What is This?
As hurricane season picked up speed memories of Katrina got me thinking. I wanted to do something to help. It occurred to me that someone might find what I know about building with shipping pallets useful. So I setup this simple micro-blog to make it easy to show others how to build a tiny temporary house with pallets and provide information on disaster preparedness in general.
I’ve posted a few other pallet house designs on my Tiny House Design blog. The pallet house on this site uses pallets very efficiently but the other designs would make better long-term housing. View the alternate tiny pallet house design.
Homeless Housing Design Concept
This is a tiny house concept designed by students at Emily Carr University that is intended to be a simple shelter for the homeless. These little houses measure less than 64 square feet and cost less than $1500 in materials. As tent cities continue to grow accross America maybe it would make sense for local governments to allow tiny house communities like these to solve the immediate need for affordable housing. They would sure beat living in a tent. Read more
Prepare Your Mind – Download A Copy Of Wikipedia
Preparing for disasters usually includes things like storing food, water, and basic survival gear for keeping yourself alive and safe through difficult times. But I’ve never seen anyone suggest that they should prepare for the possibility that information itself may become difficult to access during a disaster situation. There is an incredibly simple and virtually free way of solving this problem; download Wikipedia itself.
Tent Cities on Oprah
Yesterday there was a great story on Oprah that included a segment on tent cities right here in Sacramento. I first came up with the tiny pallet house plans one weekend in the fall of 2008 as a hurricane blasted into the Gulf Coast. Today I’m thinking that tiny pallet houses might be a valuable temporary solution for those Americans stuck out in this current economic hurricane.
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Wear Wool For Survival
Wool has long been the choice fabric for staying warm in extreme conditions. Its natural ability to breath and stay warm when wet (unlike cotton) has contributed greatly to wool’s popularity. In fact wool has been so effective for survival, humans have been using it since about 10,000 B.C.. But it has also developed a reputation for being itchy and uncomfortable to wear directly against the skin although some wool varieties are very comfortable. Merino wool (from Merino Sheep) is actually much finer than other varieties of wool and provide the benefits without the discomfort. Read more about building a modern survival wardrobe with merino wool. Continue Reading »
Ultralight Backpackers – Extreme Survivalists
Ultralight backpacking is an advanced style of backpacking. It emphasizes carrying the least amount of the lightest weight gear needed to survive. Often these backpackers carry no more than 10 pounds of gear, not including food. The simple lesson this sport teaches is how to survive on just a few essentials which in an emergency might also be a very useful set of skills. It’s worth mentioning that ultralight backpacking should not be attempted by inexperienced hikers. Learning these skills takes time and progressing toward a lighter and lighter pack is a very personal and careful process. Continue Reading »
