Tired of his work routine, wanting to slow down to live a more sustainable lifestyle, a Canadian filmmaker decided to build a remote cabin from scratch, with no previous construction experience.
Luckily for him, his friends and family helped him design and build his cozy new mini-cabin in an isolated and remote Canadian forest for just C$65,000 (about $50,000).
Solar powered and designed to collect and store 3,000 liters of rainwaterthis self-contained cabin is now the filmmaker and his girlfriend’s full-time home, where they slowly embrace life and share their experiences on Instagram @canadiancastaway.
Located at the top of a cliff in a virgin forest, the house of the canadian castaway it took about three years to complete due to lack of road access and the difficulty of getting construction materials to the site.
The cabin measures 4.5 meters by 4.5 meters and consists of a ground floor with a combined living and dining room with a wood stove, a kitchen with two propane burners and a 110 fridge. volts, and a bathroom with a sink and bathtub (the vermicompost toilet is in a separate unit outside).
The hut also has two mezzanines, one for the bedroom and another that serves as a work space and secondary living space.
In order for the house to operate without a grid connection and to generate enough energy for the daily life of the filmmaker, his work teams, satellite Internet service, a 1,300 watt solar photovoltaic system connected to four 550 Ah batteries was installed. The house is also connected to a backup generator.
As there are no wells, three 1,000 liter tanks are used to store rainwater collected on the roof. Drinking water comes from a nearby spring.
In addition to a wood stove, the cabin remains cozy in winter thanks to efficient insulation.
The total cost of the project – including the price of the land and the solar system – was 65,000 Canadian dollars.
Here you can see the build process in a nutshell:
Images via Canadian Castaway