Kirsten Dirksen amd Nicolás Boullosa continue their amazing and prodigious coverage of “…simple living, self-sufficiency, small (and tiny) homes, backyard gardens (and livestock), alternative transport, DIY, craftsmanship and philosophies of life.”

I can’t believe how many videos Kirsten has made and photos Nicolás has shot, it seems like they post videos and photos weekly. All stuff I’m interested in.

This one really got me because I’m a native San Franciscan, and never dreamed of a place like this in the city.

Check out faircompanies.com

NYTimes
By Ivan Penn
March 13, 2022

“Citing more blackouts, wildfires and higher electricity rates, a growing number of homeowners are choosing to build homes that run entirely on solar panels and batteries.”

NEVADA CITY, Calif. — In the Gold Rush, Northern California attracted prospectors looking for financial independence. Now, this area is at the vanguard of a new movement — people seeking to use only the energy they produce themselves.

Angry over blackouts, wildfires caused by utilities and rising electricity bills, a small but growing number of Californians in rural areas and in the suburbs of San Francisco are going off the grid. They can do so because of a stunning drop in the cost of solar panels and batteries over the last decade. Some homeowners who have built new, off-grid homes say they have even saved money because their systems were cheaper than securing a new utility connection.

www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/business/energy-environment/california-off-grid.html

From Maui Surfer

We spent a year salvaging the big door and over half the windows, which we designed the cabin around. The rest of the design was informed by our lack of capabilities and by the constraints and logistics of the site and property. The build then took another year.

The solar-powered cabin was 280 sq. ft. plus a 100-sq. ft. loft. The deck tripled our square footage with the intention of opening the two large doors most of the year. The redwood timbers and siding came from a neighboring sawyer and the interior was mostly plywood with exposed doug fir timbers. Shelves were made from slabs of madrone we milled — trees cleared from the cabin site.

A hundred feet down the trail was an outhouse and the weekend property, shared among friends, also featured a series of suspended tree decks, elevated outdoor shower, wood-fired hot tub, and host of camp activities.

Unfortunately, it all burned in the fires of 2020. Cleanup was a group effort and a minor amount of rebuilding has happened since then. We built a new outhouse and just this last weekend a tiny A-frame, just big enough for a bed for two.

Here’s a little more context: Read More …

Dear Lloyd,

Thank you for your amazing blog. Here is a photo of New Zealand’s first off-grid coffee bar, I thought you might like it.

Kind regards,
Bill (Choquette)

Here is a 2020 update on Swedish world sailor Sven Yrvind, whose lifetime of solo sailing was documented in Tiny Homes on the Move (pp. 148-151). Here are a few glimpses of what we referred to as “Sven’s Next Boat” on p. 151, and a 15-minute interview.

“At sea, I can find my youth.”

Note: 30% discount on 2 or more of our books, plus free shipping and money-back-if-not-completely-satisfied (beats Amazon): www.shelterpub.com

From Canyon Haverfield