Growing up in a small village between Lyon and Valence, I always felt something of an outsider. Even in infant school, I reacted against injustice and the social norms of success, and was very aware of ecological issues.
I trained in interior architecture, but the environment felt superficial, so I focused on ethical construction and set up my own business in architecture, design and graphics – but it led to burnout.
On a whim, I left for Colombia, living for six months in a shanty town with an indigenous community. Returning to France, it seemed that the bigger your property, the less time you had to enjoy it: my trip had shown me I could be happy in very basic conditions.
First, I converted a van, which matched my values in terms of minimalism, simplicity and adventure.
It had no water, electricity or heating and I spent two winters like that, washing in the river, cooking and warming myself over a wood fire.
I was working at the same time so I was exhausted, but it was a profound learning experience about the value of comfort.
Once I had decided to build a tiny house, I started looking for a plot of land.
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Habitat léger
I chose an area 25 minutes south of Valence, a very alternative region where lots of people live in light housing (habitat léger), and are ecologically and socially active.
I learned about a plot through friends of friends, and came to an agreement with the owner, paying her a small rent of €150/month to use the land.
I should point out that, legally, mine is a precarious situation as this type of self-built, mobile ‘tiny house’ cannot be declared a main residence.
On the road, my home is classed as a trailer, but once it is installed and you are living in it, it becomes a leisure home – like a caravan or campervan.
If you want to park in the same place for more than three months, you need to apply for permission, which is rarely granted.
When it came to planning the house, I took a 6-metre trailer and drew interior layouts that would suit me, which then influenced the shape of the roof as I went up to the bedroom. With limited space, every square centimetre has to be almost perfect.
As far as materials are concerned, I opted for a balance between those that would be eco-responsible (local, reusable etc), inexpensive and easy to handle and dismantle.
It was important to me to share my project on OpenSource so that other people could access the plans for free.
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Building ethically
I had already become disillusioned with conventional architecture and knew that it took a lot of energy to build ethically, which meant a lot of research time. Knowledge is power; if everyone shares a bit of their knowledge, we will get there eventually.
If building ethically could become as easy as building conventionally, there would be no reason not to do it.
In the beginning, people asked if I was afraid companies would steal my ideas to build their projects. My answer is that if more companies build tiny houses, there will be less concrete and that is my aim.
I think you probably need a certain mindset to live in such a reduced space with so few belongings, but you do not have to be a hippy – there are plenty of Parisian business people in 20m² studios!
Many tiny houses are well finished, comfortable, relatively expensive and with beautiful materials, created by people wanting to live with very little.
The hardest part was being alone. Everything changed when I joined TinyLand, an association that brings together self-builders of tiny projects: you feel included with people who have similar values, and you share experience and knowledge, which I continued to do through coaching sessions and training courses.
It also helps that a friend, Clément, now lives in another tiny house on the same plot of land, so we are in it together.
These projects take a lot of time, even if you are extremely efficient. The conception (drawing, design etc.) took about a year part-time, while construction was a 14-month effort, which I fitted around my job.
Building your own tiny house means acquiring incredible skills and confidence; it has also challenged my impatience and perfectionism.
I could lose my tiny house tomorrow without really losing anything. Right now, sitting in it, I can hardly believe I built this. It has given me the social circle and the life I have today. I am extremely lucky.
For more information about self-building, workshops and free plans, visit Geoffrey’s website: lacabane-minihabitat.fr.
Budgeting on a small scale
Self-builds generally cost between €25,000 and €35,000. In Geoffrey’s case, this broke down as follows:
Trailer: €6,000.
Timber framework: €2,200
Timber cladding: €3,300
Hardware (nuts, bolts etc): €1,000
Waterproofing and insulation: €2,000
Exterior woodwork: €4,500
Roofing: €1,000
Paints and varnishes: €350
Electrical system: €2,000
Plumbing: €1,000
Heating and ventilation: €1,000
Electrical appliances: €800
Decoration: €250
