Above, the original inspiration, Mongolian yurts. Below, European versión of the same. A beautiful home. Yurt is the Turkish Word for "dwelling" , in Mongolia a yurt is a "ger".
In Mongolia long ago, herders travelled with sheep goats and yak across ancient grasslands. Theirs was a land of bitter extremes, wind-swept steppes bounded by jagged peaks, long winters cold beyond imagining that melted into short green summers. These nomads believed in the sacredness of all things and the need to keep a balance-balance between the world of people and the world of nature, and with the worlds above and below. Everything they did reflected this belief. Including the building of their nomadic homes. Roof struts made from saplings were slipped into a central wooden ring, then tied to the top of circular lattice walls and covered with the felted mats. The herders tied the felt to the roof and walls with ropes and belts made from animal hair. In the winter extra mats were added for warmth; in the summer fewer layers were used. Sections could be raised or even completely removed in hot weather to allow for airflow through the shelter. These tribal communities lived in connection with nature in a manner that was simple yet comfortable and in balance with the world around them. Temperatures in Mongolia can drop to around minus 35. That people have lived in these structures in these conditions for something like three thousand years, says something beyond praise for the suitability and practicality of a yurt home. The simplicity and geometry is simply beautiful. My yurt is a kind of hybred tried and tested and adapted to the European climate. For a website of the kind of yurt I recommend see http://yurtasartesanales.blogspot.com.es/. A complete and beautiful "forever" house for less than 4000 euros NEW. Or if youre crafty, you can build your own. The yurts of "Yurtasartesanales" are very well known in Southern Spain and Portugal and in high demand. In my experience I cannot imagine a more beautiful home, A round space keeps energy flowing around. High ceilinged, light and bright. Its beautiful to be able to be aware of the weather outside, yet protected enough. In a Stone house one cant Heard the birds sing or feel the morning air freshness. As I type i hear the rain lashing on the roof, and feel the fresh chill of the March cool air. The Yurtasartesanales have a very high canopy with light coming in from a clear cupula, a chimney goes out of the centre of the roof, and the stove can go against the wall or in the centre. A wooden floor above the ground on breeze blocks keeps one away from the damp. The floor looks like a mandala, Rugs and a good woodburner keep it cosy in Winter. The walls are simply canvas and ply. A well made yurt can withstand high winds and strong rain, it needs some basic upkeep from time to time of the Windows and door frames, as would a normal house, and the fabric cover will need changing about every 6 to 8 years. With a good solid wooden floor you have a sold moveable house, that is a delight to live in. Its easy to heat, even though the angled roof is so high. It can be hot in 40 degree summers but its cool enough to sleep in at night in the hottest Andalucian Summer. We have much to learn rom the original designers of yurts and their deep respect for the world around them. In the Western world most of us live without connection with nature, and I believe that this loss of connection, our inability to see ourselves as one with the planet and other species inextricably linked in patterns of symbiosis too subtle for scientists to see, is what creates our malaise and inability to see the madness of living unsustainably on a finite planet. Spending more time in nature and for sure, living more in touch with the elements, might be slightly less "easy" and "comfortable", however, in terms of health and happiness there is no bigger healing. A 4 metre yurt as big enough to live in for one person, without much possessions, and how much nicer than a caravan made of metal and plastic or a house made of concrete and polymers. A yurt made of Wood and canvas, and smells good, feels clean, is ecologically sensible. 5 to 6 metre diameter is good for a family, its posible to build storage space up high, a kitchen can go in or outside. Ive even seen 2 yurts linked together by tunnel to have one for living space and one for sleeping. Really, small is better, how much space can you take up when you sleep, when you sit with a book? Can you look out of your door and breathe fresh air and walk barefoot on the grass? A yurt of the kind I use can be put up and taken down by a small team including a carpenter with an electric drill in a day. Imagine a house you can move if you need to, when you need to, with no bills and no mortgage. A house, thats solid enough to sit through the stormiest Winter and the hottest summer. Just find the right place to be. To put your yurt. And lie and live and breathe with nature . When I bought my farm, I did not know what a bargain I had in the bluebirds, daffodils and thrushes; as little did I know what sublime mornings and sunsets I was buying. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
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A shower on a sunny afternoon, with fronds of jasmine waving in your face, a gold tap, and a bamboo teepee frame, with a view of olive trees, wood and stones under my feet, seeing rainbows in the water spray.
My bamboo shower teepee is self designed. With helpers who are a bit smarter than me at building. I found a circle of wood left from a nearby yurtmaker, With freinds with sharp machetes we cut and trimmed 120 peices of bamboo from a neigbors land. I looked online on how to make eco cement with soil and lime, We stuck our heads together of how the structure would be held so it didnt come down like a game of Jenga. Solution... a tightenable strap at the base, string at the top around the wooden circle.... and a whole load of trial error and experimenting fun. It went up in a few days, getting rocks and making cement was slow. Cutting the bamboo and getting it here on roof of someones van was a story. Getting materials seems to be the slowest part. Construction is creative and time is irrelevant. The structure has been standing and in use now for a couple of years, the bamboo is still strong, fading. The plastic cable ties are disintegrating but I trust that the Jasmine plant will hold it all together, I may need to retie with new string at the top as this disintegrates. Water is heated in summer just from a black pipe in the sun, Basically its too hot in summer for a few minutes till the cold water comes through. After a few winters of showering at friends houses in winter or bucket wash, because I didn't want a cold shower I gave in and got a gas water heater to use for hot water in the winter. What luxury! If i wait till a sunny afternoon its lovely to shower outside, even in winter its wonderful. In summer, its just gorgeous. Since I lived offgrid, for about 6 years now, I have had a compost loo. And I love it. It has a great view, My poo is useful it is recycled back into the land. And best of all I don't waste good drinking water on flushing anything "away". 1 in 10 people in the world don't have access to fresh drinking water, and in the uk, a loo flushes about 5 to 7 GALLONS of water each flush. One little piss, and 5 GALLONS of good drinking water to "get rid of it". The USA uses 4 Billion gallons of water a year on flushing loos. This is just gross stupidity and a complete waste of good drinking water. Urine is a soil enhancer containing nitrogen phosphorous and potassium, why waste that? So I pee on my land, the plants love it. Its full of nutrients, and its lovely to step out at night to see the stars as I have a night time wee. This has an added benefit of me really being in touch with the cycles of the moon, by seeing it every night to see where its at. Thats a whole other subject! I guess if you live in a small flat in Peckham its not really possible. So thats why I live offgrid in nature, well, one reason of many zillions. Nothing is "waste" in nature... poo is not useless, quite the contrary. . What is a waste is flushing a good natural product ie clean good water, into a complicated and expensive cleaning system, by intially using drinking water to swish it away. Which makes the water undrinkable. That, is madness. Energy recycling is principle no 6 of permaculture. Its not even normal in modern houses, that use so much water, to use "greywater" ie water from showers or washing machines to swish away our wee and poo. it is deemed normal in the "advanced" world to use drinking water to do that. We ought to put our heads together on that one. Poo makes compost, its clean and ready to use within 2 to 3 years. I put it on my trees, and theres a beautiful cycle in it, I eat fruits from my land, I poo in my loo, the compost goes back to the trees, Isn't that just a perfect circle. I have seen folks very very disgusted to handle human made compost, so strong is our conditioning that poo is nasty. It isn't. It breaks down in a compost loo, with no added bacteria, just naturally bugs and insects come in eat it munch it up, break it down, they do all the work to turn it into black gold. Very quickly, I promise you its NOT smelly, its not dangerous, and when it comes out the back of my compost loo, once its broken down, it smells like the soil you would find on the bottom of a glorious forest floor. You can rub it in your hands and have a big inhale, it does not smell of shit! Does the container have to be really big? Depends on the number of people will be using it. As it breaks down it loses about 90 percent of its bulk, so the container, if big enough, just doesn't get too full. The design of my toilet. It;s a little shed built around the functional parts, A water barrel with a little door cut in the back, hinged. The poo goes in, it breaks down, There;s a bicycle wheel in the bottom of the barrel, at a slight angle, to ensure air and space. Its in a box with a hole, that has a glass lid to cover it. Theres a pipe built in to allow air circulation. Poo goes in the top with toilet paper, and sawdust or straw or grass cuttings or similar after each use, You can pee in there too. but better to keep it dryer.. Wait a season, and out of the back door of the tub, comes black gold compost to go on the trees. I poo with a view, I don't waste water, it doesn't smell bad and it is not attracting loads of flies or anything nasty. It is a beautiful little thinking space. Finally, sitting to have a poo? If so, we are doing it wrong! My last comment is on a suggestion of how you can make pooing easier and better for your body, dont sit, squat. Eradicates all kinda modern day bowel problems, I wouldn't try it in an aeroplane though. "This is because the closure mechanism of the gut is not designed to “open the hatch completely” when we’re sitting down or standing up: it’s like a kinked hose. Squatting is far more natural and puts less pressure on our bottoms. 1.2 billion people around the world who squat have almost no incidence of diverticulosis and fewer problems with piles. We in the west, on the other hand, squeeze our gut tissue until it comes out of our bottoms.” Theres a whole book on it from which this last paragraph comes from ... called "Charming Bowels, by Guilia Enders" Now theres a good toilet reading book. Below is the view from a compost toilet at The Yoga Forest in San Marcos
near to Lake Aititlan, Guatemala where I taught yoga in 2015. A round house is a happy house. A fire in the center. Seems natural.
Benefits - Waking up hearing the birds, living close to the elements, feeling the seasons, watching the moons cycles, having time to sit with friends, no rent to pay, living in nature, no bills, just a few costs for gas and wood, leaving a very low carbon footprint, having a house that can be moved in a day, or maybe two, seeing the stars at night, being waken up by the full moon as she passes over in the night, having time to do what i want, working when I want to and doing things I love. Sharing in a community, Eenjoying the simple things. Sitting around a real fire in winter and making tea on it and cooking chestnuts. Enjoying being around children and babies that are not "mine". Eating fruit off the trees. Simplifying, less is more, frugality is fun, having less stuff, having a home made of natural materials, having a piece of land to take care of, Recyling, being mindful. No concrete, squares or corners. Where are the right angles in nature? Nature spirals and circles and weaves. Drawbacks - Its not the easiest life. physically but actually that makes me feel healthier and stronger. All the positives outweigh any difficulties. Aye, It can be a wee bit cold in winter, but toasty with the woodburner, which heats the space really well, Its not insulated. Rugs on the wooden floor help a lot in winter, and the walls. How did i find this lifestyle? Really by synchronicity. I was invited here, for a small birthday party of someone I didnt know, and stayed, in a small 4 meter yurt with a friend for a very short time, and that was just enough time to know that I wanted to live in a yurt. I stayed, met lovely people and was offered a free place in a lovely couples yurt that just happened to be empty at the time, and in time, after a few years, I was offered a second hand yurt to buy, and simultaneously a piece of land. I didnt work hard trying to find it all. It came to me quite serendipitiously. What advice can I give to anyone wanting to live off grid? Just get out there , believe in yourself, and make it happen. You dont have to know everything, If you go to a place where other people know stuff they will share their knowledge with you, if you vibe with them. Make friends and all will flow, if you have the right intention. Good luck, happy frugality. Recommendation for yurt makers in south Spain. yurtas artesanales yurtas.blogspot.com A few pictures of a beautiful place to live, some goats i milked, some friends who helped me, a special breakfast, simple things. Thank you.
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