IQALUIT - Habitat Iqaluit will begin work on a new house on June 13, but this year's build will have a unique twist -- builders will work throughout the night under the midnight sun during the longest day of the year.

Glenn Cousins, chair for the Iqaluit affiliate of Habitat for Humanity said volunteers will work all night the weekend of June 21.

Habitat for Humanity workers build the first Habitat Iqaluit home in 2007. - photo courtesy of Glenn Cousins

"We're going to have people building around the clock," Cousins said. "People that are from the South who have never experienced it before, they'll experience the midnight sun for the first time. That will be a real kick, people hammering nails at midnight."

Cousins said volunteers from Global Village, who usually volunteer for builds outside of Canada, participated in Habitat Iqaluit's first build in 2007 and will participate again this year.

"It was the first time that Global Village volunteers actually participated on a build in Canada," he said. "So it was kind of recognition of the remoteness and uniqueness of the build situation."

He said volunteers from Iqaluit and companies will also be assisting and media from all over Canada will cover the event.

"Canada AM, The Globe and Mail and Canadian Home Journal are all confirmed," Cousins said.

Habitat Iqaluit carries the mortgage for the family who will receive the new home, but the family who receives it pays the mortgage and volunteers, according to Cousins.

"They do have to pay for the home but we carry the mortgage, Habitat Iqaluit. There's no down payment, no interest on the mortgage," he said.

He said the cost to own the home is "probably about half of what it would normally cost, give or take." The family must also put in 500 "sweat equity" hours, which means volunteering with the build, fundraising for Habitat for Humanity or volunteering for another charity.

"Their down payment is what we call sweat equity. They need to put volunteer time on the house as well," he said. "It might be volunteering they might do for another charitable organization or fundraising for Habitat for Humanity."

Cousins said the Nunavut Housing Corporation provided the lots for both houses and other businesses in Iqaluit provided services as well.

"The objective is to make it as affordable as possible by using donated materials and getting the greater part of the labour donated," he said.

While volunteers complete much of the build, certified workers do the electrical and mechanical work and time is often donated.

"It's all volunteers except for where we need certified tradespeople to do the electrical and mechanical," he said. "A good part of that is donated as well."

Cousins said Habitat Iqaluit is the only Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Nunavut right now, but said he hoped to set up other operations in other communities in the future.

"The long-term plan would be that someday we would try to be reaching out to other communities, but we need to develop greater capacity first," he said. "But right now there's no other affiliate operating in Nunavut."