Carters’ life with Habitat set to air

Jimmy Carter led his first work group for Habitat for Humanity in New York in 1984, and he and his wife, Rosalynn, have continued that work in the years since.

A new documentary that recounts the former president and first lady’s work building houses with the nonprofit airs tonight on PBS stations in Georgia and around the country.

“The Life a House Built: The 25th Anniversary of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project” is a one-hour special hosted by Kevin O’Connor of “This Old House.” It includes interviews with the Carters and features a five-day Carter Work Project for Habitat in the Gulf Coast region this past spring.

The show begins at 9 p.m. on Georgia Public Broadcasting, followed by a rerun of “The Carters —- A Conversation” at 10 p.m. “The Life a House Built” repeats at 6 p.m. Sunday on GPB.

For Atlanta-based Habitat for Humanity International, it’s a way for more people to learn about the organization’s work around the world, said Habitat spokesman Chris Clarke. “With the economy being what it is this year,” having the program air across the country is “a gift,” he said.

“It comes at a great time of the year for us,” because most nonprofits see the highest levels of contributions coming in during the fourth quarter with the holidays and end-of-year tax considerations, Clarke said.

The Carters were unavailable for comment for this story.

“This Old House” last winter focused on hurricane restoration in New Orleans, including Habitat’s work there.

“That’s where we started digging into the Habitat story,” O’Connor said.

Producer Paul Speaker said when trying to get close to the subjects of a documentary, “in many cases they are as interested in telling their story for either promotional reasons or for art reasons,”

For the documentary on the Carters’ work with Habitat, he said, “there was not a whole lot of time to engage with Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, because they were spending almost all their time from sunup to sundown with hammers and nails and saws in hand.

“It was amazing to see how hard they worked.”

O’Connor said the best moment he shared with the former president was walking through a job site, “and we could talk construction —- sort of do-it-yourself carpenter to do-it-yourself carpenter.”

After shooting for a week across the Gulf Coast, the producers went to New York to shoot footage at the first location that Carter and Habitat worked on 25 years ago, interviewing some of the early homeowners who still live there.

The documentary also looks at the Carters’ and Habitat’s work internationally. “For those who have worked with us on a Sunday with their church in their hometown, a lot of times they’re not aware that it’s really part of a global network and a global mission,” Clarke said.

HABITAT DOCUMENTARY

>What: “The Life a House Built: The 25th Anniversary of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project”’

>When: 9 tonight

>Where: Georgia Public Broadcasting