Friday, April 15, 2011

A community of Tiny Houses

People dream.
Some people say that only humans dream, but when my dog runs and yips in his sleep I tend to disagree with them.
Some people dream of wealth and fame, a mcmansion and ten cars, but I don't.

Sometimes I dream of being a hermit, just me an my partner, a few animals, tucked away hidden in the woods.
Sometimes I dream of living in a community, sharing everything, and never being alone.
I always dream of living in a little house.
Once for nine months we lived in a 500 square foot house, and closed up one of the rooms because we had no use for it, and it wasn't worth heating with the wood stove. Why would we ever need more space?
I dream of living a sustainable life.
I dream of growing my own food.
I dream of living a life that hurts no one, not those living in the developing world, not my neighbors, not the children of the future, not the ecosystem, not animals shoved in battery cages. No one.
...even though I know that is impossible.

I have been thinking recently of a tiny house community, or a township founded to make a place for little houses, to serve as an example of what can be safely and beautifully done. I have a lot of questions about what it would look like.
-Where would it be? My personal preference would be somewhere warm, where there is a long and beautiful growing season, and plenty of rain. It might be easiest to do it somewhere ideologically liberal. It would also be good if it was someplace where land is cheap. I don't know of a place that fits all these criteria.
-What sort of organization would it have? Would it be a typical township, with elected representatives, rules, taxes, utilities? Would it be more of a commune-style approach? both have advantages and disadvantages.
-How big would it be? do you tow ten tiny houses into a circle, set up a big garden around it, and call it a town? Do you plan for hundreds? thousands? Again, there are advantages and disadvantages to any option.
-How sustainable can you make it? How sustainable do you make it? Do you outlaw all motor vehicles in town limits? Do you make composting toilets mandatory?

All these questions, and many many more, I plan to muse over on this blog.
and now, my imaginary readers, adeu.
-Zay

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