Category Archives: Sustainable Living

Tiny House vs Camping Trailer

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Michael Janzen

Photo credit to Evan and Gabby Camping trailers are a common sight – mobile tiny houses are still a bit of a novelty. Some of the aesthetic differences are immediately recognizable but then the similarities begin to blur. Below is … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged camping, comparison, rv, tiny house, trailer | 15 Comments

$300 Earthbag House

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Michael Janzen

This is Owen Geiger‘s entry to The $300 House Open Design Challenge. Owen is an earthbag expert and the former Director of Builders Without Borders and Founder and Director of the Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building. The design challenge … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged $300 House, competition, earthbag, owen geiger | 2 Comments

The Legality of Tiny Houses

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Michael Janzen

In the following interview with Tumbleweed Tiny House Company founder Jay Shafer, he describes some of his initial motives for choosing to live in a tiny home. Civil disobedience was one item that topped the list. Demonstrating that size was not … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged interview, jay shafer, legal, permit, tiny houses, tumbleweed | 17 Comments

The Future of Tiny House Business Opportunities

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Michael Janzen

I’ve noticed an increase in interest around the topic of tiny house business opportunities. Things seemed to get jump started sometime after July 17, 2010 when Jay Shafer‘s story was featured on the Yahoo homepage. The media seemed to really like the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged blogging, books, business, Plans, tiny house, Workshops | 27 Comments

Redefining the Trailer House

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Michael Janzen

Randy has a blog called Mobile Kodgers where he writes about the freedom he finds on the road. Today Randy told the story of a long-time friend who lives in a private location on the Mogollon plateau in Arizona. The land … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged Arizona, Mobile Kodgers, Mogollon, Taylor, trailer | Leave a comment

Nick Rosen’s Off-The-Grid Community Vision

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Michael Janzen

Imagine an enormous intentional community of 2,000 residents, all living sustainably off-the-grid. This is what Nick Rosen is noodling over since working on his book, Off the Grid. As he traveled while researching stories for his book, he met many … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged community, Nick Rosen, off the grid | 14 Comments

100% Nasty Free – Punkle’s Farm

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Michael Janzen

If the story of Heimo Korth, the trapper that lives in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, was a bit to extreme for you, as it was for me at times; you’ll appreciate this trailer for a movie about Punkle’s Farm. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living, Video | Tagged canada, ontario, Punkle's Farm | 1 Comment

Heimo’s Arctic Refuge

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Michael Janzen

It’s always fascinating to me to run across the story of someone who lives off the land in remote places. One of my favorite stories is of Dick Proenneke, a man in his 50′s that moved out into the woods … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living, Video | Tagged alaska, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Heimo Korth | 3 Comments

Exploring Land Bargains for Tiny Houses

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Michael Janzen

The internet is brimming with cheap raw land for sale and many of the deals seem too good to be true. Land can also be very difficult to finance. This is because it’s difficult for lenders to really assess the true … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged cheap land, Classic Country Land, land, property, real estate | 12 Comments

Locating Land for Tiny Houses

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Michael Janzen

One of the most common questions I hear centers around where people can live in tiny houses legally. The challenge is that in many communities the definition of what qualifies as a residential home has been too tightly defined. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged building codes, building permits, land for sale, property, real estate | 15 Comments