and distributed around 10 cords of firewood right away. Thalia posts when processed firewood is available on Facebook and she gets many interested replies. 

Split firewood, processed by Ancestral Land Corps ready for distribution

In the future, Thalia would like to move the woodbank lot down the road from the community center on a vacant lot with room to build a large storage warehouse for equipment and wood storage. They currently store splitting supplies in a hogan, a traditional Navajo round building, adjacent to the center which makes good storage but prevents them from using the hogan for what it’s intended for. More space will also increase involvement from other chapter members and capacity for processing and distributing wood, since the Navajo Nation has utilized fire in traditional cooking, heating, and ceremonial purposes for centuries. Due to their fabulous commitment to collaboration and expansion they received a  2025 Firewood Bank Assistance Program Grant, and I’m excited to watch how the Tse'ii'ahi' Wood Bank Hub will expand their services over time.