Tiny house community. It was suggested to me to post here.

Greek Papa

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I am an Orthodox clergyman who like all clergymen during the holidays, receive many requests for assistance from all over the US. The economy has been hard on many and there are many of our own who are on the street or a paycheck away from being on the street. I am sure almost all of us knows someone in the Church in this humbling predicament, who are looking for a way to preserve their dignity (and sanity) and perhaps even provide for their family.
I am testing the waters and interested in seeking God's will in having a Tiny House community started in California for Orthodox Christians. We have some bare land with utilities, an old farm house and 20 acres and all the free water we can use. It would need tons of work to start off. To be honest, I don't even know where to begin and do not have a lot of time or resources to contribute. I envision a self-sustaining community where people both old and young seek to live out there faith, pray together and help one another. We have two Orthodox Churches in town only 10 minutes away each. We have a little experience with organic farming, aquaponics, and farm animals. I will leave it at that and see what interest there might be. I know the economy is rough for many of the faithful and would love to open it eventually to those most in need. May God's Will be done.
 

blackribbon

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I have watched those shows and wonder what happens to older people as they have lower mobility issues and they live in tiny houses which all seem to have loft bedrooms? The ladders become fall risks. The bathrooms are too small to have the grab bars and other bathroom assist equipment. No room for a walker to roll. There are often stairs to get in and out of the home. I envision people that we are now allowing to return home with home health visits not being able to go home anymore because their homes can't be adapted to be made safe.
 
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graphite412

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I'm way too far away to be a part of this, but I love the idea. It would be awesome to have a chapel on site as well. I will put forward some questions though...

1. What town is close by?
2. Is this property in city limits?
3. Do zoning regulation even permit such a thing? I know a lot of tiny houses are small enough to classify as a shed so don't need permits, but could this still be a problem?
4. Could 5th wheel campers or trailer be included? Some people might be put off by having to build a tiny house, but would love to have a 5th wheel with a car port and trailer deck.

Here in Missouri, the Amish build nice log cabin type buildings for a reasonable price. The monastery that I frequently visit uses these for the monk's cells and guest rooms. Also you can google "RV car port and deck" images and find tons of ideas.

Could something like this work?:
carport-for-rv.jpg


This is nice:
04-The-travel-makes-up-about-half-of-the-living-space-in-the-home.jpg
 
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Greek Papa

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I am very interested in a similar thing in the area I live in. I envision a community garden and fruit and nut trees as well as houses. I will pray that God will open doors and provide for your mission!
Thank you so much for the prayers and encouragement:)
 
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Greek Papa

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I have watched those shows and wonder what happens to older people as they have lower mobility issues and they live in tiny houses which all seem to have loft bedrooms? The ladders become fall risks. The bathrooms are too small to have the grab bars and other bathroom assist equipment. No room for a walker to roll. There are often stairs to get in and out of the home. I envision people that we are now allowing to return home with home health visits not being able to go home anymore because their homes can't be adapted to be made safe.
Wow, very thoughtful foresight. I guess a tight Orthodox community would see this as an opportunity to help not an elderly person, but a brother or sister (mother or father) in Christ, depending on the resources and situation. An Orthodox Christian assisted care facility would be the next ministry that would need to be established. We just happen to have a great assisted care facility 10 minutes away that is secular, but is managed by a faithful Orthodox manager who sees this as an opportunity for ministry. You bring up a good point. Thank you!
 
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Greek Papa

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I'm way too far away to be a part of this, but I love the idea. It would be awesome to have a chapel on site as well. I will put forward some questions though...

1. What town is close by?
2. Is this property in city limits?
3. Do zoning regulation even permit such a thing? I know a lot of tiny houses are small enough to classify as a shed so don't need permits, but could this still be a problem?
4. Could 5th wheel campers or trailer be included? Some people might be put off by having to build a tiny house, but would love to have a 5th wheel with a car port and trailer deck.

Here in Missouri, the Amish build nice log cabin type buildings for a reasonable price. The monastery that I frequently visit uses these for the monk's cells and guest rooms. Also you can google "RV car port and deck" images and find tons of ideas.

Could something like this work?:
View attachment 215321

This is nice:
04-The-travel-makes-up-about-half-of-the-living-space-in-the-home.jpg
I'm way too far away to be a part of this, but I love the idea. It would be awesome to have a chapel on site as well. I will put forward some questions though...

1. What town is close by?
2. Is this property in city limits?
3. Do zoning regulation even permit such a thing? I know a lot of tiny houses are small enough to classify as a shed so don't need permits, but could this still be a problem?
4. Could 5th wheel campers or trailer be included? Some people might be put off by having to build a tiny house, but would love to have a 5th wheel with a car port and trailer deck.

Here in Missouri, the Amish build nice log cabin type buildings for a reasonable price. The monastery that I frequently visit uses these for the monk's cells and guest rooms. Also you can google "RV car port and deck" images and find tons of ideas.

Could something like this work?:
View attachment 215321

This is nice:
04-The-travel-makes-up-about-half-of-the-living-space-in-the-home.jpg
Thank you for your questions. It is in Bakersfield, CA. It is in Kern County which is one of the most conservative counties in the US. It was established by poor farmers who came from the dust bowl and brought there deep Christian faith with them. It is a miraculous Bible belt in the middle of liberal California: It is full of Christian churches, radio stations and a very unsecular atmosphere. Our parish has been here for over a hundred years, so we are well known in the community and by God's grace respected. It is also very affordable.
The farm is unique because most of it is zoned AG, with a three acre strip that strangely somehow got zoned r2. There are many ways of working with the city because farms out here have a lot of clout and are allowed generous housing for farm help. We also have a very good relationship with the Mayor, the City depts, the Police and there are no neighbors! Though Bakersfield City has a population of 400K, it has a small town atmosphere where people know one another.
The farm, though within the City limits, has no live neighbors in any direction for about a 1/3 of a mile. We have the city materials yard to our north, the city water processing plant (clean water) to our East, a huge solar farm to our south and empty fields to our West. It has water power, city water, and river water rights grandfathered in. The river water comes via elevated canal from the Kern river. The elevated canal means the farm can be water all by gravity fed, no pumps necessary. It has tremendous potential and is a godsend in many ways, but has been abandoned for 15 years. The little farm house is standing but needs major TLC. We have one resident family, a retire Christian couple, who live presently in their fifth wheel trailer and share the same vision. They have a couple of horses as well. Trailers would work, but not mobile homes. I like the idea you sent with the carports. Nice combination, and simple.
Thank you for your valuable input. fj
 
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Greek Papa

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Thank you for your questions. It is in Bakersfield, CA. It is in Kern County which is one of the most conservative counties in the US. It was established by poor farmers who came from the dust bowl and brought there deep Christian faith with them. It is a miraculous Bible belt in the middle of liberal California: It is full of Christian churches, radio stations and a very unsecular atmosphere. Our parish has been here for over a hundred years, so we are well known in the community and by God's grace respected. It is also very affordable.
The farm is unique because most of it is zoned AG, with a three acre strip that strangely somehow got zoned r2. There are many ways of working with the city because farms out here have a lot of clout and are allowed generous housing for farm help. We also have a very good relationship with the Mayor, the City depts, the Police and there are no neighbors! Though Bakersfield City has a population of 400K, it has a small town atmosphere where people know one another.
The farm, though within the City limits, has no live neighbors in any direction for about a 1/3 of a mile. We have the city materials yard to our north, the city water processing plant (clean water) to our East, a huge solar farm to our south and empty fields to our West. It has water power, city water, and river water rights grandfathered in. The river water comes via elevated canal from the Kern river. The elevated canal means the farm can be water all by gravity fed, no pumps necessary. It has tremendous potential and is a godsend in many ways, but has been abandoned for 15 years. The little farm house is standing but needs major TLC. We have one resident family, a retire Christian couple, who live presently in their fifth wheel trailer and share the same vision. They have a couple of horses as well. Trailers would work, but not mobile homes. I like the idea you sent with the carports. Nice combination, and simple.
Thank you for your valuable input. fj
sorry: "their" not "there"
 
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KernelPanic

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To be honest, I don't even know where to begin and do not have a lot of time or resources to contribute. I envision a self-sustaining community where people both old and young seek to live out there faith, pray together and help one another. We have two Orthodox Churches in town only 10 minutes away each. We have a little experience with organic farming, aquaponics, and farm animals. I will leave it at that and see what interest there might be. I know the economy is rough for many of the faithful and would love to open it eventually to those most in need. May God's Will be done.
You may want to start a little bit smaller first. Rather than trying to build everything from scratch, consider volunteering at something like Habitat for Humanity or a land trust organization. That way, you'll get an idea on the labor involved in building or restoring a home without having to sink in large sums of your own money into it and you'll still be helping with affordable housing. Even if you did have the experience, there's also zoning and building regulations that you have to follow and you would have to work something out with your township on getting utilities connected.
 
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