I love yurts. The idea of something so stable, yet temporary and portable.
The goal of this blog is to encourage myself to build a yurt. As an investment in the future, my future, I think a yurt is the structure for me. Certainly, I live in a house now, but one day my situation will change and instead of seeing things as being hopeless, if I have a yurt, I will always have a home. A place that is mine during hard times. A strong home, yet temporary - as in to remind myself that troubles are temporary and things will come around again.
The first picture is from Groovy Yurts. They specialize in imported Mongolian yurts, and when I came across their website years ago, my heart leaped. How could a tent, nay, a home, be so beautiful? It was then that I made the resolve that a yurt would be mine.
Over the years, I took the opportunity to get to know some other yurts. Here's one in a park that people can stay in.
The construction style is yurt style, mostly, but it's a very modern version. It has a thin, plastic wall that resembles a tent more than a home. What I liked most about it is that it kept the wind out, had extra light from the windows and is built on a raised floor. The elements I didn't like were that it was too tall at the walls, so it didn't keep much heat where one needs it at night. On top of that, the plastic-fabric didn't breath, so the air inside was stale. It was hot and stuffy during the day, and cold and clammy at night.
Here's some photos of my friend's yurt. We set it up in the backyard and I stayed in it for about a week while we painted the house. I do poorly with certain chemicals, specifically ones made from soy and petroleum, so I need to avoid paint while it offs gass. But after a week or two, I can go back in the house.
I hesitate to call this homemade because the wooden structure was made by someone with a small cottage industry of making yurts for friends. The heavy cotton canvas was sewn by the owner. It's a beautiful yurt.
The wooden walls are about 4 foot high and the centre maybe 8 or 9 feet. Excepting the door, all the joints are tied with leather cordage or cotton string. The interior of the yurt was more comfortable than the park cabin version because the natural fabric allowed the air to flow slightly through it. So it was fairly cool in the daytime, and not terribly cold at night.
The yurt was about 10 foot across, and I found it just right for temporary dwelling, but I really would want something larger if I were to stay there for any serious length of time.
The only thing I didn't like about this particular yurt was the walls didn't reach all the way to the floor, so there was a gap at the bottom that raccoons and wind could get in.
With this small amount of experience under my belt, I am convinced more than ever that I wish to live in a yurt. I have a general feel for what I want from a yurt, though I imagine that will change as I progress on this project.
I very much want the mongolian style, with felt walls and perhaps a canvas cover for winter. Natural ingredients are a must. Reclaimed and local materials are prefered. Though I don't have the skills yet, I wish to make each part myself - or at least help someone else make the parts I can't do on my own. I seek enough room for sleeping, cooking (even if it's just a fire pit), storing food, daily necessities, and if possible my spinning wheel and loom.
It's an awfully big project. I worry, an expensive one. If the beautiful mongolian yurts cost several grand, how much would it take to make my own at home? At the moment I have $20 and enthusiasm. It's not enough.
I wonder... though I hate to ask for help, I don't think I could do this alone. Maybe if I price this out, and ask the internet, maybe I could find some people with skills and spare change to help fund and assist with my dream? I know there is great kindness on the internet, but is this a worthwhile cause? What could I do to make it less selfish? What could I offer the global community?
Posting my experiences, success and failure is a start. But I would record these anyway.
What skills do I have that I can exchange? About all I'm good at is back to the land skills. Textiles, growing things, cooking in unusual situations and making full use of all ingredients. I don't like to beg, so maybe there is something I can make to say thank you to kind strangers.
These are my major obstacles: funding and finding people willing to share their time and skills to teach me how to do the bits I don't know how.
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