WEBVTT 00:00:00.254 --> 00:00:02.466 Welcome to the off the grid tiny house 00:00:02.466 --> 00:00:04.565 built from the land and from 00:00:04.565 --> 00:00:06.298 second-hand materials here at 00:00:06.298 --> 00:00:08.646 Le Rêve de Gaïa in southern France. 00:00:08.646 --> 00:00:10.963 This tiny house serves as a 00:00:10.963 --> 00:00:12.732 demonstration site for 00:00:12.732 --> 00:00:14.447 sustainable and simple living to 00:00:14.447 --> 00:00:16.414 help you be able to live more 00:00:16.414 --> 00:00:18.182 sustainably and simply, wherever 00:00:18.182 --> 00:00:19.262 you are in the world. 00:00:19.262 --> 00:00:21.364 Today, I'm going to give you a tour 00:00:21.364 --> 00:00:23.034 of the house and the set-up, and 00:00:23.034 --> 00:00:25.082 show you how you can adapt these things 00:00:25.082 --> 00:00:28.065 at home, wherever you are, to live a 00:00:28.065 --> 00:00:30.408 more simple and sustainable life. 00:00:40.659 --> 00:00:43.374 In my last video, I already showed the 00:00:43.387 --> 00:00:46.028 whole building process, from tree to tiny 00:00:46.028 --> 00:00:48.121 house, so you can watch that video. 00:00:48.121 --> 00:00:50.729 Just to recap on that a little bit, all of 00:00:50.729 --> 00:00:53.579 the wood for this tiny house was actually 00:00:53.579 --> 00:00:55.328 from trees that were harvested 00:00:55.328 --> 00:00:58.228 sustainably right here on-site and then 00:00:58.228 --> 00:01:00.677 milled right here on-site as well. 00:01:00.677 --> 00:01:03.678 The other aspects are all second-hand. 00:01:03.678 --> 00:01:08.061 The doors and the windows were leftover. 00:01:08.061 --> 00:01:10.213 Companies that install new doors and 00:01:10.213 --> 00:01:12.463 windows throw out the old ones when 00:01:12.463 --> 00:01:14.663 they replace them. Everything else pretty 00:01:14.663 --> 00:01:16.880 much is second-hand material, stuff that 00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:18.645 was laying around at the farm, stuff 00:01:18.645 --> 00:01:20.962 salvaged from the landfill, and this 00:01:20.962 --> 00:01:24.047 entire thing cost under $100, including 00:01:24.047 --> 00:01:26.336 the little bit of materials that we did 00:01:26.336 --> 00:01:29.976 need to buy, the gasoline and the screws, 00:01:29.976 --> 00:01:31.543 just some very basic stuff. 00:01:31.543 --> 00:01:33.796 I want to take you inside and show you 00:01:33.796 --> 00:01:35.846 everything else. 00:01:39.252 --> 00:01:41.721 Here I am, on the bed inside the tiny 00:01:41.723 --> 00:01:43.992 house and the lesson here is that we 00:01:43.992 --> 00:01:46.870 don't need a lot to live sustainably. 00:01:46.870 --> 00:01:49.706 In fact, the less we need, the more we can 00:01:49.706 --> 00:01:52.606 simplify, the easier it actually is to 00:01:52.606 --> 00:01:54.923 live sustainably. So, this place is about 00:01:54.923 --> 00:01:56.723 really stripping back to the basics, 00:01:56.723 --> 00:01:59.005 showing a way of simplifying and being 00:01:59.005 --> 00:02:01.055 happy with what we have, rather than 00:02:01.055 --> 00:02:03.639 always wanting more. There's a simple, 00:02:03.639 --> 00:02:06.472 comfortable bed here. Then, on the other 00:02:06.472 --> 00:02:08.840 side, here, there's going to be a second 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:10.987 bed as well. The shelves are all made 00:02:10.987 --> 00:02:13.857 from wood here on-site, really simple, 00:02:13.857 --> 00:02:16.423 just screws and wood and some small 00:02:16.423 --> 00:02:18.780 shelves here as well for some basic items. 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:20.839 Just next to the bed here, we have a 00:02:20.839 --> 00:02:23.137 little seating area. Then, you can see how 00:02:23.137 --> 00:02:25.004 the storage works, just comes right out 00:02:25.004 --> 00:02:28.179 from underneath the bed, and it's the 00:02:28.179 --> 00:02:30.898 perfect size for some simple crates to 00:02:30.898 --> 00:02:33.204 go under. Here, you can see the 00:02:33.204 --> 00:02:35.553 shelves that were built on both sides, 00:02:35.553 --> 00:02:38.322 very simple to be able to store basic 00:02:38.322 --> 00:02:41.753 items. Then, above me, here we have 00:02:41.753 --> 00:02:45.102 spots for hanging clothes, some clothes 00:02:45.102 --> 00:02:48.444 hangers here. If it's raining outside and 00:02:48.444 --> 00:02:50.627 you can't hang dry your clothes outside, 00:02:50.627 --> 00:02:52.701 this is a good place to be able to dry 00:02:52.701 --> 00:02:54.150 some clothes as well. 00:02:54.150 --> 00:02:56.259 It's a comfortable place. It's designed to 00:02:56.259 --> 00:02:58.779 have great lighting because this is off 00:02:58.779 --> 00:03:01.102 the grid. There's actually not electricity 00:03:01.102 --> 00:03:04.281 here, so for light, there is a headlamp, 00:03:04.281 --> 00:03:07.285 which this one light lights up the place 00:03:07.285 --> 00:03:09.786 quite a bit, then that can be charged back 00:03:09.786 --> 00:03:12.068 at the community, and then there are 00:03:12.068 --> 00:03:14.400 candles as well. So, that's the inside of 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.151 the tiny house. As you can see, very 00:03:16.151 --> 00:03:18.833 simple, but very comfortable and a 00:03:18.833 --> 00:03:21.884 wonderful place to just work on living 00:03:21.884 --> 00:03:24.386 simply and connecting to the basics and 00:03:24.386 --> 00:03:27.649 just being happy, being outside, being in 00:03:27.649 --> 00:03:30.450 nature, loving the world that we live in. 00:03:30.450 --> 00:03:32.533 Continuing on with loving the world, it's 00:03:32.533 --> 00:03:34.272 about the way that we interact with 00:03:34.272 --> 00:03:36.381 the world, so next I'm going to take you 00:03:36.381 --> 00:03:38.321 outside to show you what we do there. 00:03:44.656 --> 00:03:46.934 Most of the food here is grown on 00:03:46.938 --> 00:03:49.245 the farm, in the big fields, where a lot 00:03:49.245 --> 00:03:51.619 of food is grown. But here, next to the 00:03:51.619 --> 00:03:53.835 tiny house, we have a simple raised bed 00:03:53.835 --> 00:03:55.836 garden and I wanted to put this here to 00:03:55.836 --> 00:03:58.302 show how simple it is to grow some of 00:03:58.302 --> 00:04:01.203 your own food. A raised bed is as simple 00:04:01.203 --> 00:04:03.935 as a couple of posts in each corner and 00:04:03.935 --> 00:04:07.000 then some planks, some basic wood. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.052 All you have to do is be able to hold the 00:04:09.052 --> 00:04:12.102 soil in, have soil, have water, have 00:04:12.102 --> 00:04:14.417 sunlight and some plants. We can all 00:04:14.417 --> 00:04:16.883 grow a little bit of our own food, whether 00:04:16.883 --> 00:04:19.450 it's herbs on a balcony or a windowsill, 00:04:19.450 --> 00:04:21.518 or turning our whole front yard into a 00:04:21.518 --> 00:04:23.583 garden. Or, if we really don't have any 00:04:23.583 --> 00:04:26.084 space, joining a community garden. If not 00:04:26.084 --> 00:04:28.982 any of that, then seeking out local food 00:04:28.982 --> 00:04:30.934 and supporting the people that are 00:04:30.934 --> 00:04:33.491 growing food locally. 00:04:38.069 --> 00:04:39.937 Here we are in the outdoor kitchen, and 00:04:39.937 --> 00:04:42.069 this is constructed from wood harvested 00:04:42.069 --> 00:04:44.335 here, on site, as well as scrap 00:04:44.335 --> 00:04:46.539 materials, things that were salvaged that 00:04:46.539 --> 00:04:48.635 would have gone to waste, which is one of 00:04:48.635 --> 00:04:51.153 the great lessons here, utilizing wasted 00:04:51.153 --> 00:04:53.387 resources as well as sustainably 00:04:53.387 --> 00:04:56.720 harvesting from earth that we live on. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.802 I use a plant-based biodegradable soap, so 00:04:59.802 --> 00:05:02.352 this goes into what's called gray water. 00:05:02.352 --> 00:05:05.652 Here, we just fill up the water from the 00:05:05.652 --> 00:05:08.493 spring or from harvesting rainwater. Then, 00:05:08.493 --> 00:05:10.588 the water that goes into the sink doesn't 00:05:10.588 --> 00:05:12.704 go to a wastewater treatment plant. It 00:05:12.704 --> 00:05:15.904 goes down, it's collected in a bucket, and 00:05:15.904 --> 00:05:18.920 then that water can be used for watering 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:21.287 plants and growing food. If you're at 00:05:21.287 --> 00:05:24.118 home, you can actually unscrew the P-trap 00:05:24.118 --> 00:05:26.868 under your sink and put a bucket there. 00:05:26.868 --> 00:05:28.987 Also, when you shower, when the water is 00:05:28.987 --> 00:05:32.020 heating up, you can fill a bucket and use 00:05:32.020 --> 00:05:34.503 that for watering. You can set up your 00:05:34.503 --> 00:05:37.420 laundry to go directly to your landscape. 00:05:37.420 --> 00:05:39.353 That's called laundry to landscape. 00:05:39.353 --> 00:05:41.451 So, at home, whether you're on the grid or 00:05:41.451 --> 00:05:43.453 off the grid, there's a lot of ways to use 00:05:43.453 --> 00:05:45.819 your gray water. We also harvest rainwater 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:47.327 so I want to show you that. 00:05:47.327 --> 00:05:49.252 Here is the rainwater harvesting system. 00:05:49.252 --> 00:05:51.369 It's extremely simple. Rainwater 00:05:51.369 --> 00:05:53.534 harvesting is not complex. It's not 00:05:53.534 --> 00:05:55.869 difficult. We have a gutter collecting 00:05:55.869 --> 00:05:58.051 the water that falls onto the house and 00:05:58.051 --> 00:06:00.302 then it goes into a bucket. Rainwater 00:06:00.302 --> 00:06:02.369 harvesting is as simple as that. You can 00:06:02.369 --> 00:06:05.234 use small buckets. You can get large, 00:06:05.234 --> 00:06:07.719 55-gallon drums or you can have giant 00:06:07.719 --> 00:06:10.019 cisterns. Of course, the kitchen would 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:12.768 not be complete without a place to cook. 00:06:12.768 --> 00:06:14.519 In communities, one of the keys is 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:16.933 actually cooking together, in a central 00:06:16.933 --> 00:06:18.767 location. That drastically reduces 00:06:18.767 --> 00:06:21.350 workload. Here, we just have a simple 00:06:21.350 --> 00:06:24.283 stove using rocks here from on-site, 00:06:24.283 --> 00:06:27.599 then also wood from here on-site. We have 00:06:27.599 --> 00:06:31.501 wood that comes from the spruce trees and 00:06:31.501 --> 00:06:34.466 then the leftover wood from building the 00:06:34.466 --> 00:06:36.716 house. This is a very simple stove that's 00:06:36.716 --> 00:06:39.050 designed to be pretty efficient, with just 00:06:39.050 --> 00:06:41.349 using a little bit of wood for basic 00:06:41.349 --> 00:06:42.973 cooking. That's the stove. 00:06:42.973 --> 00:06:44.883 Here I am at the outdoor shower. This 00:06:44.883 --> 00:06:46.916 incorporates multiple things. First of 00:06:46.916 --> 00:06:49.799 all, it incorporates solar heating, so 00:06:49.799 --> 00:06:52.100 these black buckets can be put out into 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:55.882 the sun and then the black absorbs the 00:06:55.882 --> 00:06:58.965 heat. If you put out the water from the 00:06:58.965 --> 00:07:01.465 spring in the morning, by the afternoon or 00:07:01.465 --> 00:07:03.631 evening, you have yourself a nice, warm 00:07:03.631 --> 00:07:05.881 shower or even hot shower, depending 00:07:05.881 --> 00:07:07.598 on the weather. 00:07:07.598 --> 00:07:09.914 This works really simply. There are holes 00:07:09.914 --> 00:07:12.231 screwed into the bottom of the bucket. 00:07:12.231 --> 00:07:14.497 This bucket comes off the bottom and then 00:07:14.497 --> 00:07:17.097 it's able to come out. Something that you 00:07:17.097 --> 00:07:19.299 can do at home is build an outdoor shower 00:07:19.299 --> 00:07:21.230 for the summer months. You can save 00:07:21.230 --> 00:07:22.979 water from your shower to water your 00:07:22.979 --> 00:07:25.065 garden or even redirect your shower 00:07:25.065 --> 00:07:27.254 to your landscape. 00:07:30.836 --> 00:07:33.336 Here, I am at the compost bin. Composting 00:07:33.344 --> 00:07:35.872 is very simple, not complicated. The Earth 00:07:35.872 --> 00:07:38.167 has been doing it for millions and 00:07:38.167 --> 00:07:40.100 millions of years. This compost bin is 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:42.499 just built from wood and screws. In 00:07:42.499 --> 00:07:45.067 cities, you can collect pallets, put 00:07:45.067 --> 00:07:47.216 three pallets together and then make 00:07:47.216 --> 00:07:49.167 a front and you've got yourself a compost 00:07:49.167 --> 00:07:51.617 bin. Chicken wire in a circle is another 00:07:51.617 --> 00:07:54.166 really easy compost bin. You can also 00:07:54.166 --> 00:07:57.204 buy closed rotating containers as well, 00:07:57.204 --> 00:07:59.233 if you want to spend some money, or 00:07:59.233 --> 00:08:01.499 find them used. One key to composting 00:08:01.499 --> 00:08:03.383 well is to make sure you have plenty of 00:08:03.383 --> 00:08:06.015 carbon. For beginner composters, 00:08:06.015 --> 00:08:08.132 if you have any smells, if you have a lot 00:08:08.132 --> 00:08:10.549 of insects, just make sure you have 2-3 00:08:10.549 --> 00:08:14.048 times more dry carbon matter than your 00:08:14.048 --> 00:08:16.799 wet matter, like food waste and things 00:08:16.799 --> 00:08:18.831 like that, that create smells. Composting 00:08:18.831 --> 00:08:21.197 is something we can all do to reduce waste 00:08:21.197 --> 00:08:23.197 to the landfill. If we don't have a space 00:08:23.197 --> 00:08:25.515 to compost ourselves, in cities, a lot of 00:08:25.515 --> 00:08:27.349 times you can bring it to a central 00:08:27.349 --> 00:08:29.114 location, like a community garden or 00:08:29.114 --> 00:08:31.367 some farmers' markets collect it, so 00:08:31.367 --> 00:08:33.333 this is a great way to keep stuff out 00:08:33.333 --> 00:08:35.730 of the landfill and not turn our waste 00:08:35.730 --> 00:08:38.047 into someone else's problem, but instead 00:08:38.047 --> 00:08:40.831 make fertile soil for growing our own food 00:08:40.831 --> 00:08:42.297 right here on-site. 00:08:42.297 --> 00:08:44.416 This is the compost toilet and this is 00:08:44.416 --> 00:08:46.297 definitely more advanced sustainability 00:08:46.297 --> 00:08:48.512 for the average person, but I want to show 00:08:48.512 --> 00:08:50.696 it to you. As far as building the compost 00:08:50.696 --> 00:08:53.960 toilet, it's so simple. Just some wood to 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:56.312 make a box and then have a lid. 00:08:56.312 --> 00:09:00.414 For me, the key is a raised stool, also 00:09:00.414 --> 00:09:03.230 called a squatty potty, to actually 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:05.679 raise up your legs when you're 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.679 pooping in order to have a more natural 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:12.029 way of sitting and flowing. Underneath 00:09:12.029 --> 00:09:14.711 this, there are two buckets. This one, 00:09:14.711 --> 00:09:17.462 which I just emptied, collects the poop. 00:09:17.462 --> 00:09:19.794 You put a couple of scoops of sawdust 00:09:19.794 --> 00:09:22.694 onto that poop. Amazing how well 00:09:22.694 --> 00:09:24.693 a compost toilet works. You would be 00:09:24.693 --> 00:09:26.593 amazed the first time that you use one. 00:09:26.593 --> 00:09:29.627 Here, the toilet paper that we use is 00:09:29.627 --> 00:09:32.960 called mullein. It's super-soft and it's a 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.127 perennial plant that grows in abundance 00:09:35.127 --> 00:09:37.093 here. If you want to learn about 00:09:37.093 --> 00:09:39.127 composting human poop, you can check out 00:09:39.127 --> 00:09:41.994 The Humanure Handbook, by Joseph Jenkins. 00:09:41.994 --> 00:09:44.522 Humanure stands for human and manure. 00:09:44.522 --> 00:09:46.541 You can get all the information that you 00:09:46.541 --> 00:09:47.498 need there. 00:09:47.498 --> 00:09:49.410 I hope that you learned a lot from this 00:09:49.410 --> 00:09:51.408 video, things that you can do to live more 00:09:51.408 --> 00:09:53.443 sustainably and simply. Keep in mind, 00:09:53.443 --> 00:09:55.425 you don't have to live in a tiny house, 00:09:55.425 --> 00:09:57.725 you don't have to live on a farm in order 00:09:57.725 --> 00:10:00.875 to be able to do a lot to live in a more 00:10:00.875 --> 00:10:02.892 connected way with the Earth that gives 00:10:02.892 --> 00:10:05.574 us life. In the description, I have 00:10:05.574 --> 00:10:08.424 links to many useful guides to help you 00:10:08.424 --> 00:10:10.824 live more sustainably and simply. Check 00:10:10.824 --> 00:10:13.507 out Le Rêve de Gaïa. Their website and 00:10:13.507 --> 00:10:15.958 their social media is there so you can 00:10:15.958 --> 00:10:18.091 actually visit this place if you want to. 00:10:18.091 --> 00:10:21.091 I spent about five weeks here, five lovely 00:10:21.091 --> 00:10:22.974 weeks, and it's an incredible place to 00:10:22.974 --> 00:10:24.374 be able to visit. 00:10:24.374 --> 00:10:26.273 I really enjoyed giving this tour to 00:10:26.273 --> 00:10:28.341 you. I hope you enjoyed it as well. 00:10:28.341 --> 00:10:31.272 If you did, make sure that you subscribe 00:10:31.272 --> 00:10:33.690 to this channel. Help this video get out 00:10:33.690 --> 00:10:35.554 there by liking it and commenting and 00:10:35.554 --> 00:10:37.414 sharing it with friends. On that note, 00:10:37.414 --> 00:10:39.377 I'll see you again real soon for another 00:10:39.377 --> 00:10:41.000 video. I love you all very much.