How

We have put much thought into what living situation we would like to pursue. In the last few years we have actively pursued knowledge and experience in a set of skills that will be useful in making our goals a reality.

We have thought about many different scenarios and possibilities, many different locations, and many different forms of architecture and infrastructure.

Putting into the equation all that we know about the state of the world, the state of the society in BC, the realities of infrastructure, energy, and food production. We have arrived a couple of workable scenarios for how we would like to proceed.

It seems in BC in the face of a shortage of affordable housing solutions that you must bring your own affordable housing solution to a place. After thinking about many different forms of infrastructure we have decided that the yurt is the ideal structure for us for the job of fostering the transition to the living situation we would like to achieve

Yurts are a brilliant structure capable of being many different things to different users.


-Here is a step by step guide to what we are proposing with the yurt:

--We are looking to put our yurt on a piece of property with the intention of living in it for all or some of the year.

--We are looking to use the yurt as an "outdoor room" to start with.

--The yurt will be 4 season equipped with insulation and a wood burning stove

--The yurt will serve as our private space


- What we are looking for interms of the property

--Ideally the property will have a sharred community-oreintated purpose. Ideally a working farm - a vineyard - an adventure ranch - a hostel - a lodge - a camp ground - a lodge - retreat center - or some other ecotoursim/agritourism based purpose.

--Even a large sharred house where the people who live there a pursuing similiar goals - We would like to set up the yurt in the backyard

--Ideally accessable to a "center", as in a town center or a place where services are offered. Ideally the distance to this center is that of a scale that is bike accessible - making it easier to live there without the use of vehicals.

--A place with a sharred kitchen and washroom facilities, ideally a sharred space for enjoying social time together.

--Ideally a property whose owners have a vision or goals that are congruent to ours.

--A property where development of further yurt based living and community based infrastruture is a possibilty

--An existing workshop, or space where a workshop can be set up

--A place where pursuing agricultural oppopurtunittes will benefit the property and those who live on it.

Why

Why do we want to do this?

There are many reason affecting our desire to build and live in a yurt shelter:

The main goal is flexibility

Our lifestyles dictate the need for a flexible living situation - over the last few years we have found ourselves moving quite a bit around the province and the world. We feel we need to establish a home base that we can come back to, instead of being constantly between places.

We would like to live closer to the land in a place where we can grow a large garden, share a living situation with other people who share similar goals, and lead a balanced lifestyle.

The cost of owning a house - a cabin - or even a piece of land in BC is beyond our means at the moment. We value our time above all else, currently the amount of time you must trade in order to afford a house - land - or a traditional living situation in BC we feel is too much and requires that you "live to work". Understanding that trading some time for money and a living situation is inevitable and even a good rewarding thing we desire the option to choose for ourselves how we decide to trade that time, to what extend we trade our time, and as well as in what fashion.

There are many converging trends in the world right now: Climate change, peak oil, and declining agricultural production. We would like to find a living situation that is more independent of the current system that is exacerbating these problems, and offers the potential to work together with other people to develop resiliency and robustness in the face of these converging trends.

And most importantly we think our goals are possible, practical, and realistic!

The Project Begins

The project begins

This is the inaugural post of the Yurt Living Project, an Initiative undertaken by Justin Finn and Stephanie LeClair of Sustainable Living Solutions.

The purpose of this Blog is to document, and network our project to build ourselves the affordable housing option of a Yurt and find a living solution that fits the goals of living in a more balanced and sustainable manner.

Lets hope for the best!