Hi everyone, I'm Kevin and welcome to Modern Self Reliance! I'm from Northern Ontario and enjoy off griding.
This channel will approach self reliance from a modern perspective. and will focus on various build projects using modern amenities, and tools to build a completely self reliant lifestyle. I will cover a big variety of topics, from construction to meat smoking, and everything in between!
"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his own instincts and ideas.
I don’t really see too much wrong with how he left it, there were no set rules. You have to expect there to be things left over, it’s not easy for homeless people to lug things around. Tenants will be like this whether they are homeless or not. When you give to people, don’t expect anything in return. That’s what giving is supposed to be. You do it to be kind, not to expect anything. Also I think checking in every 2 days would feel invasive to me. I know you’re trying to help but every 2 days is a lot. And I noticed the tone in your voice on the phone when he got a hotel, it seems like you are expecting things out of him that weren’t established in the first place. He was thankful and answered your calls and I mean 🤷🏻♀️ you can’t expect too much
Didn't you set up a shower behind the sauna? Is it somewhere else, or did you just dismantle it? Also, what's the status with everything you built . . . we see the cube and the sphere by the pond, but are they used in anyway? Similarly, the round hut, car in the tree, and the princess castle (which we never saw the completion of)?
Vietnamese use to dig under a tree in the jungle with a few bushes in from and cut guys down like crazy until you could get a grenade or good firepower. All vietnamese rat holes had more than one or 3 exits, plus they had numerous people help digging, plus some had been there fore centuries and decades. They are perfectionists at building these bunkers and fighting positions.
Shaft should be shaped , wider at the bottom 3 to 4 ft going up at a angle toward the top almost tonal triangle, Vietnamese did there's that way the sides harden. They have monsoon real bad alot more water than you recieved and they hold up. Study more about their tunnels, Japanese built their tunnels in a similar way. I have a great deal of ideas for you to use in building of underground safe areas.
Vietnam is extremely humid and very, very wet during. monsoon season. Their rat tunnels where built not in a square shape going further back but all the tunnels where clay that had been harden most were dug smoothed the edges out going in to a semi triangular shape just with the top being narrow and the floor bottom 3 to 4 feet wide. At times when building after all the side had been smoothed they would light a small fire to harden the clay, or dry, almost as if you put it in a kiln. Added protection. You have to remember so many of these tunnels were built by many at one time and though many years. If you ever built another one do the tunnels in a arch shape make sure the clay is smoothed out. Even once you dig make sure the floors are packed tight and flat. Take in some bisquen put a floor down. The run the thick plastic up the sides of the walls and the shore them up. The one beam against that long wall wasn't enough. The board going up the wall should have been longer and the bracing closer together to reinforce the long wall. Wall panels should have been single pieces of wood if not cut the at a 45 degree angle 5hen they can be placed back together with some force. Maybe think about doing tongue and groove joints. They've worked for years. Vietnamese used joints. Just their tunnels were strong, take bombs landing on them. Some would have cave ins but for the most part they had a music school down in the tunnels and room system. They had schools, cooked down there running their steam from cooking up inside a hollow tree with in the jungle or under a Bush so it all blended into the fog. They had hospitals. Ammo, guns, water supplies. Lots of rice and grain, dried fish. Do some research on the vietnamese tunnel systems. I do know what I'm talking about.
He should have went ahead and backhoes a large area , squared it off. The add bisque that is thick plastic material that comes in spools that then fold out into huge plastic that is used to water proof basements. He could have done it this way making sure that the complete floor and sides are water proofed. They could have made three floors, made better walls with better planned better sides and safety.
OK first Thank You for doing this for the homeless. I spent most of my 20's homeless and I preferred the streets to the shelters unless it was winter. I would like to suggest finding a old used wood stove for outside for cooking and stuff that way the fire is contained. Also hit up a second hand store for pot's and pan's for cooking. Also a little table both inside and outside for eating and cooking preparation
He trashed the place in a hurry. And took your stuff with him? And did he take your diesel heater too? Also... and not the least... Am I the only one that believes that if someone is kind enough to offer you shelter you should NOT SMOKE in it????
if you tried this where I live it wouldn't last the night. I tried something similar years ago. they tore it apart and stole everything the first night what was left was a trash pile and a partial burnt down hut. I imagine some areas it might work but as I know from experience a lot of people who are homeless in certain areas are not good people not saying they all are but a good amount of them in areas I grew up in would stab you in the back for your shoes and steal everything they can carry. they don't think like a normal person my mother is a homeless drug addict and I wouldn't let her within 2 blocks of my house. just saying your heart is in a good place but be careful because some of these people don't care about tomorrow
If I ran across a spot like this I'd immediately try contacting the person that made it and asking them what other kinds of outreach they're doing and getting involved myself. Not every single person that finds themselves on the street uses drugs, or lacks basic hygiene, or has lost their humanity. The scary reality is being out here changes you and it does it fast. Some of us hang onto who we are for a lot longer and others break quickly. I've seen people you'd expect to snap immediately hold themselves together and find a way out and people I had thought were strong just lay down and give up. I truly hope if you're reading this you never have to experience the surreal feeling of waking up one day to a completely different reality than you've known. It's not always your own fault, people really can just be victimized and forgotten and left to fend for themselves... so really, really think about the little things you take for granted.
Now I'm thinking of a raspberry pi pico with a thermal sensor and an on/off circuit running to the relay that feeds the pump to make you a 6 dollar thermostat that you can program. But with that you'll need a pressure release valve so that you don't build up pressure in the pipes.
WOW! I'm homeless and live in almost the exact same thing. My materials are mostly pallets, I do have a drainage hole like you speak of. Mine is about 48" by 96" and 8' deep so I can hang my bike on the wall above me. I also have a small woodstove that I only use at night, all the sides and back are bricked in to serve as a thermal mass heater. It is also well vented to the outside. 3 years strong and still invisible. My only issue is stealthily putting my solar panels to charge a 100ah lipo4 battery once a week. I also only come and go in the darkness. This year I'm building a new one with easier egress and water close by. I'm always hunted being homeless, they use thermal here to hunt us. My shelter has a double roof that's well vented and inner roof is lined with Mylar blankets, so far so good. Oh, I have 2 layers of pallets for the floor. Also everything, walls, floor, ceiling are all covered with new carpet scraps, very warm and cozy! Thanks, I subbed!
God I wish I had this chance to get off the streets. Somewhere safe that i could keep what little i own and I could get a job in no time and be able to save up. I swear this only happens for junkies and crazy people that don't deserve it.
wow Kevin..you are AMAZING and so talented .. your ability to adapt stuff is astonishing, and your view on economy of a build is impressive !!! I hope many people in need of a cute little home are able to access your design
never mind the ''chem-treatment''... the pond needs the right combo of fish and plants to be self-sustainable... everything else is a lazy/dangerous chem-treatment!...
