A sustainable building advocate is trying to encourage Kelowna residents to downsize through his tiny house workshop.
Kenton Zerbin has been living in an off-the-grid tiny house for seven years. He has travelled all around the world studying permaculture, the art of living sustainably with nature and has been an educator since the beginning of his career. When the pandemic hit, he was forced to move his sustainable living classes online and discovered a new passion in the process.
乌鸦传媒淚 enjoyed learning how to make videos. After the online course was made, I thought, 乌鸦传媒榃ell, I still can乌鸦传媒檛 teach in person, so I may as well keep working in the video world,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕 said Zerbin. 乌鸦传媒淎nd so we made a reality show.乌鸦传媒�
The Tiny House Master Plan documents the start to finish process of constructing and designing a state-of-the-art tiny home. The first season shows the team building the tiny home from the trailer up. The second season will be a 乌鸦传媒渢ighter乌鸦传媒� season, said Zerbin and will show audiences the furnishing and design of the home. Then, the team plans to take the home across the country on a nationwide tour.
乌鸦传媒淚t has a theatre stage that drops down from the back of it, so we can actually do concert events and workshop events with people doing a drive-up movie theatre experience,乌鸦传媒� said Zerbin.
After the tour, they will be giving away the tiny house to a subscriber of their YouTube channel.
Zerbin hasn乌鸦传媒檛 let his reality show halt his passion for teaching. Over the weekend, he gave Kelowna residents a crash course in the ins and outs of living tiny by hosting a workshop.
乌鸦传媒淎 lot of people are excited [about tiny houses], but they want to learn a little more,乌鸦传媒� said Zerbin. 乌鸦传媒淭he course is meant to be a crash course. To really help them [the course takers] learn what they are about to get into if they are considering building a tiny house.乌鸦传媒�
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During the three-day course, participants learned how to design a tiny house to suit their needs, live legally in a tiny house and the steps in constructing a tiny house.
Adrien, a participant in the weekend workshop, has been passionate about sustainability since he was a kid. He said he would 乌鸦传媒渄efinitely consider乌鸦传媒� living smaller, but he feels that the City of Kelowna needs to help out tiny home hopefuls.
乌鸦传媒淐ity council needs to get involved to change the zoning to make tiny homes more accessible,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Tiny homes may also help create more space for Kelowna renters, at an affordable price.
乌鸦传媒淚t is very expensive to develop a new neighbourhood,乌鸦传媒� Zerbin said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut to allow a secondary suite, or whether that乌鸦传媒檚 RV parking in the back or an Auxiliary Dwelling Unit, a permanent tiny house 乌鸦传媒� that offers the ability for more residents to be in the city.乌鸦传媒�
While tiny homes aren乌鸦传媒檛 for everyone, there are definitely some indisputable benefits that house owners may not have considered.
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The essence of a tiny home is quality over quantity. This shines through in the high-end finishes present in many tiny homes, despite their full cost being less than the down payment of the average home.
乌鸦传媒淚 got my dream house in an affordable way,乌鸦传媒� said Zerbin. 乌鸦传媒淚t allows me to live the life I want and not work a 40-hour workweek for a job I don乌鸦传媒檛 want.乌鸦传媒�
For anyone interested in a tiny home, Zerbin has a few pieces of advice.
乌鸦传媒淒o a lot of research,乌鸦传媒� he said, chuckling. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 fine to look at dream pictures and see them on Pinterest and watch the shows, but if you get your heart set on something that isn乌鸦传媒檛 allowed, that can be quite soul-crushing.乌鸦传媒�
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isabella.harmel@kelownacapnews.com
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