Uber driver saves money to build genius Expandable Container Home

Ten years ago Kamal Kadhar began dreaming about a home that could be easily transported around the world and could unfold upon delivery in just an hour with fridge, beds, sinks included, ready for overnights. Using 8 years worth of earnings as an Uber driver, Kamal built a container-sized home (7.5 feet by 24 feet) that can be pulled the back of a 4x4 and comes with 5-foot leg jacks so no forklift or crane is needed.
He began building his first prototype outside in a field outside the southern Indian city of Tiruchirappalli. Not wanting to add complications for those wishing to deploy their home in remote locations, Kadhar relied on mechanical winches for unfolding the home (though electric gearboxes can be added) and avoided any type of hydraulics or machinery that can't be easily fixed by an amateur.
In fact, Kadhar says his entire home can be built from the frame (that he can provide) by amateur building enthusiasts just as he was a decade ago. He grew up tinkering with metal in his father's scrap metal shop, but had little experience until he began watching KZbin videos and apprenticing with local builders in London where he lives and drives his Uber vehicle 12 hour days. He says he's gotten encouragement for his expandable home, which he calls Octopouse (inspired by his love of octopi), from his passengers. He's driven 35,000 passengers from 135 countries and even gotten advice from architects along the way.
The Octopouse is furnished with a full kitchen, that pivots into position within seconds, and comes fully plumbed and electrified. There's also a Murphy bed in one wall, plus a toilet and shower (the bathroom doesn't unfold). Kadhar hopes to offer frames for sale for around $50,000 with the price to drop with economies of scale.
Instagram: / octopouse_ltd
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[@darincarlini4583]

You can tell that he is joyful in his work!

[@judyofthewoods]

I hope Kamal will be successful with his venture. I wish him all the best. What a touching end.

[@woroGaming]

I can easily imagine this to be a great solution for disaster organisations to prop up a mobile office/hospital. Incredible project Kamal Kadhar!

[@KevinBarns]

What? Lmao. They couldn't even build tent hospitals in Canada for COVID 19. You are a radical liberal dreamer

[@bigcarlover]

Yeah, or even for housing people displaced by disaster. My first thought was "so much better than a FEMA trailer"

[@tumblebugspace]

What a neat design! Yes, surely his Father would be proud if he could see it. ☮️❤️🐾

[@mashalashangry2438]

what a guy, believing in himself, hardworking dreamer who finally made his dreama reality , bravo

[@baranjan4172]

Wow, hat tip to Mr. Kamal. This looks like a durable thing ready made for tiny house communities.

[@blueman5924]

That is an ingenious design. Thinking “within the box” ! 👏👏 A wonderful achievement for his team.

[@Kara_2505]

What an amazing project Kamal Kadhar! I hope it gets picked up and wish you every success! 🙏 Thank you for sharing, great to see projects from other parts of the world. 👌

[@beatricevandeborne3088]

FABULOUS. This is such a very, very good "moving" house. I wish him a great success!

[@janetleeharrison]

Love the look, design, & low maintenance of it! Exterior is obviously far stronger than wood or vinyl siding. Its really amazing how compact this is when it arrives, including all of the solar panels installed. I would imagine this would be perfect for military use, medical use (especially after a disaster). Or as a food truck/trailer, or small laundry mat. So MANY uses for this!😍Best Wishes!

[@medasrinu2536]

Iam from india It's a fantastic work Creative work ❤🎉❤

[@wildgeese5707]

Great big blessings on you, brother Kamal! Your father would indeed be so very proud of you. May every success be yours! ❤

[@adelheidsnel5171]

Such a sweet man. His father would be proud.

[@LincolnWorld]

Wow! I'm only a minute into this video and I'm already loving it! Thank you so much to Kirsten and the team for bringing us such awesome videos about alternative living choices! So inspiring! I hope to one day make some place worthy of being in a video of yours. Even if it never gets a video, at least if it's worthy, then I know I'm going to love living in it.

[@kirstendirksen]

Definitely let me know when you make your space. Best of luck.

[@mrs.manrique7411]

I’ve dreamed of stuff like this. He did a magnificent job having the kitchen swing outward!

[@dreed1058]

This gentleman is priceless! I love the creativity, and his designs are amazing. Could not be more excited for him, hope he makes a tremendous profit😂❤!! Love the whole concept, and it is beautiful🎉.

[@TonyL-gw4qx]

Looks amazing and I hope sales and production go great for him!!!

[@tumblebugspace]

What a neat design! Yes, his Father would surely be very proud of his son if he could see it. ☮️❤️🐾

[@luns486]

Maybe he can 👻

[@cynot71]

I LIKE IT! Starting around $50,000? I like that, too! Made of STEEL, NOT trash (a.k.a. recycled materials). I only thing I would change is the winch (from manual to electric).

[@joecutro7318]

I could be wrong, but I think he said $15K not $50K 🤔

[@cynot71]

@@joecutro7318 It's 50K, check the description box.

[@oldblack15]

Living in England, building in India, price in dollars$ lol , definitely going international. US $50k just for the frame?

[@ronhuff9219]

Somebody jump on it... it's the way of future accommodations. Take my manufactured home away and I'll strap one down on my little 0.48 acre plot in Florida, make it my own, disturb the nature as lightly as possible, and when the hurricanes come I simply fold her up and flee. How water proof are they when folded up? Btw, loved the video 👍

[@sislertx]

This is the only one ive ever seen i would buy

[@mchess7987]

This is one of the most ingenious houses I have seen on your channel! Kudos to him for working so hard to create this.

[@dertythegrower]

Respect... full on hustler and a real one. Something any person can look up to, if you work hard to help people with solutions..

[@Skarkez555]

Looks more appealing than boxable

[@runvnc208]

Right, this is like what Boxabl wishes it could be.

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗 THANKS KIRSTEN…VERY CLEVER IDEA 💡 AND I AM VERY SURE HIS FATHER WOULD BE PROUD 👍💚💚💚

[@feedogmummy496]

What an awesome guy....and what a wonderful idea for people in areas with hurricanes, wildfires etc, lifechanging.

[@hohlwelt]

So inspiring,so impressive, thank you, Kirsten. Mr. Kamal has the dream, energy and perserverance, to pursue this for such a long time. And the result is a real, spacious portable home, with all modern conveniences. I wonder how heavy it is, with everything on board.

[@NikoKun]

Now this is the kind of Tiny House I wish I could live in!

[@evelinharmannfan7191]

i really like this idea of a house that can be folded like a deck chair.

[@mhofma12]

Good for you sticking it out my friend. Great story and great project now enjoy it!

[@krkrtl11]

Thank you always for interesting and creative projects from all around the world. Best wishes 🙏

[@jonchalk3855]

Had to watch a couple of times. This is amazing. The shipping container looks like it is 20 feet. The fact that it can be lifted up to 5 feet is also a good feature. Especially in flood-prone areas or very irregular ground. At $50k US, this appears to be affordable. The interior looks very modern.

[@spartahill]

I admire people who follow their dreams and passions despite the views of others and the pitfalls of life. I sincerely hope you excel at this venture and succeed beyond your wildest dreams as an architect, builder, and entrepreneur. Best,

[@stable-shadow]

Wow, this is a very high quality dwelling, low environmental impact or indluence, Does he need investors, or idoes he have any already made for sale? Very good Engineering, and super hard work.... beautiful! 🕊️

[@kamalreal1234]

Thank you for taking the time to watch my story. and your support for Octopouse,sorry for late response. yes please we need investors .please check descriptions . For my contact information thank you Kind regards Kamal

[@kayemoonflower]

Brilliant!! I would actually like to get one of these, or set up a building location in the USA, though I am not capable of that just yet. It's exciting to see this creative project and the way it was developed---I am very glad you have documented his creative work and his prototype/intellectual property, etc !

[@michaelcrowley9008]

I wonder how we can get this item or the plans to build it as he mentioned.

[@RaraAvis1138]

You're design is wonderful!!!

[@alejandronunez7650]

the future!! pocket homes!!

[@gianni1827]

Kudos to this men!

[@geoffcollinson3051]

What a wonderful story. Thanks so much for sharing the incredible initiative and passion of this wonderful person!

[@r.k.2823]

His design is an incredible structure. Mobile and ingenious home that has an application in many areas of the world. Good for him and I hope he has financial investors to promote his ideas into a full-fledged business.

[@CalimehChelonia]

Cool story!

[@StarkeyatRingo]

This is mankind at it's greatest, bravo!

[@RobbsHomemadeLife]

Sometimes a person has an idea and sometimes an idea has a person. I think the octopouse has Kamal. I really enjoyed this video good luck to Kamal

[@wildernesshermit]

Well folks you've found another delightful innovator, Many thanks.

[@mysbhyv1707]

A very viable project indeed 👍 Well done! Praying for the success of your dreams, sir.

[@johnransom1146]

Always intriguing. Good basic design. Water catchment?

[@izzyplusplusplus1004]

I love it. Very nice, and the spaciousness of it is amazing.

[@bethcollier3789]

wonderful idea, and use of materials. Wishing the best of luck to him and his family.

[@DFontaine7]

Being able to raise your house 5 feet up could be very useful during a flood!

[@user-zw3bg9vr5g]

❤Congratulations and very well done.❤

[@tspin1224]

Wonderful design and concept. Love it.

[@suzannemarshall5328]

A wonderful achievement. Your father would be proud and you deserve the best after all the hard years.

[@pearlhartney9]

What an amazing design. Love it.

[@cigarmann]

Pure genius!

[@snowstrobe]

Good on him for the enormous effort, it's cleverly designed. Think perhaps a composting toilet would be best. I'm assuming there's water collection/storage and filters?

[@juliuscaesar3346]

Fantastic ❤️💚👍🇬🇧

[@ravutherkasim8291]

Wow what an amazing idea and great achievement 🎉🎉🎉 way to go for your success

[@hughmc5419]

Very nice, in trades , hats off to the Uber driver....And his dream & desighn.

[@innershifttv]

Thank you for showing us designs made further afield.

[@valerier4308]

That's awesome!

[@IrishMiddleChild]

Omg this man is so impressive!

[@equinevoicesuk]

Wow well done to all involved , what an achievement 😀

[@michaellukaniuk5074]

So very cool.

[@user-wv5fq8di2m]

Ingenious and practical concept. You are an original thinker Sir.

[@kelRGo]

One of the best I’ve ever seen!!!!! Great work

[@smaktalkturtle1]

absolutely beautiful message, especially the ending shot. This is truly inspirational.

[@annetakubiak3374]

Amazing 👏👏👏

[@ciaobella8963]

Wow, what an impressive achievement. I would live in one of his houses no problem.

[@elimannysosa2377]

First of its kind I’ve seen like this ! Amazing build sir !💯👍🏼🙏🏽

[@lipsticklodge7526]

This man is a genius!

[@Johnny-rj9on]

Hell of a design, Kamal. Well done!

[@hmidasliman6504]

Formidable.

[@juliemccormack8389]

Wow 🤩. This is ingenious , the gentleman deserves a medal for fantastic work and perseverance 🏅

[@gary.richardson]

Pretty inspiring design!

[@katiegreene3960]

Love the design prototype

[@AngelaLRsurfinginstilettos]

Please DON'T give up!!

[@faith2691]

I'm sure the whole family is proud! I hope this is very successful. With all that metal I'm wondering if it needs extra earthing?

[@ingridbrooks7422]

Wow i love this expanding tiny house❤

[@fmguillory]

Very impressive.

[@csuderburg8389]

An ironing table! Be still my heart. I love this.

[@bananalanz]

I absolutely love this!!

[@Am_Brew]

Pretty amazing what can be done with the right mindset and a bit of hard work.

[@venividivici1982]

Best project ever for a small house. He should seek some investment from big buildings companies

[@oldblack15]

A big building company like evergrande?

[@kylebressant7331]

Copyright the design now! Protect your intellectual property. Then I want one or sell me a copy how to build it stateside. Thank you 🙏🏽.

[@kirstendirksen]

Good point. Actually Kamal said he drove a copyright lawyer in his car once who gave him the advice that if he put up a public video about his design that was valuable for copyright so he did do that.

[@caravanlifenz]

There are lots of companies around the world building expandable tiny homes like this. I saw some companies doing this in Australia a year ago, and they'd been operating for a few years. The concept was copied off expandable caravans, and those expandable caravans have been around for many years; it's actually pretty standard for expensive caravans to have expandable "pop out" living rooms. There's nothing new about expandable caravans and tiny homes, so I don't think he could copyright something that is so common.

[@CLacy]

Brilliant

[@phyllisbrostrom7348]

Absolutely amazing!

[@ndiekwere6027]

Mr Kamal is such an amazing guy and he was such a great Uber driver and that’s how we met and he told me of his ideas and shared photos and look at what he’s achieved and am so happy it’s completed. Awesome ❤

[@geniusnoble842]

This is really Good

[@helenstella2226]

That is amazing!

[@getenlightened]

I'm a fan of expandable designs. He did it justice, by going for a steel frame. Bravo and congrats to him for following through on his dream.

[@jamessitati7396]

Congratulations Kamal.

[@JTBoehm-nl6wh]

This house is amazing! I hope he is successful in building more of these. Brilliant concept! I want one.

[@PrabhaharanNair]

Amazing! What determination!

[@raimonda6653]

So happy for him ! What a beautiful creation , so many details … even an ironing board 👏👩‍🎨💗

[@Houseds]

Transforming house is very beautiful and impressive, it opens up a wonderful space after transforming.

[@moisesmaldonado3723]

This Guy is an Engineering Genius ! Inspirational, he should give Engineering lessons; Touché, Great Project...🤓🙏

[@kristaroberts1158]

This is incredible! Well done!

[@So_Meh]

This guy is so wholesome! He could win anyone over! He needs to go on dragons den. Or just put him in a room with possible funders. On the idea. When I saw it first start opening up I was immediately sceptical but if you give it time watch through and listen intently this has really been thought through/has evolved through trial and error responding to challenges. Ended up completely won over by the idea. I can see this taking off particularly in India in villages or the edges of cites where they need to adapt and respond to the changing economy. It looks like it could bring people independence while increasing their standard of living. Keep going! ❤

[@chadroback912]

Incredible ingenuity.. I don't think this level of complexity could have been achieved without the 10 years of planing and refinement. Incredible.

[@odetakaniauskaite7862]

It's great how he learned a lot of things from KZbin! It makes me happy that regular people can learn so much nowadays.