Posted by Sam Kigar on Fri, Aug 13, 2010
Our web developer Adam Silverstein grows things. He recently grew our web page, matured its navigation and improved it's search-ability. But websites are far from the only thing Adam grows. In addition to Earthbound Website Development and Hosting, Adam owns and operates the Round Earth Farm here in southwest Colorado.
Round Earth is a sustainable and organic farm, located on a fertile mesa above Hotchkiss, Colorado; and Adam's work on the farm is a community service. He sets to work each day with enthusiasm for working the land and the desire to get good local food to the inhabitants of his valley. Part of this service is passing his knowledge about farming onto eager young people. For this reason Adam brings on several interns (in addition to five employees) each growing season. He houses his interns in an Earthworks tipi and a Colorado Yurt.
Together Adam and his crew work the 25 acres. "We grow vegetables from a to z. That's artichokes to zuchinni. Plus," Adam says, "we just put in a 1/2 acre of mixed fruit and a 1/2 acre of raspberries and blackberries." In exchange for room, board and a modest stipend, the interns get to see the farm through an entire growing cycle. They are involved in all aspects of the farm--from planting to sale. The produce is sold to retail and wholesale outlets as well as through Adam's CSA (Communitee Supported Agriculture), called Turkey Hill.
The interns say good things about staying in the tipi and the yurt. While farming restores a connection with food, living in these structures allows interns to nuture their relationship with the land.
Round Earth is part of a growing trend among farms that find yurts and tipis present a viable solution to a variety of needs. Turns out that these structures are both philosophically and practically suited to these types of farms.
- They’re low-impact: Like sustainable farming methods, they leave a small footprint on the land.
- They’re (semi-)portable: As the demands of space change on this relatively small parcel of land, the structures can be moved to accommodate.
- They're round: The shape of these structures resonates not only with the name of Adam's farm but also with the cycles that support and sustain his farm.
It has been wonderful working with Adam, getting to watch his farm develop, and, of course, eating his delicious produce. Thanks Adam!
Thinking of a farming (or any other) yurt?
Here are some good things to think about!
Posted by Sam Kigar on Tue, Jun 01, 2010
Yurts run the gamut from DIY (do-it-yourself) to pre-fab. Most people who live in a yurt purchased a kit from a professional company. Recently though, I was looking at some pictures from a Colorado Yurt Company customer when hit me: all yurts, to varying degrees, are do-it-yourself. While some of our customers contract out bits and pieces in and around their yurt (e.g. site preparation and deck) the vast majority play a large role in giving shape to their yurt. Each customer builds a unique yurt; we just facilitate. Take the case of Samantha Swenson and Duncan Masters.
Envisioning
The first step in the building process for the Swenson-Masters began with a stroll across their land in eastern North Carolina. When they imagined a home there, they saw a yurt.
Actually they saw two
The Swenson-Masters wanted their yurt to be a physical expression of their ideals of economy, ecology, and luxury.
Samantha says their love of reading guided their use of space in the yurt. Between the newlyweds’ two collections there were a lot of books. Samantha says, “We figured out all the possible places to put shelves and then added everything else.” Using the bookshelves as functional walls, they divided the big yurt into quarters: the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, and the office/craft area and future nursery.
Luxury
Moving into a yurt was obviously a step into an “alternative” lifestyle but not as much as you might assume. In Samantha’s words,
"We are still interested in maintaining a relatively average lifestyle inside eccentric surroundings, finding balance between being eco-friendly and being your average active working individuals who love high-speed internet and crime drama TV shows..."
In addition to crime TV they love having people over. They left the front half of their yurt, the kitchen and living room open and inviting, while moving the clutter of everyday life to the back of the yurt.
Designing the Kitchen
For their kitchen they decided on IKEA’s Varde series, which appealed to them ascetically and because it’s freestanding. The counter space is movable and the table expands.
The smaller yurt houses a bathroom and utility area. Luxury found its home in the bathroom. It has a shower with bench, deep soaker jacuzzi tub (with a rubber ducky)...
... and a beautiful, handcrafted sink and vanity.
Another wonderful thing about this yurt is that it is handicap accessible.
Like all great homes, the Swenson-Master’s is a work in progress. They are currently adding a loft to the big yurt for Samantha’s craft projects. By the time their baby-to-be is school age they hope to add another yurt to the mix.
Some folks are more hands-off in their approach to designing their yurt than these guys, others do more. Regardless of where you fall on the DIY to Pre and Post-Fab continuum, the decision to live in a yurt is the decision to live in house that reflects you. The round space and flood of natural light provide an inspiring place to build a your unique home.
Get started designing your yurt with our "
Color Your Yurt" tool!
Posted by Sam Kigar on Mon, May 24, 2010
One stormy spring evening a few weeks ago, our display yurt played host to economic development officers from across Colorado. Sandy Head, of the Montrose Economic Development Corporation, worked to bring her colleagues from around the state to Montrose for an evening of mingling, food, and wine.
We were still glowing from being selected as one of the "50 Colorado Companies to Watch"; so, needless to say, we were pleased to have members of the selection committee with us in the yurt.
Economic Officers Drink Wine and Check out the CYC Brochure
As people ducked out of the harsh wind they smiled at the immediate calm of the yurt. I watched folks move around the space. They examined the lattice and rafters, and then moved toward the center where they began introducting themselves. The space was abuzz with conversation. People were asking each other questions about the yurt, "What do yurts cost?" "Where do they come from?"
The room was primed by the time I took the floor to give a bit of history about the company and our products. The boisterous group could barely hold back questions. "Why Yurts?" "Because we believe that their circular structure and inherent closeness to nature lends itself to powerful and positive human interaction." The party around us was proof enough and people nodded appreciatively; as they did when they found out how much a yurts costs.
I demonstrate the compression/tension system
After I finished speaking, local chef Anthony Damiano announced dinner and explained his upcoming restaurant and culinary school project. As the storm raged, the group tucked into a heartily sumptuous meal. They ate and drank well into the night.
With over thirty of our state's movers and shakers nestled into the yurt, the structure was serving one of its original, intended functions: a gathering place where community members come together, share ideas and have a good time. Plus, as guest after guest exclaimed that they or someone they know absolutely needs a yurt, I realized that the best testimonial for yurts is a yurt.
Find out where you can book a yurt for your next community function...
Posted by Jennie Redwine on Wed, Apr 28, 2010
written by Colorado Yurt Owner Michael Drummy
In April 2007 we purchased about 15 acres in rural, picturesque northern New Mexico – “O’Keeffe Country” its called because the painter Georgia O’Keeffe lived there for the second half of her life. At first we were grateful just to be able to spend time there – but tent camping soon got old. After buying the property outright we didn’t have the means to build anything very expensive down there. My wife and I had spent a few winter nights in a CYC yurt in the Never Summer Mountains of north central Colorado some years back and really enjoyed the experience. So we thought – what about a yurt? After looking into it and being amazed at how affordable it was, we purchased a 20’ yurt with all the bells and whistles in the spring of 2008.
We erected our yurt in early September 2008 after hiring some locals to build our deck earlier that summer. And they did a great job – its well-built and reliable. Besides my wife and myself, there were three others who helped with the the yurt-raising – our 21 year-old son and my father-in-law and his wife. Once the materials were delivered it took us about 3 full days and we had an airy, cozy, and utterly unique space filled with light and possibility. It was truly a memorable few days – loads of fun and laughs and a great sense of accomplishment. Here is a picture of our son Bill tying up the protective sheet for the roof.
In the past year and a half we’ve made it more our own. We’ve installed a 40-watt DIY solar system, a composting toilet, and ventless propane heaters. We have a little kitchen area, a big convertible dining table, the de rigueur futon, several rugs, and we even created a space to hang and store our clothes. It feels roomy and cozy at the same time. We are completely off the grid, but we’re able to run laptops, watch DVDs, charge cell phones, and run the nearly silent exhaust fan for the toilet. By adjusting the windows, dome, heaters, roll-up wall, and a simple tower fan we can regulate the temperature in the yurt to make it comfortable year-round. Opening the windows from the
outside took a little getting used to, but once we did we began to enjoy it. Spending time in a yurt you are much closer to the elements and to the natural cycle of things. We’ve been there during pretty severe snow-and thunderstorms as well as spring days when the dry wind can be unrelenting. The yurt has withstood everything and we are absolutely thrilled with it.
Watch a video about a yurt in the mountains of Durango Colorado surrounded by hand crafted musical instruments.
Posted by Sam Kigar on Mon, Apr 12, 2010
I love my yurt! It is a beautiful structure that evokes a kind of special magical feeling.
Last spring, I erected a 24 foot yurt in Evergreen Colorado, to house my 15 foot therapy pool.
I use the pool to give Watsu sessions to my clients. Watsu is a kind of water therapy that combines Shiatsu with water. I float people in a pool of warm water. I support their bodies while I move them through the water giving them gentle stretches and twists. It is both relaxing and rejuvenating. In July of 2009, I opened for business as Sweetwater Watsu.
When I was getting ready to establish my Watsu practice, I looked at a variety of structures that would work as a housing for my therapy pool. I chose to erect a yurt because I loved the round shape. I am so glad that I made that choice. The interior of the yurt is incredibly beautiful with the ceiling pattern of beams radiating out from a central dome. And the clear ceiling dome provides a view of the blue Colorado sky.
When people first step through the door of my yurt, their eyes light up when they see the inside of the structure. They frequently comment on the beauty of my space. As I work with my clients, the yurt lends to the calm feeling of healing energy. When people lay back in the warm water of my pool, they look up at the clear dome surrounded by radiating beams. It is a beautiful sight. My clients frequently comment on the shape of the yurt and the wonderful feeling they get when receiving a Watsu in the warm water inside of the peaceful yurt. It seems magical. The shape and energy of the yurt definitely lend to my Watsu practice.
For more information about my yurt or my Watsu practice, visit http://sweetwaterwatsu.com or become a fan of Sweetwater Watsu on Facebook.
Susan Lange
Sweetwater Watsu
http://sweetwaterwatsu.com
303-638-9843
Posted by Sam Kigar on Tue, Mar 30, 2010
We get the question all the time: is there financing available on yurts? The answer, in most cases, is a regretful “no”. Some people have used non-traditional finance companies, others are able to finance with credit cards; but most traditional banks turn down loan requests for yurts. They just don’t know how to classify them.
All that just changed
There is a new option for yurt financing. It’s called peer-to-peer or social lending. In simple terms, social lending is a financial transaction between two people without the intercession of a bank. If you’ve ever loaned $5 to your little brother, you’ve participated in social lending.
These days, thanks to the internet, social lending is taking place on a larger and more complex scale. Websites have emerged that connect people that want to borrow money with people that want to lend it. The largest and most well-respected sites are www.prosper.com and www.lendingclub.com. There are some important things to know before you jump into social lending. So, keep on reading...
It works like this
- Social lending sites vet potential borrowers for good credit and a favorable debt to income ratio.
- Borrowers make a loan request (stating the amount of money they need and what they need it for)
- Interested lenders get together to fund the loan at an agreed upon interest rate*
- The site consolidates the loan and deposits it into your bank account.
- Borrowers pay the site a small percentage of the loan
- Borrowers send loan payments to the site, which then distributes the payments to lenders
It turns out that interest rates on these sites tend to be favorable compared with your average bank. Unlike credit cards, they don’t change your interest rate halfway through payment. But remember: every loan is different, so be sure you’re getting a good deal!
To get a peer-to-peer loan you need (at minimumm) to
- Live in the US or be in the US military
- Have a US bank account
- Be able to use the internet (if you're reading this, you're covered)
- Have good credit
Jump in:
Research the different sites. When you’re ready, put a loan request out and see what kind of interest rate comes back. Sites let you leave your loan request up for 7 to 14 days, so you’ll know if you’re going to get a favorable deal in a short amount of time (with some sites you’ll know immediately) and you can always reject the offer if you don’t like it. Be careful with this: Some sites lock you in as soon as your loan is 100% financed.
- Know the rules of your site
- Check to see what (and when) the site charges you for their service
- How it determines your interest rate
- At what point you are locked in to the loan and obligated to pay it.
- Monitor your loan carefully!
Don’t accept any loans you can’t pay off but see peer-to-peer lending as a positive and unique way to get your yurt financed. With a bit of luck and a lot of good credit you won't have to shell out much interest!
I will stop short of recommending any one site in particular because every loan is different (I can’t emphasize that enough) but i do think peer-to-peer lending is a great idea. Who wants to give more money to the banks anyway? Peer-to-peer also fits well with the philosophy of yurts and our company; it’s outside of the box and personable. Give peer-to-peer a try. Maybe it will make your yurt-dream a yurt-reality!
Sam Kigar
Colorado Yurt Company
www.coloradoyurt.com
*Some sites allow the potential borrower to set his or her own interest rate while other sites set the interest rate on each loan based on the borrower’s credit score and current market trends.
Posted by Sam Kigar on Tue, Mar 09, 2010
Since our first donation of five tents to volunteer aid doctors, we've built eight more and given them to organizations taking them to Haiti! (Read more about tents below.)
So far, we've received donations covering the costs of five tents!
We'd love to receive some more donations to cover our costs, and keep on making and sending tents.
Four of our new tents went to the Colorado Haiti Project and four went to Fireside International. Fireside's tents are going to educators made homeless by Haiti's earthquate, who are working to get schools up and running again.
Partners in Health is also in desperate need of tents. If we can build more we will be sending some to them.
We've streamlined our donation process and opened up a new channel for donations:
You can now make checks out to Colorado Haiti Project.
Send checks to: Colorado Yurt Company/ 28 W. South 4th St./ Montrose, CO 81401
- We'll forward your donations on to the Colorado Haiti Project
- They'll send you a receipt for tax-deduction (please include contact info so that they can do so.)
- If you'd like to donate online with a credit card please see previous post, send me an email or call me (Sam) at (970) 240-2111.
As an added bonus, author Becky Kemery and Gibbs Smith, Publisher are giving the beautiful book Yurts: Living in the Round, $25 value, to our first 15 donors who give $100 or more.
Check out some photos and a video of the tents:
Out new tents include:
- Durable, waterproof roof.
- Light weight privacy walls.
- Bug-proof screen walls.
- Waterproof floor.
- A bag for easy carrying and shipping.
When in the bag the tent is acceptable as checked-luggage on commercial airlines. The bag is 48 inches long, 15 inches in diameter, and, with the tent and accessories, weighs 47 pounds.
We appreciate your help in getting more tents to Haiti!
Posted by Sam Kigar on Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Hello,
When the earthquake hit Haiti we, like much of the world, wondered what we could do. It was a relief when we found a small way to help by donating tents made in our shop. After I wrote about the experience of sending five tents down with a group of doctors, I was amazed to find that you too wanted to help in our efforts.
We finally found a way to get more tents to Haiti efficiently and to make your donations tax-deductible. We’ve partnered with an organization called Fireside International. They were operating in Haiti before the earthquake and have a wide network of friends down there.
- How You Can Help – Donate to Fireside International and earmark the funds for Colorado Yurt Tents by emailing arrenner@firesideinternational.org, the accountant at Fireside. Checks can be sent to: The Caribbean Institute of Media Technologies, 3203 Grassy Lane, Anderson, IN 46012. Earmark by writing Colorado Yurt Tents in the memo section of your check. $420 will buy a tent. Donate more or less as you can afford.
- What Colorado Yurt Will Do – We’ll make eight tents at a time which maximizes the efficiency of our materials and production. The tents would normally retail for $650. The difference represents our donation.
- What Fireside International Will Do – Connect the tents with experienced aid workers who will hand-deliver them to Haitians in need.
The 1st in our fresh batch of tents (now with built-in floor)
As the quake gets further away, aid into Haiti is dropping off but need is actually increacing. Haiti is a mere two weeks away from its rainy season. This means not only that over a million newly displaced Haitians will be exposed to the elements but also that they will face increased risk of contracting disease. You don't need me to tell you how bad it is down there.
Photo by UNICEF Sverige
What we're doing is modest but, we think, worth it. Your donation will buy something real (a tent) and a family will have a place to stay for as long as they need. The tents are about 7ft by 7ft by 7ft tall at the highest point. They are made with care and constructed from high quality, waterproof materials.
We are paying our employees their normal wages so your donation also goes to support local, USA business.
Thank you for your help,
Sam Kigar
sam@coloradoyurt.com
(970) 240-2111
Posted by Jennie Redwine on Thu, Oct 22, 2009
YMCA of the Rockies’
Snow Mountain Ranch
is an incredible 5,000 acre conference and family center just outside of Winter Park, Colorado. It’s also the home of a new 20’
Colorado Yurt. We set the yurt up a few weeks ago just as the aspen were making their final statement of the fall with a fiery, orange blast of color amid billowing, low clouds that threatened to throw down the first big snow of the winter.
We stayed in Indian Peaks Lodge, one of the four lodges, numerous cabins and many campsites on the property. The rooms were very inviting and impeccably clean with a couple of beds, a mini-fridge, a sitting area and a back patio with a gorgeous mountain view. What’s that you say? No TV? Yes, no TV. Who needs television when you have 5,000 acres to explore? There is a WiFi connection, so don’t panic. An afternoon walk in the cool autumn air revealed an abundance of outdoor
activities. Hiking, biking and horse riding trails meander all over the property. One of the trails I walked skirted along the edge of
Sombrero Stables
where the horses munched happily on their dinner. Another trail revealed a soaring zip line. Not into those things? How about miniature golf, disc golf, fishing, canoeing, archery, ice skating, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, tubing or sledding? Don’t have the proper equipment? No excuse. Snow Mountain Ranch provides inexpensive rental options for just about anything you’ll require. Need something to do indoors on a rainy day? Try the rock climbing wall, swimming, basketball, volleyball, skating, ping pong, foosball or a variety of crafts.
photo courtesy of Snow Mountain Ranch
Unfortunately we didn’t have much spare time to play and explore. We had a yurt to set up before the snow flew. The talented ranch crew finished a handsome yurt platform the afternoon we arrived so we got an early start the next morning. The stairs leading up to the platform were finished off on either side with a rustic, hand-made banister. The tongue and groove wood floor inside added a rich and finished, yet rugged and outdoorsy touch.
The yurt went up pretty smoothly. Our shop manager, Clint Huddleston, came up with a great idea to combat a mild wind as we were getting the roof insulation and roof in place. We tied thin, slick ropes to the eyebolts in the circular
compression ring at the peak of the yurt frame and then ran the ropes across the
roof insulation tying the opposite end of the rope to the crisscrossing wooden slats of the
lattice wall. This enabled us to have all hands free for unrolling the
yurt roof and shifting it into place. Once the roof itself was settled, we simply untied the ropes and slipped them out from underneath the yurt roof. If you saw any clips of the
balloon boy saga
recently, that is pretty much what the roof insulation on a yurt will do if the wind catches it. So the ropes saved us a bit of chasing and avoided closure of nearby Denver International Airport.
This yurt included three of our new
operable wooden windows. There are two big benefits to the new windows. They are set in a sturdy wooden frame so it is possible to cut out the section of the lattice wall that typically covers the window in a yurt. The ends of the cut lattice get screwed into the window frame so the frame integrates into the lattice wall without affecting the functionality and strength of the yurt. The view is unobstructed by the crossing lattice wall pieces. The second benefit is that the window can be cranked open from inside the yurt. A standard yurt window has a zippered flap in the wall fabric of the yurt which must be opened by going outside the yurt. Many yurts, including the Snow Mountain Ranch yurt, are built on a
simple platform
that is only a footprint for the yurt without additional outside deck space. If the yurt is elevated, unzipping and rolling up the window flap must be done on a ladder. In this case, the ability to open the window from the inside is an obvious advantage.
We had a great time at
Snow Mountain Ranch and hope to make many trips back to play and to work. With adequate
funding, the ranch has a master plan to incorporate tipis, canvas platform tents and several more yurts over the next couple of decades. I’ll leave you with a quote from their website.
Posted by Sam Kigar on Sun, Feb 22, 2009
In January I had the opportunity to travel to Paris, France to see 25 Colorado Yurts go up in the Grand
Palais. The yurts were for an installation by famed photographer
Yann Arthus-Bertrand and his group Good Planet. The art piece is called
6 Billion Others.
The Grand Palais is a structure of staggering proportions. It dates from 1900 but today it still has one of the largest glass ceilings in the world. Event organizers (from the design firm Scene) told us that although the Grand Palais
is an awesome space, it can be rather difficult to control. That's why they chose to use yurts as the space in which the art would actually happen. The 25 yurts were to comprise 25 mini-cinemas.
We arrived before the show opened and yurts were starting to pop up all around us. Some were fully pitched. The latice
and rafters were up on others. The effect was awesome. Normally we think of yurts as natural and traditional spaces, meant to be pitched in organic settings. But here they were surrounded by steel and glass- a monument to industrialisation. Colorado Yurts are
traditional but have adapted and because of this they work well in all sorts of environments. Even in the most modern of settings they fit.
Check out this video to see one of the most impressive yurt pitches ever:
We didn't quite know what the
organizers meant by saying that the Grand
Palais is difficult to control
until the
show's opening night. Of course, we liked the idea of yurts in Paris and we know that they make
beautiful settings in which to show movies, but there was a practical element to using them to too: Paris in January is
cold and it's very difficult to heat a space that is 72,000 square meters. Yurts, on the other hand, are very good at retaining heat when
necessary. So when we arrived on opening night we, along with the many thousands of other guests, headed straight to the warmth of the yurts.
Each yurt showcased a different film in which people from around the world responded to a
different
question. One film asked individuals what war has meant in their lives. Another spoke to the meaning of family; still another was about how to make love last. The films were honest, moving, and sometimes funny. As we watched regular people from around the world, we understood something more about the similarities and diversity among the world's population. At the same time we realized that we were sitting with people from around the world and there, inside the yurts, we began to feel a little closer to them.
Ask a question about the yurt experience
here.
-By Sam Kigar
*Photo by Dominique Erhard