the yurt arrives

My son Ezra's yurt arrived today, very cool. While technically a "yurt derivative" design, more of an outwardly supported tent, it is pretty darned cool. It was made by Shelter Systems, who have adapted modern materials for a new take on a traditional portable dwelling structure. It is lightweight, strong, and easy to move. It is constructed of PVC pipe in a strong and flexible exoskelton. It has door flaps and windows.

While researching yurts, I also came across the Hexayurt project. This is another modern design, not quite as sexy, but could be extremely useful as emergency shelter. They can be assembled for around $100 by people with minimal building skills. They can be built for less than the shipping cost of a traditional emergency shelter tent. I'm going to try building one as an auxillary chicken house.