TINY HOUSE, DORSET
The free training course for unemployed people introduces participants to sustainable construction, and basic timber and carpentry skills, through the building of a ‘tiny house’.
This programme is linked to the Raise the Roof project, that has involved local organisations such as Bridport Town Council, Common Ground and the Arts Development Company working with the architects Assemble Studio. The aim is to develop the infrastructure to enable the building of affordable housing using sustainable materials grown in Dorset. The tiny house course acts as a pilot and creates an opportunity to prototype new designs and work processes. When completed, the tiny house will be donated to a homelessness charity to provide accommodation for an entrenched rough sleeper.
The course is taking place in a workspace provided by local farmer Victor Crutchley in West Dorset, with timber sourced and processed from his own woodlands. The skills learned on the course will be applicable to a wide range of contexts, from sustainable construction, to joinery such as doors and windows, to designing and making furniture. The course will include a basic introduction to building design, as well as forestry and timber processing . 14 Dorset-based people will join the team of builders and course tutors that include furniture designer and constructor Karen Hansen, carpenter James McClennan and sawyer Adrian Janssen. The project coordinator, Tim Crabtree, is the founder of several local social enterprises including Dorset’s farmers’ markets, the Local Food Links school meals service, Dorset Community Energy, and Bridport Area Development Trust.