Man sells possessions to live in tiny Hobbit house in the woods
Kris Harbour lives almost entirely off the grid – well, except for his booming YouTube channel chronicling his construction and foraging efforts.
One day, the Welshman got fed up with modern life.
He was tired of commuting, train delays, a thankless job, and the inability of the world to recognize his less mainstream talents. Getting out of bed filled him with dread. His possessions were more stress than pleasure.
It’s a familiar story, but unlike most people, Harbour did something about it.
Instead of working every day to become part of the machine and defining success by how much money he made, he retreated into nature to make his own rules. As he says on his website:
“I decided – no more. I sold my house, I quit my job, and I moved to a small flat to start looking for some land in Wales to start to build a future that I could be in control off. I found 18 acres of land and started a journey with the goal to be self-sufficient and as in control of my own destiny as humanly possible.”
His main goal was to build a house, but he wanted to begin with something more experimental so he could learn what worked and what didn’t.
He spent months in a damp tent building his structure (most of them alone after a relationship ended). But in the end, learning how to build a home, install plumbing, and work on making things by hand was the most enjoyable thing he had ever done.
He was even foraging for his own food.
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In January, he gave everyone a YouTube update on his handmade wooden structure while he did his morning chores.
He had lived there for a few years by that time.
First on the list was feeding the chickens.
They live in a pen Harbour constructed.
There are baby chicks as well, and we get to see them in their little habitat once they get their food warmed up.
There are multiple structures on the property, including the home, an outhouse, and a workshop that Harbour built.
Next, he fetches some firewood for his oven before heading off to his workshop.
There are quite a few chores to do in the morning that those of us with modern luxuries don’t need to think about. Our water valves and heating sources don’t need daily monitoring, for example.
But Harbour knows how to keep track of the weather and use simple solutions to solve the problems that might affect his health or safety out in the woods.
You can find all sort of videos and narratives of the construction on his YouTube channel and website.
It’s hard not to be entranced by everything he’s managed to accomplish to make the life he wants for himself.
Even the inside of the home and its furniture were handcrafted and really do look like something out of The Shire (and we mean that in a good way!).
While the house looks a little too “natural” to be sturdy, Harbour says that’s one of the biggest misconceptions.
It’s perfectly sturdy and gets checked on quite a bit. It’s also weatherproof and he’s not worried about it deteriorating in the least.
Just look at this place!
He also clarifies what he means by “off the grid.”
He has Internet, he can watch movies – it’s just that he’s not connected to any municipal services. His power and water come from the land and he is in charge of turning it into something useable.
Harbour has even built his own hydroelectric grid! So he really is off everyone else’s grid.
Harbour also shows viewers his outhouse (a composting version), where he keeps his firewood, and how he’s managed to impressively wire the house himself!
It’s incredible!
Finally, we see a little more of the workshop, but you’ll have to scroll down below to the video for the whole tour.
But we’ll give you a peek – just look at this ceiling!
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Source: YouTube – Kris Harbour Natural Building, Instagram – @kris.harbour, Kris Harbour Natural Building website