Ultimately, the objective of this study is to create a cost effective housing solution that can become the foundational template for a much larger community development project.
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Ever dream of being off grid? Owning your own home (outright) and being a part of a small community of like-minded people doing the same thing?
We're doing just that! Welcome to HOPE - Porject X.
The idea of living off grid is becoming more and more appealing as the cost of the "technology" becomes more affordable and within the reach of the masses.
The idea of helping design and build your own home, is also a very worthy and appealing objective.
Hi, my name is Robert Kuntz and I'm a part of a small group of individuals who are currently in the planning stages of the "HOPE" offgrid community project, to be based in scenic Southern Colorado.
The community will be comprised of less than two dozen full and part-time residential lots. Each lot will consist of between 1 to 5 acres of land, each being "owned" by the residents. The grounds are planned with common areas that include a full community shop for wood-working, metal fab and mechanical needs, plus a community green-house garden, a central community kitchen with an outdoor atrium, and a community / family park.
The objective of this community, beyond building offgrid living spaces, is to do so for a fraction of the cost of traditional building and living costs.
In 2020, my software development team was laid off due to the pandemic. I'd been working in this field for a couple of decades and felt it was time for a change. I went out and bought a bus (an old skool bus converted to an RV) with my last paycheck and hit the road, headed cross-country without a job, a plan, or a clue - of what I was getting into.
That was well over a year ago now, and oh what a year it's been!
I've made it most of the way across the country and back, with several stops and stays at a place in Texas that has a DIY shop for people who want to convert vans, buses and trucks into RVs. Being handy with my hands, I started helping people with their builds.
Being a car nut, I started working on mechanical stuff first. Then I began helping with everything else, like installing mini-split AC systems, diesel heaters, framing interior builds, working with wood and building cabinets, installing solar systems for total offgrid operation, and more.
The point is... This last year, I've had a hands-on, crash-course in building living spaces that are self-sustained and affordable.
In a recent article, I read that the average cost of a tiny home in a Denver homeless village costs around $22,000. And these things are 100 sq ft shacks, hooked to the grid, but still with no plumbing, as they share a community bath house and such.
$22,000? In the "van and skoolie" community, build quite ellaborate, rolling luxury homes, with every amenity, and completely self-contained with full off-grid functionality - for around that price.
While framing a bus with the owner of the ranch here recently, he'd mentioned that building the frame inside the bus, like we were, was harder and slower than building a house.
This statement got me thinking about building a tiny home again (it's been a long-time interest) Now I am armed with the knowledge and skills to better approach the effort compared to when I used to sit behind my desk and computer, daydreaming of doing it from my cushy lifestle of ol'.