ethical living

Building a tiny house for someone else

Ahoy! Long time between posts and apologies for the radio-silence.

Shortly before completing the majority of our P2 guesthouse space and having guests stay in succession, I was contacted by the daughter of an elderly friend of Heidi’s who was a single woman looking to both downsize and give herself affordable living autonomy in this crazy real estate market (hell). I offered my services with the caveat that my skillset was limited to semi-trailer tiny homes and that was something she quickly agreed to. We were able to show her a couple of examples of semi-trailer tiny homes and it is easy to see the virtues.

Fast forward 11 months, and I am reminded at how much work is involved in building a house (especially when you do it all yourself!) and how little I have been updating my progress (hence the lack of posts on this blog!). It was somewhat liberating not to film everything I was doing this time around like when I built our place, but I’m sure I’ll miss seeing the evolution of all the work once it is done. I’ve included a little gallery of pics here to give you an idea and I’ll do a proper “tour” once it is done. Here is a walk-through I did about 75% of the way through:

Here’s a few photos from early on til now!

P2 progress: Rendering, window and toilet

Progress of the transformation of our second semi-trailer has happened in fits and starts, but I’ve seen some real transformation with our bedroom and bathroom areas. Slowed by factors like economic issues, the silly season and focusing on other business ideas, things haven’t been chugging along as I’d like, but sometimes the foundational work appears to be slow. Slap a coat of paint on something, implement a final component and suddenly you can gain inspiration and motivation with where the project is going.

My second video instalment in the building update of this second semi-trailer attachment (P2) to our main home (P1) (whose build I covered in an extensive video series between 2019-2022) shows some significant aesthetic changes from the original tour video I did of P2 in which I had already jumped ahead with some of the work I had done to form the basis of this new phase of building. In that sense, this video series will be far less comprehensive than the original P1 series as I started this project with no interest in filming it and then of course regretted that when I decided it would be a cool idea. Lesson learned: just film some stuff anyway…you can always just ignore/delete it if you don’t need it.

Anyway, here’s Episode 2! Thanks for watching and being a part of the journey ☺️💚✌🏼

Mike chats on TinyHouse podcast

It was a pleasure to be asked to join tiny house expert and aficionado Ethan Waldman on his The Tiny House podcast recently while I was in Canada (Ethan is based in Vermont). He has done hundreds of episodes and has a great blog and channel interviewing tiny house owners from all over and diving into all-things tiny living.

Throughout this episode, Ethan and I chatted about the lifestyle and building journey that Heidi and I have done, exploring not just the practical aspects of the build like custom cabinetry and space-saving features like our innovative elevator bed, but also the sustainable lifestyle that drives us. We got into the nitty-gritty of what converting a semi-trailer entails, creating a comfortable and functional living space, as well as addressing the challenges and rewards such a project brings. I appreciated being asked to come onto the programme and the smart questions and curious nature of Ethan. Thanks for the opportunity and I hope you had some interested listeners!

Have a listen to the Podcast here:

Transforming a Semi-Trailer into a Stylish Tiny Home – Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast

I am thrilled to introduce our guest, Mike Crowhurst, a seasoned tiny house dweller and the creative mind behind one of the most unique tiny homes I’ve seen in a while! Mike and his wife Heidi spent three years crafting a 45-foot ex-refrigerated semi-trailer into a gorgeous tiny home. Throughout this episode, we'll dive into Mike's journey of tiny house living, exploring not just the practical aspects like custom cabinetry and space-saving features like an innovative elevator bed, but also the sustainable lifestyle that drives him. We'll also get into the nitty-gritty of converting a semi-trailer into a comfortable and functional living space, addressing the challenges and rewards such a project brings. So buckle up as we get a tour of Mike’s impressive tiny house and learn how he has optimized every inch of his home for maximum living.In This Episode:🚚 Tiny House Towing Challenges: The intricacies involved in transporting a tiny house safely, including the type of vehicle required and the importance of professional trucking expertise to avoid potential hazards.🏠 Semi-Trailer Conversion Journey: Mike's personal adventure of converting a 45-foot refrigerated semi-trailer into a sustainable and innovative tiny home.❄️☀️ Insulation and Climate Adaptation: The insulation options used in the semi-trailer, Mike's additional insulation efforts, and adaptation to the Adelaide climate.💡 Procuring a Trailer: Insight into the process of acquiring a semi-trailer, highlighting considerations like checking for rust, maintenance history, and tips on where to find decommissioned trailers.🗄️ Tiny House Storage Solutions: Mike outlines the storage enhancements in his tiny home, describing various built-in options that maximize space without creating a cramped feeling.🛏️ Elevator Bed Innovation: The unique design and functionality of the elevator bed in the tiny house are explained, showcasing how space-saving features contribute to the minimalist lifestyle.🤝 Online and Real-Life Communities: Encouragement for listeners to seek advice and share experiences within the tiny house community, both in-person and online, to foster collective wisdom and support.Send us a textSupport the showListen. Subscribe. Rate. Review. Apple Podcasts Spotify More… Follow Ethan. Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Facebook Want to say 'thank you' for the show? Buy me a coffee!

Peek into my other world

I’ve been a bit quiet on the tiny house content-production front as a few things in other life realms have been occupying my time. Despite having brushes in a few pots, I am still thankful for a flexible lifestyle that allows me to attend to other things when they come up. Honestly, I don’t know how people with families, 2 jobs and big mortgages do it and stay sane. So while this post feels like it digresses into other areas, I feel like it does dovetail full-circle with regards to minimalist living…

So, besides going through our slowest time of the year financially (Heidi and I are self-employed freelancers and the Australian summer season post-Christmas is a flat time where no one is spending money on what we do), I am making a trip overseas soon to help my ageing parents who have requested some help around medical-related issues. I have had to figure out more ways to bring home the vegan bacon so it has meant more gig work (UberEats) and returning back to my old career of filmmaking.

Well, I’m not quite cobbling the gear together and doing any video jobs (yet), I realised that my video production company, Red Earth Films, has a lot of quality material just lying around doing nothing. My business partner and I were trying to make a living on this over a decade ago, and YouTube plus streaming networks weren’t quite where they are now in terms of being a solid option for monetising indie films. While we did trial a digital platform, it was alongside DVD/BluRay releases and attempts at getting public broadcasters (SBS, ABC) or theatrical operators to show our stuff (and pay us for it!). So the idea came about to just release our offerings online for free with hopes that we might gain a following and drive eventual earnings through YouTube and the like. Until now, everything was locked up because we still thought we could get pay-per-view earnings.

So with that in mind, take a quick break and watch this short little Red Earth intro video I did yesterday to advertise this new direction. After this shameless plug, continue reading the post below! 😀

Thanks for watching. You did watch, right? 🤗

Life as a freelance creative is actually the perfect pairing with tiny house living. For the bulk of my life, being an independent creative has involved patchy earnings whilst still having the same bills to pay as everyone else. Sometimes you have a waterfall windfall job, and sometimes it is like the desert with not an oasis in sight. Worst then is when the latter happens (and you busily blew the excess of the windfall on travel and eating out rather than saving for a rainy day), and you need to plug the money gaps with work outside your skill area just to make ends meet.

I definitely find there are far less of those extremes lately with minimalist and tiny living. It’s obviously happening to us at the moment to a degree, but the pressure for other folks doing it tough is far more intense when inflation, soaring rent rates and so on keep biting you. If you are someone who has dedicated your life to creative pursuits, then you know how much harder again it is in this day and age.

Returning to my filmmaking material has been good to revisit as well, as it is like looking at a photo album and realising that you have actually done some good work in the past which informs the future you. My work revolved around compassionate human stories and so I feel like there is a tie-in with sustainable, minimalist and vegan living: compassion is at the heart of it all. Heidi and I live minimally as we believe that it is the healthy thing to do not only for our life-balance but for the planet. Choosing not to eat animal products is compassionate to animals, the planet and other people. We choose sustainable shopping options because we believe it is helping others. All this suggested altruism sounds like a lot of self back-patting but I honestly believe that there isn’t enough sacrifice in the lives of a typical westerner. Heidi and I are far from perfect in this regard, but I feel like there’s a strong desire in both of us to leave the planet as minimally scarred from our existence as possible once we are gone.

Thanks for reading my ramble and for following me along on our journey. I’ll be trying to produce some new content soon for Big Tiny Adventure, but if you are interested to take a peek into my Other World, please have a poke around on Red Earth Films’ YouTube channel as we continue to upload blasts from the past, like those mentioned in the video above. Peace!! ✌🏼💚🌱

PS. If you are looking for a talented graphic designer who has a impressive repertoire of working with NGOs and other honourable clients, please visit Heidi Rurade Design!

I am allowed to live like this

I am sitting on a daybed on the balcony of our hand-built rustic accommodation, overlooking a lush scene of trees in all directions, a simple track and nearby hill that makes up the rainforest valley we’re in. However, it is not the visual setting I’m focused on but rather the melodic sounds of the rainforest – those wet, rich, echoing tones of exotic-sounding birds – chirping, whoooiiip!-ing and trilling – with a distant burble of water from a healthy creek. Down the rambling road, I see two people in aprons carrying big baskets filled with fresh produce walking back from a series of bountyful gardens just beyond. Not only is it a signal to me to take a moment and absorb the healthiness, beauty and tranquility of this location but it is a reminder that this is the norm for this intentional community, and not just some temporary getaway for distant travellers like ourselves.

As a born and bred city-goer, I have in the past convinced myself that I was more “at home” in the city, with the so-called conveniences, the comforting ever-present drone of traffic in the distance, and the neatly partitioned off spaces delineating all facets of life so we know who’s-is-whose and culturally how to behave. These travels to intentional communities are, for now, a temporary peek into the way others live, but ultimately I expect to return to a city, even if there are elements that grate against my being. It is simply what I am used to. These communities are just foreign places where a different breed of people live, and I think of the inhabitants as “the lucky few” who are able to get away with this lifestyle while the rest of us muck about in uncreative suburbs and traffic congestion.

However, a tipping point is nearing, I believe. I am also beginning to feel like I speak into the same line of thinking and ideals that the people that we meet in these communities now. I need to stop portraying myself as a wishful dreamer and more of a participant-in-training, transitioning to this new life…not if, but when. When I see so many people with multiple practical skills – some of which may seem to have died out or have become unnecessary in modern life – I feel unqualified to be considering such a move. I don’t know how to grow food very well. What can I build besides furniture out of pallet wood? Could I hook up an off-grid solar system myself? How do I identify all the plants or snakes that could kill me? How do you know when you have to appease local councils with something on your land? Doubts creep in.

Sure, I can go on the internet and learn some of these things over time, but the virtue of a community is that all the many skills needed are often supplied by your community members, or you muddle through as a group and figure things out together. Many of the people we encounter seem like ordinary folks (many who have come from cities too) who have had lots of time to try things out and collectively learn these interesting skills. Plus the welcoming, non-judgemental attitude of members helps soften the worrying like the “will they accept a useless sod like me” thoughts that crop up too. Given that most communities we’ve experienced have a trial period (essential for both parties to feel if they will fit), if you simply come with a positive, respectful and can-do attitude, my guess is that most communities will love to have you in due time.

I can’t speak for what other people’s barriers would be to potentially living in a way that allows you to feel liberated from the constraints and pressures of mainstream society, but mine are: acceptance, expectations and relationships. Returning back to my view of the rainforest and the birds, another barrier might be “am I allowed to live in such a wonderful place? Isn’t life supposed to be busy and stressful with hard edges, like in a city?”. It’s that idea that I am not deserving of this. That voice in the back of your head that suggests that it is “time to grow up and be an adult” which I interpret to mean: “hippies, activists and lay-abouts live in rainforests and aren’t productive members of society.” I am finally starting to dispense of this myth. Sure, we need doctors, engineers and lawyers (wait, do we really need lawyers?) in our world, but more importantly, we need folks of all types that have a greater say in how mainstream life should play out. There is an equitable, respectful and trust-filled existence in community that truly needs to pervade our society and show folks that life can look and work very different than it currently does.

I believe we can all live in cities that resemble rainforests, so that we all can cherish life more than dreading many parts of it.

I believe that intentional communities are the model by which this can happen and in the meantime, I’m excited to say that I feel ready to transition into this brave new world.

Check out the rest of my journey on our 2016 Intentional Community trip.

Community road-tripping, Mark II

Just a few days ago, I was in the dark, seam-sealing our tent at Heidi’s folks’ house, trying to do the last couple of chores before we officially headed out on our 2016 Intentional Community road trip. A few days before that, I indiscriminately grabbed boxes of camping gear from our long-term storage, and packed them into our car without even looking inside them to check everything was there. Thinking of this now confirms to me the somewhat blasé nature of this current expedition we are embarking on compared to the “fanfare” of last year’s first trip. That’s not to say I am treating this trip lightly, but perhaps I am approaching it with a bit more knowledge and confidence in this life direction we’re learning about.

As we wrapped up our first trip through Victoria last year, we essentially just rolled on with our world packed on our backs, hopping around Adelaide house-sitting for the next 9 months. That sense of exploration continued as we left the possibility wide open to continue our journey where we left off, hoping to cement the feeling that intentional community living was indeed our Preferred Future Lifestyle.

While Victoria offered an amazing variety of communities, we felt that we would be remiss if we didn’t investigate the glory that is the north-east of NSW and SE of Queensland. Nimbin’s famous Aquarius festival of 1973 spawned numerous “hippie” communities in these regions, with the most resilient (and presumably most successful) of these still pushing along after over 40 years. There has to be some valuable lessons to be had in these places.

A fortuitous sequence of events brought us together with a new friend, Ed Wilby, who is a founder of the Alliance of Intentional Communities Australia (AICA) and let us stay at his home (in the middle of an amazing national park) prior to this trip. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time and discussion with someone who is passionate about intentional community living and development, and who may well figure into our future more prominently as I hope to help the AICA out in their fledgling developmental stages.

It feels like all roads are heading towards our intentional community dreams, which is exciting to acknowledge. In the month or so leading up to our trip, we had a selection of positively-charged community-related experiences:

a good friend came across a piece of property that could be used for a communal village and opened a dialogue about that potential
I attended a talk from a resident at 700-member Findhorn community in Scotland who introduced all sorts of interesting possibilities
had opportunities to meet some great people through Ed (mentioned above) who are in the process of going down the road of starting a community in Adelaide
stopped in for a very inspired visit at Rose and Andy’s place (Cornerstone community we visited last year) in Bendigo, Victoria who continue to blow us away with their easy spirituality and positive affect on their community
encouraging enquiries from friends we’re visiting who are taking an active interest in our journey

Kito curled up for the journey

As of this writing, we have an eco-village, an Amish-like Christian village, a seaside all-rounder community and artistic/spiritual co-op in post-Aquarius Nimbin lined up over the next month to kick off our trip, so it should be very enlightening! By some people’s standards this might all seem a bit mad, but for me this colourful list of places only serves to engage my imagination of what is possible when we break away from the structures imposed by the mainstream.

And so we embark on the next chapter of our Intentional Community Adventure; we hope you will be coming along for the ride!

You can see Heidi’s first blog post for our journey here.

Community road-trip 2016: an intro

To date, this blog has been a perpetual Work In Progress as I write about living simply, sustainability and choosing an ethical lifestyle.

In April and May 2015, my wife Heidi and I explored Victoria, Australia in search of alternative ways to do life separate from the mainstream. Throughout the journey, I wrote a regular series of entries which documented our experiences and can be read under the menu heading “Tiny House Journey >> Intentional Community >> Road trip 2015“.

This first stage road-trip around Victoria, Australia had us seeking to discover what various intentional communities, groups, individuals and families are doing in terms of living more creatively, sustainably and compassionately. We decided that this country was just too big and interesting to stop at Victoria, especially since we hadn’t visited the intentional community epicentre of Australia around NE New South Wales and SE Queensland.

Here are some quick-links of the journey as it happens:

Ultimately, our aim is to further connect with like-minded people and find security in community, not finances; share resources and ownership so as to reduce our negative impact on the planet; participate in non-violent actions to bring about a more just world; use the arts to bring people together, communicate the challenges that humanity faces, and promote positive stories and alternative ways of living; work with the land and protect/respect this Earth.

We have a lot to learn and a long way to go, hence our desire to see what other people are doing and what wisdom we can gain from and share with them. I am looking forward to what the east coast region of Australia has to offer as we forge ahead with Part 2 of our education/adventure!

~ Mike Crowhurst, March 2016

Community road-trip 2015: an intro

As of June 2015, I have completed travels with my wife, Heidi, as we explored southeastern Australia in search of alternative ways to do life separate from the mainstream. Throughout the journey, I wrote a regular series of entries which documented our experiences. Here are quick links to all the entries on this trip (in chronological order):

Our aim is to further connect with like-minded people and find security in community, not finances; share resources and ownership so as to reduce our negative impact on the planet; participate in non-violent actions to bring about a more just world; use the arts to bring people together, communicate the challenges that humanity faces, and promote positive stories and alternative ways of living; work with the land and protect/respect this Earth.

We have a lot to learn and a long way to go, hence our desire to see what other people are doing and what wisdom we can gain from and share with them. So far it has been an amazing exploration.

~ Mike Crowhurst, June 2015

Time to reflect and heal

~ DESTINATION SEVEN: LAUNCHING PLACE ~

Natural beauty and deep listening at Sunnyside Farm

This week since leaving Moora Moora has been an interesting one but not necessarily because it was part of the regularly scheduled program. With no intentional communities on tap while we have a WWOOFing stint, it has been a good time to reflect on things and where we are at on this journey.

I’ve just left Sunnyside Farm aka Natural Healing Place which is located in the beautiful hills south of the uniquely-named Launching Place, Victoria, about an hour east of Melbourne. As Heidi and I explore how different people do “Community,” we keep finding ways to redefine the word; Sunnyside is comprised of 32 year-old Nathan Thurlow and his 3 year-old son, with his extended family living further down the road on a large property. Nathan prefers to refer to WWOOFers as new “friends” and creates a welcoming atmosphere that encourages people to want to stay for awhile in his hand-made spa retreat-like home. The space is broken into pods connected by vine-laced outdoor paths, with accommodation that includes: a couple of bedrooms plus a loft bedroom/office (our room) as part of the main building; a caravan trailer; a luxury tent; and a tiny caravan-like shelter. The lounge-dining-kitchen area is considered communal, not unlike the crossroads that is often created by intentional communities to enourage chance meetings and conversations. Among the other unique elements around the house area are a newly minted sauna (which looks like a pizza oven that you sit inside),

The loo with a view

outdoor bath and shower (the only bathing facilities, actually), a “loo with a view” which is one of two composting toilets and this one is situated on a covered outdoor throne with a beguiling view of the foggy hillsides, tin chook shed with happy scratching chickens and a productive veggie garden. Heidi and I took advantage of the outdoor bathtub which was very refreshing (especially in the very cool wet weather here!) as well as soulfully enriching as we sat looking at the trees, steam rising from the hot water as the rain fell and listening to the kookaburras sing.

The luxury tent we would sleep in if it were summertime

Nathan and fellow WWOOFer Mel

Nathan is a dedicated host, keen to share his learned wisdom about inner health through yoga, meditation, healthy living and positive thinking. Ironically, both Heidi and I arrived a bit burnt out, harbouring colds and probably needing to be guests at a place like this rather than as WWOOFers. As it happened, two days in, Heidi left to stay with her sister in Melbourne to get some down time, and I have taken a day off here to recover from my illness. Rather than be perturbed by the lost labour we were to have provided, Nathan has graciously taken it in stride and continues to offer his expensive organic wellness supplements, fresh ginger or chai tea, delicious fresh foods, helpful natural remedy advice and positive reading material for me while on the mend and leaning on his generosity. He lives a thrifty existence, so it is not with extravagence that he offers these things but through true kindness. I would go as far as saying he is quite servant-hearted, and his years of living an alternative lifestyle plus his self-education on different types of spirituality certainly show in his hospitality and deep caring for others. As he would say, perhaps in our current health/mental state, we were meant to come to him at this time; everything has its place and meaning for needing to happen when it does.

Mel doing some yoga

He could well be right about that.

In light of a bad cough and illness, it was perhaps not too wise for us to head on a little trip into the city on Wednesday (just prior to Heidi’s departure), with the two of us plus Mel (a WWOOFer who has been at Nathan’s for a month) and Kito. Our mission was to do some errands but mainly to watch a documentary called Dadirri: Deep Listening by filmmaker Helen Iles that we’d heard about at Commonground. The timing was impeccable as it was only the third small screening of this indie production whose theme revolves around the relationships within intentional communities, plus it featured places on our intinerary for this road trip (Commonground and Moora Moora, and the forthcoming Fryers Forest).

Best.Organic.Shop.Ever. – Terra Madre

After visiting the Best.Organic.Shop.Ever. on High Street in Northcote and scarfing down another vegan meal at Vegie Bar in Fitzroy, we went up the road to a little bar called LongPlay which has a cute little 30-seat mini-cinema out back. The film was attended by a crowd of community-minded folks and there was a palpable buzz to being amongst others like ourselves. Helen is British but spent time traveling and filming around Australia for 2 years making this film, with two others in the intentional community “series” that were made in the UK. The film, while technically a bit sloppy (IMO), was an interesting examination on the relationship side to living communally and conflict-resolution, with lots of appearances by places and people we had literally just seen like Peter and Sandra (Moora Moora) and Kate (Commonground), which was all a bit trippy! I met with Helen afterwards to express an interest in working with her on future projects of similar content, but she was quite exhausted from the experience being that she shot, edited and directed it all herself. Shame we didn’t cross paths sooner!

Yummy outdoor spa bath for soaking under the stars

Yummy outdoor spa bath for soaking under the trees

Our loft room at Nathan’s quirky but cool spa-like pad

So, a few things to consider from this mixed-bag week, which was good. Moving forward, I think we’re currently at a bump in the road which is probably natural in a journey such as this: we have filled our brains with plenty of information and experiences; we have not been able to retire to a familiar home where we can periodically recharge and relax; we’ve been brought down a bit by illness and miserable weather; and we are generally feeling the grind of being constantly on the move. With a break in the weather this weekend (yay, sun!) and our final significant week-long stay at an intentional community (Fryer’s Forest, then we just have a couple of short stays afterwards), I’m hoping that we will get our second-wind to carry us through to June when we arrive back in Adelaide. It will be interesting to see where we sit with all this once we get back to a familiar place with familiar faces; my feelings about community have wavered with what we have learned, but it has likely been tempered with other circumstances related to travel and fatigue. Once we’ve had some time to properly reflect in a month from now, we’ll see what ideas and thoughts emerge!

Inhabit – new documentary film

. . .

This looks like it could be a great film and especially relevant to the trip we are currently engaging in. In this four minute trailer, there are already some great takeaway quotes and things to ponder about the future of our planet and how permaculture principles are vital to our survival.

It looks like film aims to be ready for viewing on Earth Day which is the 22nd of this month so keep an eye out for it (dates/venues at the link): http://inhabitfilm.com