Cybertruck-Inspired Micro Tiny Home, Part 7

Take a look at the picture below and pause for a moment before reading further.

Which of the two campsites looks homier to you?  Which of the two looks more civilized?

In case you missed any of the previous articles, here are the links to parts one, two, three, four, five, and six. We also have a temporary free website up which has a gallery of the pictures and links to all the previous articles:  www.microtinyhomes.weebly.com. Once we are finished building version two, we will have detailed plans on how you can build a Micro Tiny Home.

Some commenters have criticized the Micro Tiny Home for not being large enough. However, resources are limited and the Micro Tiny Home was designed to help the most people possible. Moreover, it was designed to be heated by the inhabitant itself. That is why it’s not just a rectangular box; its volume is limited intentionally.  

Can you imagine properly spaced rows of these in and around a city, where city officials, non-profits, and most importantly, the inhabitants can help keep the area clean? Is that too much to ask for? Or should the homeless be constantly and inhumanely herded around? Should they be forced to remain in an insufferable state of insomnia?

Some Feedback From Our First Micro Tiny Home Delivery

We sure are glad that we decided to put the wheels on the first version. We had thought about waiting for the second version for that, but thankfully a CleanTechnica commenter, FreedomEV, urged us in that direction. Ken, the first Micro Tiny Home Owner, was asked to move it twice in the first 24 hours. He was actually ticketed for sitting on the ground in a public place. Well, the third location seems to be the charm. Who knows what could have happened if we had not put the wheels on it.  

Had the Micro Tiny Home been bigger, it could have been confiscated and/or demolished. It’s too bad it could not stay in downtown Santa Cruz for a bit longer, because it was a huge attention grabber, and so many bystanders were enthralled to see it. It looked amazing with the city lights gleaming off its surface. 

For decades, homeless camps have sprouted up in different locations across Santa Cruz and all over the world. They are often considered eyesores, and residents start to scream “not in my backyard,” otherwise referred to as NIMBYISM. This NIMBYISM is unacceptable! If you don’t like the blight staring you in the face, do not demand further torturing of the homeless. Instead, reach for higher ideals.

Those higher ideals are what the Micro Tiny Home Pilot Project is all about. It is a practical pilot project designed to be a stepping stone to permanent housing. We already have the next spot picked out for Version 2 of the Micro Tiny Home on a busy corner of Santa Cruz, California. In that city, a single master bedroom can be easily rented for $1,400 per month. Along Highway 1 of the Golden State, there exists a tent city which thankfully has been supplied with trash and minimal sanitation. Soon it will have the improved Version 2 of the Micro Tiny Home.

I grew up in the idyllic small town of Atascadero, not far from Santa Cruz. I frequently travel Highway 1, known as the Pacific Coast Highway. Some of my best memories are traveling that highway along the coast. I am glad to see the noble presence of the Micro Tiny Home will be parked alongside it.

As a child, I dreamed of helping the homeless, after my mother helped to house a number of people in need. This Micro Tiny Home Pilot Project may or may not take off as an idea, however, every day that it is blessed to remain along the highway, it will be a reminder to all that pass it what life is really about: helping others! True happiness is a byproduct of right living. It is by being of service to others that lasting happiness can be attained.  

We so easily forget this truth, as advertising brainwashes us to think materialism can bring us happiness. Materialism beyond basic needs and realistic wants is just pleasure-seeking. It is akin to a giant bowl of delicious candy — if we gorge on it too much, we are left ill and perhaps even completely disabled. 

Gathering this Christmas during a pandemic is most unwise. The daily death tolls are surpassing 3,000 people on a regular basis and headed who knows how high. Perhaps this Christmas you could make a loved one a card with a thoughtful note explaining all their best qualities, and then mention that you donated to the Micro Tiny Home Pilot Project in their honor, knowing it would make them truly happy.  

If you cannot do that, then I ask you to consider doing this. The next time you see a homeless person — and if you feel safe to do so — say a simple hello. In my training to serve the homeless, I was emphatically taught that this simple kindness can mean the world to a person without a home. Losing a home is tragic, but it does not compare to the agony of not even being seen. If you cannot say hello for fear of your own safety, that is okay. However, if you can say hello, then it is no small act; you can help them forget how much they have been ostracized.