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For the Love of Yurts

When I was 20, I spent a summer in my mom's basement sewing a canvas yurt on her old 1980s sewing machine. I salvaged wood from old collapsed barns and harvested maple poles from the forest to build the roof. I didn't know a thing about sewing or yurts, but 6 months later I was loading the collapsible 20' yurt onto my 1989 Dodge Ram with a woodstove and everything I owned, heading out to Wisconsin to learn about regenerative agriculture from one of the most interesting farmers I'd ever met. 

That same yurt allowed us to move onto an old cornfield in Interlaken and bootstrap a farm from scratch. No electricity, no running water. Just some light bulbs that ran off a car battery and a bucket toilet. Then what little money we could scrounge up we plowed right back into the farm to get it off the ground. 

Five years later I rebuilt the circular canvas hut, piece by piece, with more permanent materials and made it a far more comfortable 314 sq/ft to live in. Turning straight boards and big square pieces of sheetrock into a round house was no easy task. And I swore I'd never build a circular structure again (despite loving living in one). 

Well, fast forward another 10 years and here we are. Guests have been staying overnight in our original yurt for years and loving it. And now we're just finishing construction on our new woodland yurt. Yes, we built another circular home out of square things.

This time we were much better prepared, had an ace carpenter, and tricks up our sleeves. This new yurt is much more spacious, with all the bells and whistles of modern living. Heat pump to heat/cool, walk-in shower, full kitchen, king size bed, premium insulation, and you guessed it... a real flushing toilet.

And it's beautiful. The building team truly made a work of art with the conical cedar shake roof, stone tile, and giant hobbit door. 

And we built this for you. Literally.

The new yurt is available for rent on AirBnb and we are launching the listing right now. We want you and your friends to come stay on the farm this summer. Stay for a long weekend or for a full week's vacation. Seated at the edge of our woods and across the creek it's private, but only a two minute walk to the Cider House for lunch or Friday night music. Pick apples in the fall and walk the pastures to say hi to the animals. 

We are putting the final touches on this yurt over the next two weeks and will add new photos as we get them.

Check it out. Book it HERE. Let us know what you think. 

I don't think I'll ever build another round house again. Which probably means I'll see you in a decade, putting the finishing touches on another one. 

Looking forward to hosting you all.
Garrett and the Cider House Crew