We’ve changed office. We’re now out the back yard in our new Mongolian Yurt. If you’ve been on Nourished for a while, you’d know Green Habitat Solutions, one of our sponsors. Their ad with the beautiful yurts on the Mongolian Tundra is stunning. And the yurts are just as stunning in person.
Our 7 metre diametre yurt with four dragon poles holding the centre of the roof up, is simply beautiful to behold whether you’re outside looking in or you’re in it’s calming womb-like interior. We only have two dragon poles in at the moment. They’re called dragon poles cause they have beautiful carvings of dragons and are painted in vivid Chinese colours. We bought some builders plastic and cheap carpet. The carpet people were very intrigued to be creating a 6.8 metre circular carpet.
Oh yes, a yurt is circular. The walls are made from panels of cross hatched wood, joined at the crosses by ties made from pig skin, which extends and contracts like an accordion. Poles sit in the top of the cross hatched wall pieces and extend up to fit into the circumference of a central hub, forming the roof. Then the whole thing is covered with thick fabric walls, cotton lined felt, and canvas. Three horse tail ropes secure the canvas, tying it to either side of the door (and windows in our case).
Setting it up was a bit of a drama. We forgot to place the elements carved into the hub in the right direction, so once we had it in the air we had to move it around. Not worth explaining how hard this was. Suffice it to say, get the feng shui right first time!
So for around $9000 we now have a brand new office, which is actually big enough for our whole family to live in if need be. We can unpack it in an hour and travel with it. In a trailer as we don’t have any Yaks handy, pity their milk would be yum.
I’m sitting in front of my computer and I can feel the earth beneath my feet, the sun is shining through the hole in the centre of the roof (the canvas plug is pulled away) and I can hear the ocean over the music Wes is playing. In summer, we can roll up the canvas sides to what ever height we wish to let through the breeze. We’ll need to make mosquito net wall linings though. In winter, we have a steel and plastic cupola which has a hole for the flue of the wood stove, we’ll buy to warm us and slow cook our Nourishing winter stews.
Everyone who visits us here in our little womb, just loves it and doesn’t want to leave. Prompting to put in place a strict invitation only boundary. We don’t always work in here, sometimes we get up to a little hanky panky. So if the yurts a rockin, don’t come knocking.
Here are some pictures:
Wes working away.
The outside of our womby little hobbit hole. Karen at food for thought is really keen on getting a yurt. Anyone else inspired?
About the Author...
Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).
Aug 30th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I love yurts. They seem so simple and lovely. We’ve considered purchasing one to live in permanently, but the winters are tough up here in the mountains and I’m not sure a yurt would suffice. They’re wonderful though.
Aug 30th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Jenny, They’re felt lined and with a stove and flue, they’ll surely keep you warm. I love that you can move them around. In winter, out into the sun, in summer, in the shade. Change the door and windows to follow the sun etc. We’re dreaming about sleeping in it without electricity buzzing around our heads in our yurt, getting a separate one for the kids and one each for the rest of our community and using a central house for kitchen, living, office space. Although working in a womb is lovely.
Aug 30th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Wow how great Joanne
I do miss the open steppe ;-D on your pictures !
I would love travelling with a yurt and a few horses and see the world.
Jenny do you know how cold it is in Mongolia ??? In wintertime it is often -20 to -30 C
Aug 31st, 2007 at 9:55 am
Did you read the last Wise Traditions from the Weston A Price Foundation? There’s a gorgeous little story about 17th century Mongolia. What they eat etc. Apparently the prehistoric horses have been conserved and are now living on the Steppes, returning the grassland to its former glory. Love good stories like that. Incidentally, the part about the mongols offering the Russian explorers yak milk in a container with dung smeared around the rim to keep out the bad bacteria was a hoot.
Aug 31st, 2007 at 9:20 pm
No - but it sounds interesting
I have always been facinated by the nomads and interesting enough it turn out that we have tartarian blood in our family ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatars )
I have been wondering why my dad didn´t look very danish and why we were so many blodtype B´s in the family when B´s are rare in Denmark -well among the tartarians 29 % is bloodtype B ! - that is very high)… so here I come over the steppes :-D
Sep 10th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Joanne! Wes! It’s fabulously beautiful…I love it and it looks HUGE! More than enough room. I could there easily.
I’m thinking….
We’re supposed to build a master bedroom/ bath at the ‘old’ new house…a small yurt might be more fun and interesting. I will do my homework & read up on this at Green Habitat Solutions.
Congratulations. This looks heavenly. Far more fabuloso than the stereotypical, boring office.
Bravo! Great idea and to think its all sustainable!
Rockin’.
Love,
Karen
Jun 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 am
Hi I found your site looking for Yurts, I have seen ads for yurts in the Echo and would like to purchase one, could not find the advert. this time around, would you have the contact details Rob
Jun 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
Rob, are you in a hurry? I’d suggest you contact us in a couple of months, when we receive the waterproof canvas. The guy who sold us this yurt tried to cheap out on canvasses and ended up with non-waterproof ones. You can imagine the soaking we got in the last 6 months and the yurt is not in good condition because of it. We’ll have a new one up with it’s proper canvas in a couple of months and you could come have a look then. I’ve also seen a much better supplier of Yurts. They’re more expensive but they’re Fair Traded and I’d guess they’d work better. Unlike the one we own - northern Chinese rip offs. I didn’t know this when we bought it. I wish I had known of this other crew who are actually hand carving the things in traditional style and providing a dignified life for craftsmen from Mongolia - a very exploited country. Next time.. here’s the link.
http://www.samarmagictours.com/en_ger.htm
It’s called the Mongolian Artisan’s Aid Foundation. Feel free to contact me via the contact form Rob.