Cybertruck-Inspired Micro Tiny Home For The Homeless: First One Delivered! (Part 6)

The Micro Tiny Home Pilot Project is now in full swing. We have successfully delivered the first one and it has survived an encounter with the authorities, and it is turning many heads. The donations from the last article alone will provide another Micro Tiny Home.

How This Project Began

Before describing how the delivery of the first Micro Tiny Home went, please allow me to describe how this project began. A few months ago, wary of climate change depression and COVID isolation, I called a “Facebook friend” to whom I had never spoken. His name is Alekz Londos, and he is the builder of the Micro Tiny Home. We figured most likely we met in a Facebook environmental group, but obviously, we cannot remember.

I have unsuccessfully tried to quit Facebook many times. Thankfully, my father reminded me that Facebook is a tool, and that maybe I should try to use it more correctly. If you despise Facebook, then I understand, and feel free to vent all about it in the comment section if need be. However, if you still use Facebook, then I encourage you to reach out to other environmentalists and see what you can achieve together. Consider finding a new environmental group to join and start sharing the posts that interest you. Afterward, try following up with at least one person over a video call. You never know what may happen.

Before reaching out to Alekz Londos, I was despondent that I even had the gall to even call him late at night. It had been many months since I had written for CleanTechnica, and I felt an imperative need to collaborate with Alekz Londos after being inspired by his persistent environmental work which I routinely saw on Facebook. I did not have writer’s block; there is so much to write about. I had just hit a lull, primarily caused by reading too many negative comments.

All my family and friends said, “don’t read the comments.” That simple answer is not easy for me to follow; actually, it is virtually impossible. It was by participating in comment sections that I ended up becoming a writer. CleanTechnica’s comments section is carefully curated, and many commentators have been here since almost the beginning. The comment section is a place where great fellowship exists, and many great ideas are spread. It is a fantastic place to ask questions and learn from some very bright individuals.

Returning to Alekz Londos’ Facebook posts, I had been enjoying his constant posts. On a few occasions, I even had the brazenness to tell him to make more positive posts as I feel increasingly hopeful about the solutions to climate change. Accordingly, that is why I have fallen in love with this Micro Tiny Home project. Yes, it is a simple story and is small-scale, but to me, it is such a motivating story.

Delivery of the First Micro Tiny Home

I had called Alekz many times over the week, and never before had he sound so exhausted. Yet once he started to talk, his usual enthusiasm came back. He was in the middle of shopping, but had to take a short break to give me the highlights. With wondrous excitement, Alekz told me how ecstatic Ken was when he received the Micro Tiny Home. Ken has congestive heart failure and other medical conditions. He is terrified of getting COVID19 and really feels much safer in the Micro Tiny Home.

One of Ken’s first comments was “This thing is going to make me famous!” City workers and the police were also impressed by it, although later that afternoon a rookie cop did politely ask him to move it to another location. Thankfully, “it has wheels, man!” Later that evening from halfway across the country, with Alekz Londos’ help, I interviewed Ken over a video call. Ken was so gleeful, and multiple times remarked jokingly that two women had approached him and asked if they could get a Micro Tiny Home. Ken is no longer afraid of being robbed, and he is claiming is human right to shelter.

Ken repeated several times one of my favorite lines, “It is by giving that I receive.” It is actually a line from the prayer of St Francis (San Francisco), who swore off his wealth to live and serve the homeless, the disabled, and the forgotten. Whether you are religious or not, there is much to learn from the life example of St Francis, who was said to be especially endeared to to all wildlife. St Francis really understood what life is all about, and how chasing materialism is path that leads to a fruitless ending.

Ken is always giving blankets and other necessary items to his friends who lack permanent housing. We are not shocked to learn this about Ken, because prior to giving him the Micro Tiny Home, Alekz Londos had interviewed him many times. He was the perfect candidate. Ken said that people should be building these in their garages and giving them away to those without a home. His first thought was for his fellow friends.

During a 20-minute interview with Ken, at least three strangers stopped by to talk about the Micro Tiny Home. Their curiosity overwhelmed them and each asked multiple questions. After it was delivered, two different news crews showed up to take pictures. Ken is eager to explain his new home, but does ask people to stay socially distant. Multiple times he exclaimed, “It’s got wheels, man!” He is brimming with confidence and feels far more secure.

He jokingly said, “If someone asks me if they can sleep in it, I will say no, but you can have a blanket.” It is such a joy to know that Ken slept in a warm home all of his own last night. Knowing how happy he is giving me more confidence to trudge forward with my environmental advocacy.

Once again, I hope you will reach out to your fellow environmental advocates and work together, because so much more can be accomplished in numbers. Several commentators influenced this project. We have plans to get Ken a solar panel so he can charge a new phone so that he can stay in contact with us. So stay tuned if you are following these stories; there will be many more parts to come. If you are sick of them, well then maybe it’s time for you to start your own environmental project. Don’t be afraid just get out there and do something small, as who knows where it may lead.

Finally, we did receive an email about the project, and Alekz will soon be introduced to the mayor of a city which may be interested in building many more Micro Tiny Homes. If you want to get involved then leave a comment or help with the gofundme campaign.