FOR LOVE OF YURTS

Workshop At Two Rivers Rescheduled for May

2011-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

The workshop at Two Rivers in September has been rescheduled for May 18, 19, 20, 2012. We will then build the 24 ft yurt kit and yurt in two days for Two Rivers.

TWORIVERSCENTER.ORG WORKSHOP

2011-08-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Its time to step up or step back on the TWORIVERSCENTER.ORG WORKSHOP in September. Consider writing the email or making the phone call to commit right now. (The recent storm in Vermont has knocked out my phone service. Call Martin at 802-223-1515 to join class).

Your participation supports kids learning to grow and eat good food. Your participation earns you plans and a know-how on making a real great yurt.

Sometimes it's not about the money; it's about being alive enough to do the right thing. See previous posts at this site for details.

Felters' Fling 2011: Yurts and Fleece

2011-08-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

At the recent Felters' Fling 2011 at Williamsburg, MA, students learned about the craft of yurt making by constructing models and covering them with felt. These homes may be the ultimate in cozy, warm and comfortable, and in green, low tech, sustainable, easy to build and fun construction.

Annemie Koenen instructs students in felt making and sewing felt covers. She is in absolute command of all of the wonderful things a single needle, hand stitching can do!

What the models represent at a 7.666 ratio of small to big. Don't you think the big one needs a felt cover? The likely name for the large one is "The Hobbit Yurt!"

HOO-RAH for the hard working students who made models. The time and work to make a model is at least equal to that required to make a full size ger/yurt.

Is It Possible to Make a 24 Yurt In Two Days?!?

2011-08-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

OK. Building a 24 foot yurt that has some semblance to a US yurt company yurt and putting it up in two days edges into the impossible. This is what we are planning to do to help Two Rivers Center replace the Pacific Yurt they lost in last spring's flood. What we are counting on is this:

We have an experience of producing three 12 foot yurts in two days in classes at at Yestermorrow and Spirit Hollow. Building a 24 foot yurt will use the same techniques in a larger format.
We are counting on decades of experience in materials based education to organize this effort. Building the 24 foot yurt will require more organizational work before students arrive and more efficient communication to students about what is needed when they are doing the work.
We are counting on a slightly bigger class size (a minimum of 16 students rather than 12) to get this done.

Why would we do this?

Two Rivers Center really needs the yurt replaced to provide classroom space for its program which is a very worthy one.
To demonstrate that the impossible is possible...that an individual, with a group of friends, can make a very good yurt in a weekend.

Our economy invites us to get the job done, in a can-do, no nonsense way. People need yurts. With hard work yurts can be had in a short amount of time. To answer the the question, "Is it possible to make a 24 foot yurt in two days?" We hope to show in our workshop that the answer is "Yes."

To get involved as a student or as a donor supporting the program or the material cost of building the yurt contact:

Martin Kemple martin@tworiverscenter.org 802-223-1515

Fees are $200 per person. Group Discount of 10% for 5 or more people. A few work-study arrangements are available.

Workshop to Replace Yurt Lost My Two Rivers Center

2011-08-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

So today, while hiking, eight miles downstream from Montpelier, I found pieces of wall rods from the Pacific Yurt that was washed away from Two River Center by a spring flood...a yurt that my upcoming yurt building workshop in September will replace....what's with that? Life is an interesting mystery sometimes.

DIY 24 Foot Yurt Workshop in September

2011-07-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

LEARN HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN YURT DREAM!

WORKSHOP ON BUILDING A DO-IT-YOURSELF,

CODE COMPLIANT, SNOW AND WIND REINFORCED, 24 FOOT YURT

AT TWO RIVERS CENTER, MONTPELEIER, VT

FRIDAY 6 PM TO SUNDAY 4:30 PM, SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2011

$200 Total, Group discount 10% for 5 or More

To Register Leave Message of Interest with

Martin Kemple martin@tworiverscenter.org 802-223-1515

Bruce Sargent forloveofyurts@gmail.com 802-839-8497

Register Early, Limited Class Size

See details at www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com

Build a 24 foot yurt like this one in two days, from lumber yard wood and ordered canvas to frame and covering and set up

Food Works at Two Rivers Center was founded in 1987 to address the root causes of childhood hunger by returning students and their communities back to the land through hands-on food and gardening educational opportunities.

Food Works lost their 24 foot Pacific Yurt in last spring’s flood. Our workshop will help them replace the loss with a similar DIY yurt. After working to help students learn to make the most affordable yurt at Yestermorrow and Spirit Hollow, Bruce Sargent is taking a new direction in helping students make the most affordable code compliant, diy yurt kit, like those produced in the US yurt industry.

Yurts have sheltered people since Heradotus wrote histories 2000 years ago. With minimal woodworking skills, a home of complex and magical beauty can be made at an amazingly modest cost, (roughly one fifth of the cost of a Yurt kit). In this workshop, you will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt of any size and any design. This course will lead you through building walls, door frames, rafters, roof rings, domes, tension bands and coverings. You will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt that meets your needs and matches your dreams.

Bruce Sargent, workshop leader, has built yurts and authored books and articles on yurt building and led workshops and classes about building your own do-it-yourself yurt. He has sought the simplest and most direct methods of yurt construction to create designs that anyone can build. He has shared his studies in workshops in Vermont at Spirit Hollow, Yestermorrow, and Hunger Mountain Food Coop and at his blog http://www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com. The workshop will build a yurt in a magical two days, course work developed at Yestermorrow in two workshops last summer. Bruce has authored a book on yurt building, For Love of Yurts, Building an Ultra Simple Yurt for Under $1000, published by Shires Press in Manchester VT, a book that some reviewers have felt inspires those who long for a yurt to build one.

Workshop Objectives

To learn how to build a simple, green, sustainable, DIY, code compliant, snow and wind reinforced, 24 foot yurt
To learn simple power and hand woodworking skills necessary to build a yurt
To experience the magic of wall rods, under tension, shaping walls
To experience the joy of lifting the roof ring skyward and fitting rafters to ring and wall
To gain a knowledge that allows you to create your own yurt

Suggested Reading

King, Paul. The Complete Yurt Handbook. Eco-Logic Books, www.eco-logicbooks.com
Mulberry House. Maple Grove, Bath BA2 3AF, UK, 2007
Kuehn, Dan Frank, Mongolian Cloud Houses. How to Make a Yurt and Live
Comfortably. Shelter Publications, PO Box 279, Bolinas, California 94924, 2006
Lokey, Charles. Practical Mathematics in Yurt Design; A Detailed Discussion Following
Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, Summer Learning Institute, www.math.montana.edu/~lokey/YurtMath.pdf, 2004
Sargent, Bruce W. For Love of Yurts, Building an Ultra Simple Yurt for Under $1000, Shires Press, 2009 www.forloveofyurts.com. Stronach, David. On the Antiquity of the Yurt: Evidence from Arjan and Elsewhere. University of California, Berkeley. http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/2004vol2num1/yurt.htm

Materials to Bring

Hearing and eye protection
Hard hat, bike helmet or climbing helmet
Protective shoes
Tape measure
Hand drill, bits or cordless drill
Pencils
Note book
Calculator
Sleeping bag and mattress pad
Cup, bowl and spoon
Pot luck food

There are motels and restaurants in Montpelier a short drive from Two Rivers should you prefer more comfortable accommodations.

Course Outline

Friday evening check-in 6-6:30 PM

Friday Evening Class 6:30-8:30 PM

Sharing hopes and dreams, discussing the history of yurt designs, looking at the math behind the plans, learning of traditional practices, viewing the weekend schedule and considering safety demanded by the project.

Saturday Morning

Constructing wall rods, assembling into V's, and assembling V’s into wall sections
Constructing door framing and window framing

Saturday Afternoon

Constructing rafters
Constructing rafter supports
Constructing roof ring
Constructing dome fitting

Saturday Evening

Questions and answers discussion. A time for expanding individual experience that will lead to building one’s own yurt.

Sunday Morning

Cutting and joining covering materials
Raising the yurt frame

Sunday Afternoon

Covering the framework
Reflecting on that we have accomplished: the nearly impossible feat of making and putting up a yurt in two days, and the wonderful knowledge that hands-on, materials based education has provided for you. Finish at 4 PM

To save on costs meals (Breakfast 8-8:45, Lunch 12-12:45, Supper 5:30-6:15) are pot-luck, so plan accordingly. Simple is good here. Coolers are available. Classes are Mornings 9-12, Afternoons 1-4:30, Evenings 7:00-8:30. Overnight by camping in communal spaces, or in your own tent or by staying in nearby motels.

To Register Leave Message of Interest with

Martin Kemple martin@tworiverscenter.org 802-223-1515

Bruce Sargent forloveofyurts@gmail.com 802-839-8497

Images of Prototype Yurt Model For Yurt Building Workshop

2011-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Felters' Fling Conference, Williamsburg, MA, August 20-28
Check Out the Details at:

http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/fling2011.html

Prototype Yurt Model For Felters' Fling Conference Class

2011-06-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

The above is a prototype yurt model for a yurt workshop to given at the Felters' Fling Conferance at Snow Farm, August 20-23rd. Students will gain a knowledge of yurt building by constructing a model of an actual camping yurt that will be on site. The experience is designed to free students to begin building their own dream yurt. A follow up class will teach student how to cover their yurts with felt, the original green and sustainable yurt covering material. Check out for details and costs:

http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/fling2011.html

Blue Vermont summer sky through the rafters and roof ring of the little model yurt. From this perspective it almost seems full size and "real" instead of a model.

Model building did teach me more about the Mongolian yurt design that uses straight wall rods that create an hour glass wall. The whole wall systems acts like a giant spring with each individual rod bent like an archer's bow. In the case of the model, all 40 wall rods contribute to a springy wall that drives the wall upward as well as inward, an internal force that meets the weight of the the roof ring and rafters. Amazing.

What really excites me about this little model is that when build full size, it will be a gem of a camping yurt. I don't think there is less expensive, simpler, more direct yurt on the planet. It will chart new territory.

If you have questions about the upcoming yurt workshop, please feel free to communicate with me at forloveofyurts@gmail.com or my cell: 802-839-8497.

And there is an opportunity at this conference to learn the real deal about felt yurt covering from Annemie Koenen

The Next 2011 Yurt Workshop! Exploring The Green and Sustainable

2011-06-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

The next design-build yurt workshop, offered by by Bruce W Sargent will be at The Felters' Fling Conference of 2011, August 20-23 . Students will spend three days learning to design their own yurt, modeling a yurt, and working with a full scale yurt of their models.

And then! The scale models will be covered with felt in a following class given by Annemie Koenen, a Dutch feltmaker with extensive felt yurt making experience in Kyrgyzstan. This is your chance to learn how to make your own extremely affordable yurt frame and to finish it with a sustainable and green covering of felt.

Annemie Koenen

These workshops and The Felters' Fling Conference will take place at Snow Farm in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley:

at Snow Farm, in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley.

SEE COSTS AND REGISTRATION DETAILS AT:

http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/fling2011.html

The Felters' Fling Conference 2011 is led by Sharon Costello of Black Sheep Designs.

More Yurt Workshop at Spirit Hollow Building a Yurt Designed for Yestermorrow

2011-05-31T15:50:00.001-07:00

Randy Repass' beautiful door made from yurt building scraps between classes.

Seeing "God's Eye", the term for the yurt dome in the Mongolian tradition.

Installing the Dome

Talking over the preparation for the dome installation.

Constructing the roof cover

Bagana or Roof Ring Supports are Fashioned

Roof ring work.

Images in this post by
Randy Repass
Radmacdaddy Productions

Technology Counselor & Designer

Spirit Hollow Workshop on Building A Yestermorrow Yurt

2011-05-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend students at Spirit Hollow, Shaftsbury, Vermont built a yurt, designed for Yestermorrow, transforming lumber in a truck into a magical home in two days.

Boards were ripped into wall rods, pairs of rods bolted into V's, V's joined into walls,

and attached to a two by four door frame, trimmed is one inch pine.

A home made dome was fashioned from scraps of yurt building materials and a clear vinyl window material.

A roof ring was made from two rings of out door plywood, and 2 x 3 blocks. Rafters were fitted to the ring and attached to the walls with cord.

Youngest student helps seal a roof seam.

After wall building, the walls were put up on a platform trimmed by 3/8's outdoor plywood by students.

Walls were covered with canvas tarps and the roof was covered with polytarp wedges taped with double sided carpet tape. A tension band was installed constructed from tow strap rated at 10 tons.

A yurt door built by students from scrap from their yurt project between classes

Home made yurt dome built from scrap and a sheet of clear vinyl plastic for thirty dollars. A plastic dome cost $350 after shipping. Which one makes more sense?

A small yurt home built, pitched and covered in two days.

Students embellish a door frame design.

Ta-dah! These are the folks who faced the ultimate challenge of transforming lumber and tarps into a yurt home in two days!
Very hard work! Very satisfying work!
Give them a cheer!

Students who plan to begin building their own yurt soon, perhaps on day after the workshop ended.

Youngest yurt student who was superb joining the sections of the roof cover by pounding the seams with a rubber mallet,inspects the wall pitching.

Many thanks to Spirit Hollow, to Yestermorrow and to the students who chose to spend their money and time on learning to build their own yurts.

Yurt Material Costs: $664
Platform Material Costs: $143

And a very special thank you to Allen Lumber of Montpelier, VT who helped us make these numbers happen.

Spirit Hollow Workshop on Building A Simple Yurt

2011-05-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

A few classroom slots at Spirit Hollow Workshop still available. Respond quickly at http://www.spirithollow.org or at 802.447.3895. Applications will close when the upper limit is reached.

Yurt Building Workshop in Vermont 2011

2011-02-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

YURT BUILDING WORKSHOP AT SPIRIT HOLLOW, SHAFTSBURY, VT

GET A HANDS ON EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING A COMPLETE YURT, FRAME, COVER AND YURT RAISING IN TWO DAYS THAT GIVES YOU THE KNOWLEDGE TO

BUILD YOUR OWN DREAM YURT.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, FRIDAY 6 PM TO SUNDAY 4 PM, MAY 27-29

Yurts have sheltered people since Heradotus wrote histories 2000 years ago. With minimal woodworking skills, a home of complex and magical beauty can be made at an amazingly modest cost, (roughly one tenth of the cost of a Yurt kit). In this workshop, you will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt of any size and any design. This course will lead you through building walls, door frames, rafters, roof rings, roof ring supports, domes, tension bands and coverings. You will gain an experience that will allow you to make your own yurt that meets your needs and matches your dreams.

Workshop Objectives

To learn how to build an ultra simple, green, sustainable yurt
To learn simple power and hand woodworking skills necessary to build a yurt
To experience the magic of wall rods, under tension, shaping walls
To experience the ease and joy of lifting the roof ring skyward and fitting rafters to ring and wall
To see how a yurt cover plays with light
To gain a knowledge that allows you to create your own yurt

Suggested Reading

Materials to Bring

Hearing and eye protection
Shoes
Tape measure
Hand saw or hand jig saw
Knife
Scissors
Rasp
Hammer
Hand drill, brace, bits or cordless drill
Pencils
Note book
Calculator
Sleeping bag and mattress pad
Cup, bowl and spoon
Pot luck food

Course Outline

Friday evening check-in 6-6:30 PM

Friday Evening Class 6:30-8:30 PM

Sharing hopes and dreams, discussing the history of yurt designs, looking at the math behind the plans, learning of traditional practices, viewing the weekend schedule and considering safety demanded by the project.

Saturday Morning

Constructing wall rods, assembling into V's, and assembling V’s into wall sections
Constructing a door frame
Constructing a tension band

Saturday Afternoon

Constructing rafters
Constructing roof ring

Saturday Evening

Questions and answers discussion. A time for expanding individual experience that will lead to building one’s own yurt.

Sunday Morning

Constructing dome and dome fitting
Cutting and assembling roof ring supports
Raising the yurt

Sunday Afternoon

Cutting and joining covering materials
Covering the framework
Lashing the covering to supporting ropes and to anchor stones
Reflecting on that we have accomplished: the nearly impossible feat of making and putting up a yurt in two days, and the wonderful knowledge that hands-on, materials based education has provided for you. Finish at 4 PM

To save on costs meals (Breakfast 8-8:45, Lunch 12-12:45, Supper 5:30-6:15) are pot-luck, so plan accordingly. Simple is good here. Classes are Mornings 9-12, Afternoons 1-4, Evenings 6:30-8:30. Overnight by camping in communal yurts, in your own tent or by staying in nearby motels.

We are asking $225 to $185 on a sliding scale from students to meet workshop costs. You decide where you are on the sliding scale. Work-study half-tuition is available if you request and show need. It couldn't be more fair than that, wouldn't you agree? Enrollment is Limited and we are asking for a deposit of $75 by May 15 to hold your place. Register on line at http://www.spirithollow.org/wordpress/?page_id=21 or telephone Spirit Hollow at 802-447-3895. If you have any questions about the workshop details contact Bruce Sargent at forloveofyurts@gmail.com or at 802-839-8497.

Check us out at Tiny House Blog!

For Love of Yurts: The Book, 1st Anniversary

2011-01-31T10:20:00.000-08:00

For Love of Yurts: Building a Yurt-Home for Under A $1000, has reached its first Anniversary. It has been a wonderful year and we would like to thank all those who have browsed the website and all those who have purchased the book, either paperback or ebook. We are grateful for your interest and your support.
In sharing our book, we begun to transforming human relationships to shelter and self. For yurt lovers everywhere, the book is still the best way to get an affordable yurt and is still the best way to learn about making the easiest to build, do-it-yourself, ultra simple, hand-made, yurt-home.
We have been working to improve the overall plan by researching Mongolian and Kazakhstani sources, experimenting with new methods and by exploring greener, more natural and more sustainable yurt coverings.
Thank you to all, who have helped make these efforts a huge success!

Bruce Wm Sargent
President of ForLoveOfYurts.com

The Yestermorrow Yurt

2010-12-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Yestermorrow Yurt built by roughly a dozen students and teachers this past summer, now is sheltering folks from the wind and the storm.

Green Yurt Workshops 2011 !!!

2010-12-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: COSTS AND REGISTRATION DETAILS AT:

http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/fling2011.html

Bruce Wm Sargent has committed to a yurt frame building intensive, August 20-23, 2011

at Snow Farm, in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley.

The frame intensive will coordinate with a second intensive on making felt yurt covers by Annemie Koenen, a Dutch feltmaker with extensive yurt making experience in Kyrgyzstan.

The intensives are parts of a larger program, The Felters' Fling Conference 2011, lead by Sharon Costello of Black Sheep Designs.

For answers to questions and more information, email Bruce Wm Sargent at forloveofyurts@gmail.com

UK Luxary Yurts From Tara

2010-12-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

Amazing yurt images from Tara.

GoYurt.com For an Affordable Yurt Experience

2010-10-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Portable, green, innovative yurts for a simple and direct yurt experience. Worth a look. Check them out!

Yurt Work Shops in Vermont and Elsewhere 2011

2010-10-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

The planning for several yurt building workshops is underway for 2011. Helping to build a simple 12 ft yurt gives a person an experience to build a larger yurt of their own, all at a very low material cost. The curriculum is shifting a bit to include green and sustainable coverings and framing by working with people from Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Stay tuned for details.

The Yestermorrow Yurt/ Your Costs To Own Today

2010-10-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

Two 12 foot yurts, have been produced by 12 students in two day classes, twice this summer at Yestermorrow: Design/Build School.

Lumber prices today from Allen Lumber, Montpelier Vermont would look like this:

(80) 1"x3" x8' furring strips @ $1.16 ea. $ 92.80 for wall rods and rafters
(3) 2"x4" x8' @$2.64 ea. $ 7.92 for door frame
(4) 1"x4" x6' @$.47 linear ft $ 11.28 for door trim and frame support
(1) 3/4"x 4'x8' exterior plywood $ 26.17 for roof ring
(4) 2"x3" x8' @$2.12 ea. $ 8.48 for roof ring and roof ring supports
(36) 10x24 x2 1/2" machine screws, nuts,washers $ 31.68 for joining wall rods

Prices today from Sportsman's Guide:

1 roll, 300' parachute cord $ 25.00 for joining wall rods
2 French Military tow straps, 5 meters long, rated at 6,000 lbs. $30.00 for tension band

Total Cost for Yurt Frame with Tension Band: $233.33

Covering the Yurt today would cost:
From Wholesale.Tarp.Net
(5) 6'x8' 17 oz canvas tarps @ $22 ea. $110 for wall covering
From MyTarp.com
(9) Heavy duty white poly tarps @ $5.50 $ 49.50 for roof covering
From Home Depot:
(2) 50' rolls of RhinoGrip Double Sided Carpet Tape @ $10 ea. $20 for joining roof panels
Stanley 3/8" Grommet Kit @$9 $ 9

Total cost to cover $188.50

TOTAL MATERIAL COST OF YOUR 12 FOOT DIY YURT TODAY: $421.83

A plastic dome for the yurt from Ez Tops/Global Plastic will run about $500 with shipping or you can make a dome from scrap plumbing pipe (comes in red or blue) Mongolian hunting yurt style, for no cost. Which one makes more sense, $500 or $0? The choice is yours!

The construction would also require nails and glue for the door frame as well as ropes and cord to lash the covering tarps down.

The whole deal is as simple as that.

Detailed plans of how to build these yurts, with a plastic dome or with a Mongolian hunting yurt dome, will be available November 15, 2010. Check this website for additional information in the coming days. Oh by the way, the plans will be in metric measurements as well as English measurements.

Yurt Magic

2010-10-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Happy yurt dweller, Claire Wolfe, has posted an article today entitled Yurt Magic: Building an Enchanting Instant House at Backwoods Home Magazine. Could anyone say it better? Great article! Check it out. It is a must read for folks thinking of a used yurt.

Hand Built Yurt in Adirondacks

2010-09-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

A hand built yurt, 1970's style, has been completed and commented on in two blogs: Matt Hickman and Treehugger . Just beautiful! Be sure and visit.

Image: Liz Vidyarthi via Re-Nest

My Book Website Has Been Down

2010-09-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

My Book Website Has Been Down....Frustration....I have notified by email my website provider minutes ago and am looking forward to an early resolution of this difficulty...

The site is up and running again within two hours on Friday night after the close of business...there is no one better in the industry, than Aaron Handford at http://www.floatingworld.ca/ ...he is the best

Bruce Sargent

Green Yurt Building Workshop 2011

2010-09-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

I've just agreed to running a three day workshop with felt makers next August, in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley, on yurt building. A big step toward creating Green yurts!
August 20-August 23, 2011. Watch here for details or email me at forloveofyurts@gmail.com

Stephen Gelly Farm Yurt

2010-09-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Recent post on an organic farm in the UK, Stephen Gelly Farm, that has guest accommodations of a Mongolian style yurt. I am noticing that yurts in the UK and Europe tend to be simpler camping yurts based on the old style, while yurts in North America tend to be the heavily engineered yurts that are permanent structures. This can't be all snow loads a building codes. What's with that?

Tracking down the link went through Elaine's British & Irish Food Blog that had pictures of braised lamb shank posted. Great fare for a traditional yurt.

Elaine writes: "There are many recipes for Braised Lamb Shanks but this is one of my favourites. The Lamb Shank is cooked very slowly in a good red wine (I emphasise good, never cook with wine you wouldn't drink) which tenderises the meat until, when it is cooked, the meat will quite literally fall from the bone."

Extreme Adventure: Yurt Living

2010-09-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

A traditional yurt in Kyrgyzstan near Song Tul Lake, as photographed by Noll. The yurt's resident has arisen at sunrise for breakfast and early- morning tea.

Ex-Patriot American couple, living in Prague, travel way beyond civilization, seeking a full life.

Another Student Built Yurt

2010-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Eleven students at Yestermorrow/Design-Build School built this yurt from scratch in two days this weekend. It was a joy working with them and I am feeling proud to have led them in their work and study.

Luxury Yurts: "Roughing" It In Style

2010-07-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

In a travelchannel.com post by Matt Villano, a list of luxury yurt accommodations from around the world...British Colombia, Spain, California and Mongolia.

Yurtel 2 = Yurt Hotel in Spain

2010-07-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

A yurt hotel in Spain uses the term "yurtel" to describe itself (a yurt hotel).

Laurel Nest's Yurtle

2010-07-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

From Tiny House Bog:

"Asia contacted me the other day about an interesting tiny house concept. Asia is the owner of a company called Laurel Nest Yurts. Here is what Asia had to say: We just “invented” a yurt on a trailer, with a round deck."

WaY CoOL!

Jennifer McChristian's Ecstatic Oil Painting of Yurts/10 Ways Yurts Tranform You

2010-07-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

Many yurt projects have kept me busy recently (study of my 16' yurt, planning a second 12' yurt for a workshop class, rewriting plans for building a 12' yurt) and I was happy to discover Jennifer McChristian Paintings of yurts to be a breath of fresh air. Her post was entitled Exquisitely Ecstatic Esalen Workshop. Seeing her yurt images in oil on canvas inspired me to continue to refine the the idea of a simple and direct yurt for providing homes. To engage the idea of yurts is to really change your relationship to shelter...yurt shelters move your being toward the

Simple
Affordable
Sustainable
Dry and well ventilated
Warm/Cool in appropriate season
Moveable
Comfortable
Natural World
Spiritual World
Ecstatic

Change your shelter and you will change yourself.

Sail Making Technology Applied to Yurt Covering

2010-07-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

A David Cain photograph at Yurtville.

The yurt making workshop used sailmaking technology to join ployvinyl sections cut from tarps to cover the yurt. Double sided carpet tape, 3M product, was used to join sections. The joints were hammered down with a rubber mallet to tighten the joint. Quick and easy solution derived from sail makers making sails from tarps. See Making A Polytarp Sail, by David "Shorty" Routh at Duckworks for details. Messing-about.com also has some helpful ideas on polytarp sails and other sail/yurt cover solutions.

A Little Big Yurt

2010-06-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

Some details of a little big yurt are shown above. The 12 foot yurt seems big inside. The dome is shaped from constructions scraps, "pix" plastic piping from a plumbing job. Cost=$0. Total material cost of the yurt was under $650. See more details in a post by my co-teacher, David Cain, at Yurtville. and at Maggie Neale, my partner's site, Colormusings.

My Work in a Yurt Workshop

2010-06-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

I have been busy preparing and giving a yurt workshop at Yestermorrow in Waitsfield VT. My co-teachers, David Cain and Mary Kate Wheeler were outstanding, as were the dozen students. We constructed and covered a yurt from scratch, turning lumber and tarps into a dwelling, in two days. The total cost of the project was about $650. Thanks to all who did really hard work to make this happen.

My DIY Yurt Goes Up

2010-06-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Chris and Twig taking a break after putting up my DIY sixteen foot yurt in its fourth location. The floor panels, walls, door frame, rafters and roof ring come apart and fit in my pickup truck. A crew of six made easy work of the walls and putting up the roof ring, the crew all friends of Jonah Neale. Without Jonah and his friends I would be several Sundays away from getting it to this stage. Have thoughts of insulation and a wood stove and keeping warm in cold fall and spring nights.

Yurts and Chaco Canyon

2010-05-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Photo by JOHN PEEL/Herald

I discovered today in and article entitled Astronomers Will Admire Chacoans' Knowledge
that a visitor center at Chaco Canyon is a yurt.

Yurt Accommodations In Europe

2010-05-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

I received an email today:

Greetings Bruce

I write from the online travel community Airbnb.com

Currently I am creating an area on our site specifically for Yurt rentals. You seem like an authority in the field and by far the most frequent blog contributor, so you are the first person I wanted to contact in my search for exposure on the blogosphere.

Recently we began offering these Yurt accommodations on our site:

In UK: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26890
In Ireland: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27398
In Hawaii: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/28739
And this Yurt from Rob Matthews at the Yurt Workshop and Hooting Owl in Spain:
http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27440

Any coverage you could oblige would be greatly appreciated. I love your story and notions of human shelter; you would be a welcomed member of the Airbnb community. Please let me know your thoughts and if there is anyway we could possibly reciprocate the effort.

Thank you Bruce and I look forward to hearing from you.

Justin

Justin Hauge
415.287.0208
847.881.6237

Check them out.
They seem to be way out front on yurt accommodations. AND!!! Wa-a-ay cool links in the email. Reciprocate? Let's keep sharing yurts with the world. Thanks for letting us know about what you are doing. Accommodations

Yurts 101

2010-05-17T06:14:00.000-07:00

Recent blog in The Examiner answers question: What is a yurt?

And of course much more.

Yurts and Souls

2010-05-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Beautiful article at www.ooh.com: Remote Retreats and Rejuvenating the Soul....

Song Kul yurts, Kyrgyzstan

Maybe not the obvious choice for a hotel stay, but a night’s rest in a nomadic yurt in Kyrgyzstan will at least give you a memorable experience. If you’re not fussed with fluffy pillows and bath robes, you’ll loving staying in the yurts at Song Kul Lake, located 3,016m above sea level. Live the Genghis Khan dream, trek, watch the fantastic wildlife and breathe some seriously fresh air. The nearest town is 500 miles away, so rest assured: no one will disturb you. More details can be found on Dragoman’s website.

Flirt With A Yurt

2010-05-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Recent article from the UK entitled Flirt With A Yurt from The Northern Echo.

IN TENTS: A yurt with its own decking area

A Look at The Colorado Yurt Company

2010-04-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

A YouTube post is a fun look at Inside the Colorado Yurt Company

Yurts, "white wool wind," and a winter journey in spring

2010-04-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

A travel blog details recent experiences in Mongolian yurts.
Wonderful story about winter, connections and yurts.

May children feel joy, without restraint.
Taking pictures, we yet leave on the plains
The impression of a smiling face.
Following dreams, we leave footsteps
Trailing in a snowy place.

Yurts & Top 25 Summer Festivals

2010-04-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Revellers enjoy the dance stage at the EXIT Festival in Serbia

Timesonline yesterday wrote of the UK and Europe's top 25 summer festivals, some with yurt accommodations.

Pennsylvania Yurt Camping

2010-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yurts introduced at Yellow Creek State Park

Yurt camping is now available in Indiana, Pennsylvania's Yellow Creek State Park.

"The rental fee for the yurts during the offseason is $55 a night on Fridays and Saturdays, and $33 a night Sunday through Thursday, or $216 per week. Prices are slightly higher during the peak season that begins June 11."

Sounds very affordable to me.

For Love of Yurts: The Book

2010-04-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I wanted a yurt and couldn't afford a yurt kit. So designed and built two that I could afford, yurts that cost me well under $1000. I wrote a book about the experiences that is intended to open people to their own explorations, designs and constructions. If you want a yurt, I believe that you can have one. The book is offered as an e-book that is instantly delivered to your computer as a pdf file. Your investment is $12.95 USD and is made through PayPal at my website: http://www.forloveofyurts.com. This process sends you to a page that delivers the book to your computer. (The book is also offered in a paperback version at Amazon.com, bookstores and the website).

Affordable Vacations: Yurts in Oregon State Parks

2010-04-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Young visitors scan the beach by the century-old shipwreck of the
Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park, one of 18 Oregon
coastal parks with camping.

State Parks in Oregon offer vacations close to home in affordable yurts:

"What's more, most of the campgrounds feature free hot showers, many have yurts for rent, and even a full hookup site won't cost you more than $28 in the peak summer season at the most popular campground (or about $21 for a tent site) -- just down the road from hotels that might charge $200 a night. Got to give Oregon credit for keeping all those state parks open in tough times. It gives lots of folks a close-to-home vacation option that's hard to beat."

Colorado Yurt Wins Grant for Solar Power

2010-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Former State Senator Jim Isgar presents a symbolic check for $13,071 to the Colorado Yurt Company

Colorado Yurt Company has won a grant for solar power. Read their story to find out how these grants can work for you.

A Woman's Fine Arts Show Presents Passionate Yurt Traditions

2010-04-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yurt in Kazakhstan

Priska C. Juschka Fine Art presents Daughters of Turan, Almagul Menlibayeva’s third solo exhibition of video and photography at the gallery. In the Steppes of her native Kazakhstan, Menlibayeva stages and films complex mythological narratives, with reference to her own nomadic heritage and the Shamanistic traditions of the cultures of Central Asia.

Daughters of Turan explores the emotional and spiritual residues of an ancient belief system as well as a historic conflict, still resonating among the peoples of Central Asia today, between the Zoroastrian ideology of former Persia, spreading widely across Eurasia and influencing Western politicians and philosophers and the Tengriism (sky religion) of the Turkic tribes, reaching as far as the Pacific Ocean. Tūrān, the ancient Iranian name for Central Asia, the land of the Tur, inhabited by nomadic tribes, takes center stage signifying the relationship between the male and the female principles ingrained in the stories, myths and ritual practices of a widespread population and its cultures.

The nurturing earth goddess Umai and favorite wife of Tengri, the god of the sky, much like Gaia in the Greek mythology, created life also gynogenetic, out of herself, and symbolizes the close relationship of the people to the land and its given riches, without agriculture, by animals and humans feeding off her body and drinking her milk. The elusive sky god Tengri, foremost living on in Christianity, where then becoming omnipotent, is here still in his adolescent phase – while Umai satiates the voracious appetite of her inhabitants, Tengri watches over her body, the plains of the great Steppes of Central Asia, playfully entertaining several other wives and fathering many children.

Menlibayeva reaches further into the psychological fabric of the people living today on the Steppes which their ancestors had traversed before they were forced to settle down, first by Persia and China to become peasants and in the 20th century by the Soviet Union in a cultural genocide. Umai, said to have sixty golden strands, still has her ‘daughters’ today, the female population, engaging in the same acts as their predecessors, symbolizing the circle of life, the most powerful Shaman symbol by making sure the circle remains undisturbed and intact, reflected in Menlibayeva’s video, Milk for Lambs. From this perspective, all men remain ultimately adolescent- feeding on the female riches, “When I look at the Steppe, it reminds me of my body, dry and in some places hairy,” referenced in all roundness of all things, “When I look at the round yurts and tables, they remind me of my breasts.” (lyrics, Milk for Lambs, Menlibayeva).

Best 1st Time Camping: Yurt Camping:

2010-04-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Yurt camping deemed ideal for first camping experience.

Colorado Yurts Needs Your Help to Help Haiti

2010-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

The earthquake in Haiti has left thousands without shelter. The Colorado Yurt Company is producing and shipping tents to Haiti to help out, even before the figured out how to pay for them. You can help this project out by sending a check for a tax deductible donation made out to Colorado-Haiti Project. Send your check to

Colorado Yurt Company
28 W South 4th St
Montrose, CO 81401

More Info Here: http://info.coloradoyurt.com/bid/33872/More-Tents-to-Haiti-Wanna-Help

Phone Sam at 888.328.6494 or 970.240.2111 for answers to questions.

Thanks in advance for helping out.

David Cain's Yurt/Waitsfield VT

2010-03-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

David Cain, with whom I am giving a yurt building workshop at Yestermorrow this coming June has designed and built a yurt, in Waitsfield, VT. Check it out! David is a thoughtful teacher, craftsman and designer, who has much to share with students.

Disaster For Mongolian Yurt/Ger People

2010-02-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Yurts more accurately are named"gers" in the Mongolian tradition. The following is from an article recently posted on Mongolia.

Reuters

SIMPLE LIFE: Mongolian herder's child play outside a tent in Gachuurt, around 40kms (25 miles) east of the capital Ulan Bator.

"Immense landscapes and warm hospitality make Mongolia an adventure like no other, writes Louise Southerden.

'Time isn't money out here," said our trip leader, the former Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Tim Cope. 'Money has no value on the steppe. Animals have value.'"

An awareness: Last week a freeze killed 20 million animals belonging to nomadic Mongolian People.

Three-q

The bottom line for many Mongolain Yurt/Ger people: For many, their wealth is gone. For many, their families are starving.

Another awareness: International Red Cross is making rescue efforts.

You can get involved with a donation to the IRC here: http://donate.ifrc.org/

Some details on what donations are doing: http://www.ifrc.org/docs/news/10/10021101/

A Tono Is A Yurt Roof Ring

2010-02-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

From the Vancouver Sun today a report of performance arts under a yurt roof ring, a "tono" in the Mongolian Language. The tono is the eye of God or an opening to the heavens. In the time of the old ways, Mongolian shaman would ascend. spiritually through the opening to travel to the heavens in quest of solutions to life's challenges.

Home is where the yurt is Tono explores the power of Mongolian shamanism, horse culture and music

"Searching for a unifying symbol for a dance work inspired by and about the horse culture and shamanism of the nomadic people of Central Asia, Sandra Laronde found it in the most important place of all for a Mongolian: the home.

Wei Jie, Morigen, Caihong are dancers performing in Tono by Red Sky Performance. A wagon wheel-like ton hangs at centre stage.

The indigenous people of the region live in yurts, which are circular, portable homes that can be quickly dismantled and moved to a new camp. At the top of each yurt is the ton — pronounced with a long “ o” similar to tone. About the size and shape of a wagon wheel, the ton is both an actual and symbolic connection to the world beyond. It can be opened to look to the night sky or closed to keep out rain and snow. The ton also represents both the order of the universe and of the human mind. It provides the structure to keep society functioning smoothly."

Bruce Sargent

CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

IDAHO: BACKCOUNRTY YURTING

2010-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Report this week of Backcounty Yurting from Tyler Wicks:
"I just got back from an amazing trip to the Elkhorn Yurt which is located in the backcountry of Idaho between Idaho City and Lowman. I had been planning this trip for a few months and couldn’t wait to hit the trail on Wednesday morning!"

Tyler had an adventure and a cozy time at Elkhorn Yurt.

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurt Hostels!

2010-02-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

From Random Good Stuff today: Weird But Cool Hostels and one of them was a yurt! And the other weird hostels? Wow!

Anak Ranch, Mongolia

Emmm … awesome!

Beyond Way Cool!!

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurt Camping By Bike

2010-02-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today from Stankertanker Yurt Camping By Bike:
"The yurt was well furnished, with a futon couch, a bunk bed, a skylight, electricity and heat. You couldn't cook inside (a bummer, given the heavy winds outside) and no running water. It was really cheap to rent for the night, and was just what I was looking for."

TERJE HAAKONSEN

2010-02-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

This is for you, James. Happy memories.

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Snowboarding and Yurting

2010-02-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Snowboarding, the most awesome winter sport, has been neglected by this blog. And I should know better. I worked with a man, James, who boarded with Terje Haakonsen at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, when they were both thirteen. I have seen First Descent with James, over and over and over (impossible to get tired of it). I found a blog with the last post in 2007, that is a mind-blowing combination of snowboarding and yurting, posted by Forrest Gladding. Check it out at http://forrestgladding.blogspot.com/2007/03/bunchgrass-yurt.html. And find and befriend him on Facebook. The yurt he made appears to be home-made. The venue, that his yurt is placed in, is incredible. And the snowboarding? see for your self. The very best of yurting and riding. You can't do it better. Thank you, Forrest.

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Ten Best Yurt Rentals: USA

2010-02-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Today By Ameria's Best: Top Ten Yurt Rentals

Big Sur Treebones Resort, California

Luana Spa Retreat , Hawaii

Falls Brook Yurts - New York

Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, California

Hidden Treasure Yurts - Colorado

Chena Hot Springs - Alaska

Falling Waters Adventure Resort, North Carolina

Adirondack Tent Camping, New York

Naha Bay Outdoor Adventures, Ketchikan, Alaska

I don't know how America's Best came to their conclusions. My sense is that they are all good out there, meaning that there is another top 10 that is different and just as good. Let me know what you think. Any way their top 10 only has 9 listed. What's with that?

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

YURT BUILDING WORKSHOPS IN VERMONT

2010-02-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

One evening, two day Yurt Building Workshop at Spirit Hollow, Shaftsbury, Vermont on June 4, 5, 6. Bruce Sargent and Emery Forest instructors.

One evening, two day Yurt Building Workshop at Yestermorrow, Warren Vermont on June 11, 12, 13. Bruce Sargent and David Cain Instructors.

Bruce W Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Cozy Yurts In Oregon Coastal Wilds

2010-01-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

In the Chicago Tribune travel section today: Yurts Cozy Up Wild Oregon Coast
Somewhere between a tent and a cabin, these yurts make park guests feel closer to nature -- including the ocean right outside their door.

Bruce Sargent
CEO/Author http://www.forloveofyurts.com

New Yurt: A Space For Nature Center

2010-01-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

New yurt at Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center reported today in The Pueblo Chieftain, Pueblo, Colorado, to open soon.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurt Living in Style: Upstate New York

2010-01-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today in Tiny House Blog YURT LIVING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK:
Louis Johnson’s yurt, in Willseyville, NY, just south of Ithaca, is from the Colorado Yurt Company. He has certainly "wintered over" in his yurt and from the looks of the photos at Tiny House, he is yurting with considerable style.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

http://tinyhouseblog.com/yurts/yurt-living-in-upstate-new-york/

Kyrgyzstan Adventures

2010-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

Going Nomad in Kyrgyzstan posted today at Matador Trips has spectacular information about extreme trekking to lands with indigenous yurts.

Definitely worth a visit.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Alash Tuvan Throat Singers Tour USA

2010-01-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

From The Valley Breeze and Peeptoad Coffee House in Foster, Road Island today:

Peeptoad Coffehouse to present Alash Tuvan Throat Singers

FOSTER - Peeptoad Coffeehouse will present the Alash Tuvan Throat Singers on Saturday, March 6, 8 p.m., at the Foster Country Club, 67 Johnson Road. The group will also be in Ellenburg Depot, NY on Feb 25 and in Dorset, VT on Feb 26.

(Ellenburg Depot, NY is about 2 hours from Montpelier by way of Burlington. Dorset, VT is about the same time and distance from Montpelier by the way of Rutland VT).

The ancient tradition of throat singing developed among the nomadic herdsmen of Central Asia, people who lived in yurts, rode horses, raised yaks, sheep and camels, and had a close spiritual relationship with nature.

Passed down through the generations but largely unheard by the outside world, throat singing is now the subject of international fascination and has become Tuva's best known export.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for children if purchased by Jan. 31; and $20 for adults and $12 for children, after Jan. 31.

See Fostering the Arts on Facebook.

Bruce Sargent

CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurts and Solar Power

2010-01-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

Delia Montgomery at her Feel Good Style blog today connected dots between yurts and solar power, John M Brown Style. She writes:

"Solar power potential is active in many minds these days. It really makes sense for the yurt

lifestyle, but creativity is required since you can’t rest solar panels on a fabric/vinyl yurt roof. Here stands John M. Brown on his yurt site in Glenville, West Virginia. He is so kind to share his knowledge on a yurt blog that dates from August 2005 to March 2008. Not only are the pics, info and floor plans great, but see dear John’s solar electric block diagram from his FAQ page."

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Becky Kemery's Book is Recommended Yurt Reading

2010-01-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

Wonderful post today at Under $1000 Per Month/How a Family of Five HappilyThrives On Less Than $1000 a Month, recommending Becky Kermery's book Yurts: Living in the Round.
Emily writes

Yurts: Living in the Round by Becky Kemery

I know I said I would do reviews on Sundays, but this book became a part of my personal recovery, so I thought I would include it here.

Dan only checked the mail once while Daniel was in the hospital, even though he came back to town to go to work several days. In the stack of mail when we got home was this book for me to review.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Wing Ridge Ski Tours

2010-01-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

Wing Ridge Ski Tours in Northeastern Oregon offer accommodations in big heated tents. Way cool slide show from Wing Ridge Ski Tours: http://www.wingski.com/slideshow.php
Remember Colorado Yurt makes Cimarron Tents as well as yurts.

What makes more sense? A yurt? Or a tent? What do you think?

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurting in Alaska

2010-01-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

Are yurts warm in winter? You decide after visiting a website, Round Things, by a young woman, Karis Koett, who is a school teacher in Alaska and lives in a yurt! Karis' yurt is in KOYUK, AK!!
Wikipeda tells me that "As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 297 people, 80 households, and 59 families residing in the city. The population density was 62.7 people per square mile (24.2/km²). There were 95 housing units at an average density of 20.1/sq mi (7.7/km²)."

There is a story here and you are just going to have read Karis' blog to learn about it.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

An Invitation to Stay in a Cotswold Yurt

2010-01-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Cotswold Yurts invites you to stay with them in the UK.

They are just off the A419 halfway between Stroud and Cirencester.

From the M4: take exit 15 sign-posted to Swindon, then follow signs to Cirencester.

From the M5: take exit 13 to Stroud.

Hege & Julian Usborne
Westley Farm
Chalford
Stroud
GLOS GL6 8HP
U.K.

Tel: ++44 (0)1285 760 262
Email: stay@cotswoldyurts.co.uk

www.westleyfarm.co.uk
www.cotswoldyurts.co.uk

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

How To Get a Yurt/Brand New Source

2010-01-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.campingyurts.com in Oregon is a brand new source for yurts offering brand new ways of getting one.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Five Advantages to Living in a Yurt

2010-01-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

A post from off-grid.net on advantages of choosing a yurt for shelter:
There were so many reasons to go for it:
1. Economics. No bills...No rents
2. Environment. Yurts leave no footprint; Yurts have a low-impact on the environment
Yurts reduce energy needs
3. Personal. Trades modern life's little luxuries for less pressure to work and earn, meaning having "more time for things that really matter; friends, family and just generally enjoying life".
4. Social. Friends like to visit you in your yurt. Who wouldn't?
5. It's like living in a story book world.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

North Park Yurts: Tele/Trekking Luxury

2010-01-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

Mike Johnson and Laura Friesell of WorldWide Trekking offer luxurious yurt living at their North Park Yurts.
You Tube Version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqoYIJe5WTI&feature=youtube_gdata
You can also see them at their brand new website http://www.northparkyurts.com/
Mike and Laura are definitely "going for it". They can help you go for it too.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

THE YURT PROJECT INSPIRES

2010-01-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Yurt Project: a website and yurt project by Chase Charlton is inspirational!

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

5 Good Reasons to Live in a Yurt

2010-01-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

From Green Planet

5 Good Reasons to Consider Living in a Yurt (Really)

1. Yurts are the real green deal
2. Yurts are eco-friendly
3. Yurts have stood the test of time
4. Yurts can be modern, too
5. Yurts are cheap

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

30 Below at Tall Pines Yurt

2010-01-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

Visits to Tall Pines Yurt on the Gunflint Trail, Minnasota can be done in 30 below zero temperatures with the yurt being toasty warm inside.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

2010-01-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

From the Porch of Dancing Moose Yurt

See Dancing Moose Yurt at Never Summer Nordic. I love the site title. In Vermont Dug Nap says VERMONT: 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad skiing...
Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Beautiful Comfort at Barefoot Yurts

2010-01-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

Barefoot Yurts in the UK near Broad Oak Brede, Rye and Cranbrook offers beautiful Mongolian yurts for rent. The site is worth a visit just to remember how original yurts looked. With a wood stove in some pictures, it appears they might be open in winter.
Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

MacGregor Point Yurts

2010-01-21T16:16:00.000-08:00

MacGregor Point Yurts are at MacGregor Point Provincial Park located on Lake Huron, off of Bruce Road 33 near Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada.

According to the website
"These semi-permanent canvas-covered structures are 16 feet in diameter, mounted on a wooden deck about two feet off the ground. Yurts can accommodate up to six people. They have two sets of bunk beds, a table and chairs, plywood floors, electric heat and lighting, and a propane barbecue."

MacGregor Point Provincial Park
1593 Bruce Road 33,
R.R. #1
Port Elgin Ontario
N0H 2C5
519-389-9056

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

OK, OK, No Yurts. Best X Skiing. Prospect MT VT

2010-01-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

OK, OK...No yurts here. But they have the most fabulous cross country ski trails that I have seen in my life...Prospect Mountain in Woodford Vermont is what I'm talking about...
http://www.prospectmountain.com
(802) 442 - 2575
Simple website. Best skiing. Best Bread Chili Bowl. Best Ski Burgers. Best Cookies. Best Lodge. Best Groomed Trails. Best Traditions. Best Full Moon Tours And Dinners Anywhere. Next Full Moon Tour:

January 30, 2010: Moonlight Dinner and Ski Tour buffet dinner in the Base Lodge followed with a ski tour by the light of the full moon. The evening concludes with warm drinks & desserts back in the Lodge.

Prospect Mountain Olympians

A well known former olympian, Bill Koch, is seen here with Andrea, Prospect's Ski Shop Manager. Bill Koch was the silver medal winner in the 30K nordic race at the Innsbruck Olympics in 1976. He is the only American ever to win an olympic medal in nordic skiing. That may change in 2010!

Former olympian Dave Jarecki represented the United States in Albertville, France in 1992 and Lillihammer, Norway in 1994 as a member of the Nordic Biathlon Team. Here is a picture of Dave (on the left) chatting with his buddy, Dane LaRoche, a former Prospect Mtn. ski instructor. Dave was Prospect's head ski instructor and ski shop attendant in 2002 and 2003.

Another competitor in the 1992 Olympics in France was Jim Curran, Jr. Jim competed in the 50 kilometer ski race. In the early 1980's, Jim was the Nordic Director at Prospect Mountain Ski Center.

One of the fastest ski sprinters in the world, Andrew Newell is currently on the US Ski Team. Look for him in Vancouver in 2010! (http://andrewnewell.squarespace.com/)

It's the love and working at 4:30 AM that makes them so good.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

WHO ARE THE YURTFOLK?

2010-01-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

An article yesterday in the Rocky Mount Telegram by Jim Holt says that Yurtfolk uses music, stories to entertain youth

"Local children were treated to an interactive concert Tuesday at Braswell Memorial Library from a couple that call themselves “Yurtfolk.”

Playing such diverse instruments as the bongo, violin and accordion, LuAnne Harley and Brian Kruschwitz incorporated children’s voices into sing-a-longs to entertain a diverse group of spectators in the Warner Meeting Room.

They call themselves Yurtfolk because of the circular, Mongolian-style dwelling they’ve built for themselves in 2006 in New Manchester, Ind., called a yurt."

Yurtfolk Website says "LuAnne Harley and Brian Kruschwitz are "Yurtfolk" and make their home in North Manchester, Indiana where they live in a yurt...with their two young children. The hold great affection for travel, experiencing other cultures and nurturing creativity. They spend a lot of time singing, creating stories and reading books to their children."

It appears to me that if you live in a yurt or visit one and have children in a school, you might want to have LuAnne and Brian come visit with their program. Would be good for everybody.

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Cabin Fever? Dial The Green Alpaca Yurt to Bust Out!

2010-01-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Green Alpaca Yurts in New Hampshire has a solution to Cabin Fever: Dial 603-335-2992 to reframe everything, (fancy way of saying busting out).
Located at

654 Second Crown Point Road

Strafford, Nh 03884

Email them at

val@thegreenalpaca.com

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

A YURTING WE WILL GO/A POST AT ON THE RUN

2010-01-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

A fabulous post on yurting Tuesday past, January 19 at ON THE RUN. Includes images of a young family's winter trek to a yurt, baby and all! Catch the adventure at http://chellemcd.blogspot.com/2010/01/yurting-we-will-go.html Thanks, Chelle and Aaron for the incredible share. Way Cool!

Bruce Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Yurts, Ski Tours, Hikes and Moonlight Dinners

2010-01-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

"By the light of the silvery full moon, snowshoe or ski with a Crested Butte Nordic Center guide along the Magic Meadows Trail to a cozy, secluded yurt, where dinner cooked by Crested Butte restaurant Maxwell's is in its final stages of preparation," begins an article on yurt living from Colorado's Denver Post".

Family of Three Lives a Simple Life in a Yurt

2010-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

Petite Planet: Check it out! Baby steps toward changing the world!! AND IT'S ALL BABY STEPS, RIGHT MICHAEL MERVOSH!!! HERO'S JOURNEY FOUNDATION!!!! SEE THEM TOO

Bruce W Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

YA, IT'S A YURT

2010-01-20T09:25:00.000-08:00

Fun visit to A Mark on My Wall.

Bruce W Sargent
CEO http://www.forloveofyurts.com

IF IT'S NOT FUN, I'M NOT DOING IT!

2010-01-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

"If it's not fun, I'm not doing it!" Sometimes I get so serious, passionate and intense about things that I forget, that yurting is just plain fun. I found an Australian website that reminded me about what life's about: http://goglamourcamping.com/ Check them out. Most likely you are going to smile. :-) We are calling it "glamping" or "glamour camping".

Bruce Sargent
http://www.forloveofyurts.com

MUST SEE POST BY FRIENDS AT COLORADO YURTS

2010-01-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 11, 2010

Response to NYTimes, "Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No": Why not have both?

You may have already seen Sarah Maslin Nir’s New York Times article “Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No” (12/30/09) about an adventurous couple that moved their young family to a yurt in rural Alaska. The Higman-McKittricks are an inspiring example of a wave of folks who are moving to yurts, making nature a part of their everyday lives-- not just a holiday treat-- and staying connected to a broader community through the internet. It’s Back to the Land 2.0!

From a yurt-dweller’s perspective there are some great points in the article: I loved the concept that the amount of living space in a yurt expands and contracts based on need at any given moment. I also liked the fact that they have internet in the yurt-- this allows them to connect all the diverse bits of their lives, remain active, stay in touch, and get written up in the New York Times.

But, by focusing on this one couple, the article doesn't give the full picture of the yurt-living experience. Toward the end of the article Ms. McKittrick is quoted as having said, “I’m someone who doesn’t mind giving up some level of convenience for having an interesting experience.” Many bloggers found the story to be inspiring but said that the couple sacrificed more than is reasonable for your average NYTimes reader. The worst part? The frigid trek from the yurt to the outhouse. I can't argue with that. This begs the question: Is sacrificing convenience a pre-requisite for yurt living? Most definitely not.

There are plenty of good options for putting a bathroom right inside your yurt, even if you’re off the grid. Below are a couple of toilet possibilities that our customers have used with great results:

The Incinolet toilet is a good option for folks who are hooked into electricity, either from a power plant or solar. The toilet requires no digging and no water. It works by periodically incinerating waste, so all that's left is a small amount of clean ash. Below is a picture of our customer, David Stewart’s Inciolet:

One of my favorite toilet options (for homes of all kinds!) is the Sun Mar composting toilet. Sun Mar makes a couple of models-- some require electricity, some don’t. These toilets are self-contained and compact. Installing a composter in your yurt is as simple as fitting an outlet, similar to a stovepipe outlet, into the yurt wall. They are odorless and produce fertilizer that can be used in growing non-edible plants. The Colorado Yurt Company is now a Sun Mar distributor, so give us a call at 1.800.288.3190 if you’d like any information or to place an order.

Perhaps the simplest and most rugged option (but still a far cry from an icy outhouse) is the do-it-yourself composting toilet. These toilets are as cheap as $25. They require little more than a 20 liter bucket, a box to house it in, a seat, and organic material, such as sawdust, to aid in the composting process. The waste from these toilets is also processed into fertilizer. The only problem with these toilets is that you have to figure out a way to protect against freezing. Click here to read about this type of toilet at the Humanure Handbook. Here is an instructional youtube video on making such toilets by the folks out of Pennsylvania that make the "Loveable Loo."

This lovely bathroom with a homemade composter is in Everett Boutilett and Louis Johnson's Colorado Yurt in upstate New York:

All of these toilets can be installed in a yurt bathroom, which is built by constructing a few walls inside the yurt. The yurt WC pictured below is a literal closet but without the water:

By adding an energy efficient toilet, like one of these, to a yurt, you can have the “experience” without sacrificing a shred of "convenience." No subzero dashes to the outhouse for me!

Other parts of the Higman-McKittrick yurt experience struck me as not necessarily representative (albeit cool). For example, the fact that they have to walk an hour to town to take a shower. Even yurt-dwellers without grid-based plumbing find all kinds of creative ways to have plenty of water right in their yurt, but that's a subject for another post.

Happy New Year,
Sam Kigar

Ultra Simple Solutions for Haitian Disaster

2010-01-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

Emergency plans for water, sanitation and housing for Haiti might look like this:

Water Filter from Top to Bottom"

Unfiltered water
Sand
Charcoal
Gravel
Spout and collector for filtered water
Boil filtered water at a rolling boil for 3 to 20 minutes

Sanitation/Three composting heaps:

Heap currently being added to, containing waste, leaves, grass clippings, sawdust
Heap resting and sanitizing for a full year
Heap that has sanitized for a full year and is now being used in gardens

Housing:

Rectangular earth or sand bag walls, covered with tarps and a few wood rafters.
Yurt style, circular, earth or sand bag walls, covered with tarps and rafters, with yurt style roof.
Ultra simple yurts: see http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Just remember, Haiti may just be first in the batting order. If food prices sky rocket, because of current northern hemisphere crop failures from winter freezes, the dollar will fail and we will be sending aid to ourselves.

Radio Broadcast on Yurt Building and Yurt Living

2010-01-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

I will appear on a radio show, Definitely Dance this coming Sunday, January 17th, at 9 AM EST broadcast from WSBS.COM 91,4 FM. The show's theme is about living from passion, hence the life worth living definitely dances. The book For Love of Yurts, Building an Ultra Simple Yurt Home for Under a $1000, is now on sale in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at Crystal Essence, 39 Railroad Street. The show can be heard at WSBS.com and eventually here, at http://www.forloveofyurts.blogspot.com.

Yurts: Housing For The Coming Hard Times

2010-01-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

A yurt is a structure that can be home built for roughly one-tenth the cost of a yurt kit. Yurt kits create space at $40 a square foot for a sixteen foot diameter/two hundred square foot yurt. A home built yurt of the same size creates space at $4 a square foot. In a depressed economy, a home built yurt may be the only way to have independent housing for some people. (Check out www.forloveofyurts.com to see how this can be done).
Building the yurt only solves part of the housing problem. The problem of where to put the structure will be key in creating a yurt home. One possibility is to put the yurt up in a friend's or relative's backyard. Because the structure in temporary, essentially a camping tent, the yurt might not fall under the jurisdiction of the town building inspector. You need to check carefully with local officials before putting your yurt up to make sure you are not bringing difficulties to your friend or relative. One advantage to a backyard placement is that the bathroom facilities and kitchen facilities might be available to the yurt dweller. The yurt serves essentially a living room, office and bedroom in this case. Depending on your relationship with your friend or relative, you become a part of their life in using the "big house" or you might schedule bathroom visits in the early morning to use the big house bathroom for a short time to empty a camp toilet and fill a water jug, never crossing paths with your host or hostess. Because the yurt comes down and is relatively easy to move, your friend or relative can be assured that the situation is truly temporary.
Another possible site for a yurt is a campground. A campground has the advantage of having bathing facilities, a water source and even electricity available to a yurt dweller. The disadvantage of campgrounds is that they are often seasonal and the often have campsites so jammed packed that there is virtually no privacy. Because yurts are not sound proof you will be living within your neighbors outdoor conversations and they will be living within your indoor conversations. You will have absolutely no privacy whatsoever. Some campground owners will allow you to pitch your yurt away from the jammed packed sites in an out of the way section of the park, but many parks are unable to provide this.
The best place to site a yurt is on your own rural land. Not everyone is in a position to do this and it may take collective efforts of groups of friends or relatives to manage this. Yet homesteading may be the only way to accomplish a productive life in the coming hard times. Visit Homestead Basics to see how.

You Are the Master or Mistress of Your Life: Blessings!!!

2009-12-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

As the longest night of the year comes to the Northern Hemisphere, we are remembering our ancestors linking the return of light to the generative forces within plants and animals. May you and yours feel the gentle touch and holding of the energies of life, of the heart and of the soul. Health and abundance, to you, your orchards, your gardens, your lands and may your next year's crops fill your barns to such overflowing that you are forced to store heaps in the corners of your house and even under the stairs.

Bruce W Sargent
http://www.forloveofyurts.com

A Yurt Life in Winter

2009-12-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

I found a wonderful post about yurt life in winter at the Gazette today. David Johnston took his family to Jacques Cartier park, north of Quebec City and spent two winter nights in a yurt with temperatures dipping below freezing. His story is well worth the visit, because it is dead-on accurate. Check it out.

Bruce W Sargent
http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Sourcing For Love of Yurts

2009-12-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Currently, For Love of Yurts: Building an Ultra Simple Yurt Home for Under a $1000,
can be purchased at website http://www.forloveofyurts.com, at The Book Garden, Bear Pond Books, Hunger Mountain Food Coop, in Montpelier, Vermont, at LACE in Barre, Vermont, at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont and at http://www.amazon.com.

Workshops on Building a Yurt for Under a $1000

2009-12-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Details for workshops on building a yurt home for under a $1000 are being worked out for two sites in Vermont this summer and for one site in Arizona next fall. More information will be available here by next week or email me at forloveofyurts@gmail.com for the latest.

Bruce W Sargent
www.forloveofyurts.com

Mujaan: The Craftsman (of Yurts)

2009-11-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in DIY yurt building and you can go the $19.95 for purchasing a DVD, checkout Mujaan (The Craftsman) at www.greenplanetfilms.org and/or checkout a bit at You Tube.

Bruce Sargent
forloveofyurts.com

Physics of Yurt Walls

2009-11-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

What I have noted in constructing yurt walls is that when the assembled wall is erected, placed in a circle and attached to the door frame, an extremely interesting event occurs: individual wall rods behave like an archer's bow, especially if straight rods are used rather then steam bent rods. Imagine a straight piece of wood bent around and imaginary cylinder, and now imagine the straight piece of wood at a diagonal being bent around a cylinder like a yurt wall rod and you will get that each piece of wood is being bent like an archer's bow. The wood attempts to straighten under tension and gives strength to the wall. How this all interacts with the vector forces of the roof resting on the wall heads, I've not worked out yet. Maybe someone is or knows a physicist or engineer who might contribute to understanding this interaction. Please feel free to comment or find a friend who can comment on this curious fact about yurts, especially those Mongolian yurts built with straight wall rods.

Bruce Sargent
ForLoveofYurts.com

Laurel Nest Yurts: NC Source Near Asheville

2009-11-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

A North Carolina source for yurts near Asheville has a beautiful website, displaying beautiful yurts made by beautiful people. Visit them and share them freely.

For Love of Yurts: helping you get a yurt home!

Colorado Yurts Builds the Ultimate Backcountry Shelter

2009-11-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

Colorado Yurts has built the ultimate backcountry shelter called the Winter Stout Alpine Yurt. Check out Stout's slide show at

http://www.coloradoyurt.com/yurts/yurt_stout_alpine/index.php

It is well worth the visit.

Snow loads can challenge yurt constructions. A cubic foot of snow weighs 10 pounds. In the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, snow can reach a depth of 5 feet on a yurt roof. On my 16 foot yurt that could come to 6 or 7 tons of weight. Stout's engineering takes snow load to even greater extremes and looks to me to be good for it.

Stout's center metal ring support reminds me of a Mongolian bagana or a "tree of life" that supports the roof ring and opens to the "eye of God." The center treatment is clearly functional, designed to hold many tons of snow, and is beautiful as well as functional. Bravo, Colorado Yurt Company! You make yurts with heart and courage. You are clearly expanding your product line into shelters for extreme conditions and for the people who thrive in them. I would love to see one of your Alpine Yurts at the top of Vermont's Bromley Mountain Ski Resort to greet backcountry skiers, boarders and hikers on their return.

Bruce W Sargent
http://www.forloveofyurts.com

Two More Stores to Carry FOR LOVE OF YURTS

2009-11-24T11:50:00.002-08:00

Two more stores will carry For Love of Yurts: Building an Ultra Simple Yurt Home for Under a $1000.

Hunger Mountain Co-op is now carrying the book in its wellness department.

623 Stone Cutters Way
Montpelier, VT 05602

(802) 223-8000

www.hungermountain.com

LACE will carry the book as of December 2nd in the Art Gallery
Local Agricultural Community Exchage
159 Main Street
Barre, VT
(802)-476-4276.
www.lacevt.org

Bruce W Sargent
http://www.forloveofyurts.com