Off-Grid Yurt Tour: A Tiny House Alternative

In this video, we give you a tour of a yurt that is completely off-grid. The yurt is equipped with a double combustion wood stove for heat, a solar panel to power 1 LED light, and a propane fridge to keep food cool during the summer months. There's also an outhouse, barbecue and picnic table outside.
This yurt would make a very comfortable tiny house, although we would make a couple of changes to make it more liveable over the long-term, including the addition of an indoor composting toilet, a couch in front of the fireplace, a captains bed with storage underneath (instead of bunk beds), and a more powerful solar system so that we could power more than 1 light.
This yurt is a rental unit in Gatineau Park that can be accessed by snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in Winter, or hiking/cycling in Summer. For more information about renting a yurt in Gatineau Park, visit the NCC website here:
Winter: www.ncc-ccn.gc....
Summer: www.ncc-ccn.gc....
Biome-Canada: www.biome-canad...
On our third day in Gatineau Park, we ran out of water and melted snow on the wood stove for drinking water. We used the SteriPEN Ultra (that we requested from the company) to sterilize the water, just in case it was contaminated. We didn't get sick and the SteriPEN was easy to use. We'll be posting a full video review separately. www.steripen.com
We also reached out to Renogy (the company we bought our van's solar panels from) and asked if they could send us a portable solar kit to test out so that we could charge our camera and iPod batteries while we were off-grid. The 14 Watt, E-Flex portable solar panel and the Drifter battery pack they sent us worked super well and we'll be posting a full video review separately. www.renogy-stor...
A special thank you to the NCC for allowing us to stay in this yurt in order to film this video, and a big thank you as well to our family and friends who generously loaned us snow shoes, gloves, hats, a sleeping bag, and more to make this adventure possible!
Thanks for watching!
Mat & Danielle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in Touch!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: www.exploringalternatives.ca
Facebook: /exploringalternativesblog
Instagram: @exploringalternatives
Music & Song Credits:
All music in this video was composed, performed, and recorded by Mat Dubé of Exploring Alternatives.

[@enkheenatsag513]

I'M proud of you,im mongolian, this is mongolian tradional home, i grow up this home.Mongolian winter is very cold -38,but warm and cozy.This home designed like our same but outside plastic wrap is difference we used sheep is wool make more warm

[@bantanboyskpop7284]

enkhee natsag

[@tabiripetrovich517]

enkhee natsag it's the same in Hungary I saw it there when I was there. apparently Mongolian and Hungarians are related :)

[@barbibutton9619]

Nice. Sheepskin wool sticks when wet though. Do u treat it

[@neda6315]

It's really funny when I see we have so many cultures in common We also have these kind of tents in north west of iran and traditional people who always travel and live off grid are still living in them

[@ReptileNexus]

I laughed at the "We're going to give you a full tour of the yurt" line. I was like "You walk inside, and that's the tour. It's a yurt!" Haha.

[@1724nine]

Reptile Nexus 😆😆😆

[@steveclark5357]

My home is round, 35' in diameter, built out of "tie ends" ,they are end cuts of railroad ties,7 by 9 inch and anywhere from 4inch up tp 3 ft in length sometimes, sold by the dump truck load for $40.00 for firewood. been living in it for13 yrs.

[@taylordevore2563]

steve clark You should do a video!!

[@stersss]

Wonderful video! I love it that you actually do this full-time and not just in the summer. Great to know it is possible in all conditions and with different housing options :D

[@Aboutwings]

Yurts are amazing. I was lucky enough to live in a quite traditional one in the South of Spain for one week. Just less furniture and no windows. But they were far from done with it. Looks really cosy! Thanks for showing us around :)

[@jocelynelangis777]

Very tempting to try this, we can just imagine how lovely it could be during summer time. Good shoots with camera. Interesting to see the solar panel and the water purifier. Love they ukulele song.

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+jocelyne lanais Merci Jocelyne :) :)

[@loverslanehawj6244]

Nice open floor plan where you can see everything from one angle. Love this shape vs square or rectangle home. Fun home .

[@joaofranciscoschramm8678]

Yurt need to be simple. Congratulations. That's the best yurt project that I have seen.

[@pinkysworn]

I think one thing I like about yurts is how the round structure makes it feel sort of communal. You're not separated by walls and doors, so everything just sort of flows together.

[@hena1937]

I live in a 30 ft diameter yurt is south GA. We are fully on the grid. Our air conditioner doesn't work very well because it's 100 degrees outside and our 4 ft skylight makes it very hot. I do wish we had got the tinted one. We have lived here for about 5 years and we are comfortable. We need to downsize our junk so we could have some more room, but we have all that we need here.

[@FeatheredFriend1]

Do you mind me asking how much it cost, and whether you built from a kit?

[@hena1937]

We got a kit from coloradoyurtcompany.com. It was $18,000-$20,000 I think. It was very expensive to build our huge deck. Our yurt is 4 ft off the ground.

[@barbibutton9619]

@@hena1937 do u have underneath insulated

[@hena1937]

Barbi Button yes, between the original deck and where it is built up. I'm afraid the Insulation is about gone now after 7 years though. I can't recommend a yurt for a high humidity area like south Ga. You commented about a round living space. I can't tell you how good that feels. Try it somehow. It is amazing!

[@uygarbocutoglu4465]

"Yurt" is a Turkish word that is still being used for dormitories. Also we call our country as our "yurt". These traditional turkish tents are still being used on higher altitudes here in our country. In summer we climb to higher altitudes for fresh and cool air and also to feed our animals. Soo we still do use exactly same tents here. People living their whole life in these tents are called "Yörük" people. The word comes from "yürümek" verb. Which means "to walk" in Turkish. These people (my ancestors used to as well) stay in these tents whole their lifes travelling to lands of grass for their animals and trading. You can easily come accross with such huge families if you are travelling around Toros Mountains region. One important thing is that we prefer goat wool rather than sheep. That is because goat wool is better for climate controlling. It keeps warmer in winter and cooler in summer and much more retardant to fire and water. That is surely a fact. Unfortunately it is not easy to find such spinned and woven goat wool these days. Like my grandma used to do and i loved to watch. Fabricated stuff do not work as well as experienced. You must go up the mountains or wait for them come down once in a summer. Any one who is willing to reach the sources for real can reach me here. Best regards. | "Yurtta sulh cihanda sulh" "Peace at home peace in the world" Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |

[@marikavoss660]

The wool used to cover the tent is felted right?

[@bstr-ey6wl]

Yurt is a Mongolian word...

[@VanessaAdam]

Yurts are amazing! Adam's aunt built one piece by piece last year, although they primarily use it in the summer. Would love to try staying in one during the winter!

[@kittentude]

The outhouse was much closer here than with the tent. Nicely done.

[@miloshka101]

This is so awesome! My girlfriend and I are thinking of living off the grid or as off the grid as possible and a place like this would be perfect for us. And the best part is that you could, fundamentally, take this down and put it up somewhere new if you wanted to.

[@peterbyrne652]

+Laura DeCaprio Make sure you get up to speed on how to living in the wild. There's a lot to learn. Go for a 2 week hiking trip as many times as you need to to figure out what it takes to be without city luxuries.

[@hangfire5005]

saw the title and for a minute i was trying to figure out what off grid yogurt was.. way past my bedtime lol

[@munnak3695]

hahahahahahahhahahahaha

[@alaanugud3419]

Lmao!!

[@AllisonReece]

lol.

[@argoscenturian6535]

Hangfire off grid yogurt is when you you spill the yogurt on graph paper 😂

[@andrealisewski5275]

1woo.%,/:#{;^$}3:}*@ }

[@AsanteGeorge]

Great video! I enjoy watching your journey and exploration, you two.

[@Renelephant]

I want to comment on YURTS in general. I'm sure you don't want me to mention other sites, so I won't. The first time I saw a YURT from the outside on one of the sites where you make a choice on one that you'd live in, I thought there is NO WAY this CIRCLE (it was empty) and their budget was even quite high, surprisingly, would even be considered. This one, considering where they are in this very cold environment works great for them. GOOD FOR THEM! I've seen YURTS that are just large circles on the outside and when you walk inside, you would never know! They are sectioned off to bedrooms, lofts. bathrooms etc. Quite amazing! I honestly can't believe it! Great job!!!

[@curriesis3]

Love Yurts. Thank you! Hugs from Maine

[@jessamygoddard4112]

I always look forward to seeing your videos, and again this one is great! I love seeing all sorts of alternative homes. I think living off grid may become a necessity for most of us soon. So we need to learn how! Take care xxx

[@lifestyleoffreedomfamily]

Amazing guy, just amazing! Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🤗

[@RVingLiveTheDream]

Awesome tiny house 😎

[@andreewert1142]

notice that the yurts are often built on top of a deck; so below you can store canoes and stuff; also it raises the yurt above the ground snow which can crush the walls..thanks...very informative video

[@lorenzo42p]

nice home. it's spacious because it's round. no corners to take away space as storage, but a bit less storage I'm guessing.

[@GeraldineAladean]

awesome. I have watched several tiny home video and I have enjoyed them all. This was quite roomy. thanks for sharing.

[@kodeywhitewolf4056]

Always love the yurt living

[@robstorms]

What a BEAUTIFUL series of videos ! The quality has progressed so much over time ! But from the start they were sincere, understated, all meat ( no filler), and so friendly ! The dialog sound, music, editing, and flow are wonderful. You are good folks that would be a pleasure to know. There is help and accommodations for you in Rochester, New York if you ever pass through here.

[@Morongobill]

Really like the yurt.

[@bearlywork1816]

I love yurts! I'm going to live in one once I'm out of college. They're very affordable, like 7,000 for 20 sq feet of more depending on where you buy. They can be great to live in hotter climates, or in the extreme cold!(depending on the thickness of installation) If you are looking for a semi-permanent home on a budget, I would suggest investing in a yurt!

[@ConsciousChris]

you guys are the coolest, I just realized you have a channel! What an awesome life you both are living :) Wishing you well and hope to see you soon!

[@bigron8346]

i don't know which i like better they are all so great. thanks fpr the videos

[@sparkymahoney4343]

Nice yurt, Burt!

[@ParadoxdesignsOrg]

Great vid. I'm interested in that steri-pen now. seems like a cool way to sterilize water.

[@chhavysisowath968]

Wow.... interesting life style.... love it

[@blainemitchell]

This one looks much nicer then the tent.

[@lusthateenvy]

Man when I found you guys, you only had about a thousand subs. Awesome channel growth. Keep up the great content.

[@ifnotmewho148]

Nice set up!

[@dandart9890]

your channel is blowing up. I'm very happy for you guys.

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+Dan Dart Thanks Dan, it's a lot of work but we're really enjoying putting all this positive stuff out there =)

[@dandart9890]

It's nice to see fellow canadians pursuing this lifestyle. I can see all the effort, your vids are high quality.

[@_innerpeacekeeper]

awesome tour and very interested in those off-grid products :)

[@tabiripetrovich517]

once back in my history of living in Canada I told my manager if I coukd have a yurt in the backyard. obviously i was joking. I managed a Canada post frenchise outlet and I had no personal space to keep my things and organise myself. My.owner-manager had never heard about yurts -I had to explain to him what it is. (he has master's degrees, two of them). when I enlightened them he said: we don't use this expression in Canada. I'm happy that you are teaching your fellow Canadians about life and elements of it.

[@joebaker7368]

Camino Chocolate! They are delicious! Great video by the way! Keep them coming!

[@RavenRP]

Your music makes me dance.

[@TheFreedomTheory]

Would love a review on the portable solar panel too! We are going to be doing more off grid camping this year and want an easy way to charge things :) That is an awesome yurt set up! Some of the campgrounds we stay at have them!

[@cnawan]

It's like a little moonbase :)

[@lemurianchick]

+cnawan ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[@cnawan]

cos it's a dome too, with it's own little life support systems :3

[@zerlom]

Love your channel. I subscribed. Greetz from the Netherlands😀

[@michelleisplanning]

Nice. Very cool

[@robvannNS]

Over 50k subscriptions and counting.. congrats guys!

[@shawnharvey7706]

thanks for the grate videos.

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+The Journey thanks for watching :)

[@barbibutton9619]

I wouldn't care for my whole living space to be round but this is nice

[@graygoosie]

I enjoyed this video!

[@LulasticHippyshake]

It looks so much bigger inside than outside! We live in a yurt just like this in New Zealand :D Have just posted a video of us building it!

[@LulasticHippyshake]

It's on my channel (I don't think you can post links in comments with out it being spammed can you?)

[@damoneremana6061]

Wea abouts in aotearoa

[@CareerPulse]

This is Kazakh national yurt and called "Kiiz uiy" (Киіз үй), If you want to know about the details you can look it up in Google, just copy "Киіз үй"

[@debbiefromillinois532]

Another great video!

[@toady7741]

I entered "yurt" in the search box, expecting documentaries about nomadic life in Central Asia. Instead all the videos that popped up had to do with alternative, off-grid living in Western countries. In both cases however, these yurts do look rather homely.

[@lilyplaytime4873]

great job guys!

[@helenjones604]

I love yurts always cute

[@Tuulilintu]

Hi! I just find your channel a few days ago. You give me so much inspiration and joy! Your lifestyle is awesome and something I definitely want to do in the future! I've been dreaming of simple life and owning a campervan since I was 15 (I'm 20 now). So I've been so happy to find your channel :) There is one question I want to ask: What is your relationship with food? What are your eating habits, how do you make your food while you're travelling and what do you usually eat? If you like you could make a video about this topic but I'm happy with just an answer in the comment box :)

[@trickytobi]

nice video guys, keep it going! What about the floor, how can you move that around?

[@AvailableUsernameTed]

Thanks. I live near there and have been wanting to stay in a yurt.

[@chriscube2362]

That's awesome

[@wendyokoopa7048]

I'm now dreaming of a series of well ventilated well cooled heated etc yurts

[@shayq1491]

This one time, I stayed in a yurt (that didn't have heating) when it was 30 degrees out and gosh, that was most definitely the worst night of sleep I've ever had in my life.

[@steinderbush]

Awesome!!!

[@marissaalfaro3648]

I love it

[@mattheweburns]

How does showering work? These seem great, thanks for the video!

[@frmtheBkstore]

never heard of a steriPEN till now. will get one for my next trip to Africa.

[@peterbyrne652]

If you can boil water you don't need it. Boiling water is the best way to sterilize water. They didn't need that pen with a stove to boil water on. Especially snow that clean.

[@jonesbluesandjam]

Nice!

[@elijahmoon21able]

Great music!

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+King Of Clutch Thank you!

[@aminabatmunkh6488]

that looks like traditional Mongolian yurt a bit larger but still has its original design in it.

[@ity2005able]

Hi I saw no link to that 4 season tent you are speaking about. Great video I want a Yurt! :-)

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+Itay Bahar (SpiritualKayaker) It's at the end of the video but here it is just in case it doesn't show up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6LCn31miZl7jJI Thanks :)

[@michaelputnam7708]

WoW***Too cool for words♧ thx!

[@HiImSpencerTate]

this is so cool!!

[@darrengaudry]

That would do me fine...

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+Darren Gaudry Ⓥ Thanks for watching Darren :)

[@bettyjackson7803]

Darren Gaudry Vargas

[@steverawlings]

Love it

[@cminmd0041]

I really like the steri- pen idea, even though the water from snow was probably pretty clean already. Do you think it would work while hiking?

[@mad555max]

cminmd0041 yes but it wont get debris etc out of it. it just sterilizes the water. the same can be done by bringen your water to a rolling boil.

[@TSunshineful]

I'd like to see an update of the van you live in. Have you made any changes from the time you did your first video with Kirsten? Are you even still living in your van? I have been so inspired from that first video, but after watching more youtube videos on what people have done to their vans, I was wondering if you have modified yours in some ways.

[@vivivixen09]

please give us a review on the portable solar panel and the name of the model.

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+vivivixen09 Sounds good, we'll do a review very soon! Thanks for watching :)

[@greenlawnfarm5827]

+Exploring Alternatives What was the song that was right at the beginning? They play it alot but i foget what it is.

[@Vincent2wice]

+haywood jeblome Darude - Sandstorm

[@greenlawnfarm5827]

Vincent2wice thanks

[@seahorse5689]

Love this video! Quick question: I've been looking at yurts as a potential home option for awhile, do you know what diameter that one is? Thanks and keep the vids coming. ;)

[@Jay-ye1up]

Looks like a smaller sized one

[@pursuingancientpaths8131]

The space would be delightful to me, but going that far to go pee in the winter- no. lol :)

[@barbibutton9619]

No cause I pee at night and 100 times a day

[@johnyracercat]

Port a potty, compost toilet or get creative, run a tube to the outside for #1.

[@lindalai9092]

@@johnyracercat eeeewwww

[@youareamazingyesyou5880]

lovely yurt! How long would a yurt last? I would worry about condensation, mould etc... I mean Im wondering how i would clean it witrh all that lattice. Thanks

[@markoramius9215]

love it.

[@SomewhereUpNorthSemiRetired]

Love the candle lantern, any details on where to buy?

[@carolynjordan4633]

It is soooo,neat but, How is the Yurt tied down so it does? not bow down in high winds?

[@kiwimum13]

you guys are awesome love your videos

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+kiwimum13 Thanks so much!!

[@ytthieme]

nice

[@TURAN879]

TURKISH HOME ITS OUR HOME. LONG LIVE TURKIS REPUBLIC.

[@Pelhampete]

Sorry- is that a refrigerator that I see in the yurt? I'm assuming not b/c of the electrical demand of this appliance ... ergo the question. Looks really nice btw. Thanks for the video.

[@alexoi87]

Yeah seems odd... Doubt the solar panel keeps this thing running

[@walruslatte6080]

+TTAR It must run off a generator in the summer.

[@compose-yourlife1]

they do mention in the video description that it run on propane gas

[@peterbyrne652]

Propane in the summer. Off in winter for obvious reasons.

[@doubleT84]

"sleep six in here" - Have you tried pulling out both rolling beds? Doesn't look like that'd work. Or are they detachable from the bedframe?

[@stevenhammond2948]

ahhhh Roooomy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@marshalljimduncan]

I'd love to stay in one of those on my next vacation. Great video, as always! Do you know if they allow pets?

[@garycrowder]

I was expecting the outhouse to be a mini-yurt.

[@compose-yourlife1]

Great quality videos, congradulations to both of you! Just wondering, I use to do a lot of hiking, biking and snowshoeing in the Gatineau Park and I never saw these structures...does it belong to the park or is it private land? Thank you

[@peterbyrne652]

Belongs to the park. They are located on Taylor and Phillpe lake. About a 4 km hike from Lac Phillipe parking.

[@jamesslivinski8589]

Where can I get the information for buying all of the things you needed? I'm selling my house and buying a small piece of land and the Yurt you have would be perfect for me. I know that I would need everything that goes inside of it, but where did you find all of the construction needs? Thank You

[@steseaq]

Love the vids. Do you have names and links of the 2 items you used - the pen and the portable solar set-up? Thanks

[@joolsd1]

Really like the Yurt. Do you have any links for buying one?

[@mingohernandez6475]

love it but get rid of the bunk beds and go Japanese style on the floor

[@johncnorris]

Set up a round tent. Add a pallas cat for fun. This home is a yurt.

[@Nirky]

+John Norris The Los Gatos High John Norris?

[@johncnorris]

Nirky Negative - AAA Truck Driving Academy

[@Nirky]

John Norris Okay thanks.

[@fiendeng]

Great video! Becoming quite envious of your winter adventures. I noticed a pair of sorel boots.. Thoughts on them? Thanks

[@ExploringAlternatives]

+Johnson Rocson Hey Johnson, thanks for the comment. The boots are great for really cold and wet conditions. They're huge so you can put some big socks in them to stay warm. They are a bit clonky though for long walks but definitely worth it in the kind of conditions we were in. Hope that helps.

[@shieh.4743]

Sorels are the only boots for Canadian winter IMO. Clunky, but awesome.

[@christineloggie4785]

what is the company that makes the portable solar panel? another great vid - thank you!

[@vaneztax]

I love ít.