Interview with Jennie Redwine of The Colorado Yurt Company by Willi Paul

Please tell us more about the volunteer set-up facilitated by your company. Does this include site design and prep? This sounds like a community building opportunity! Do these groups remain in touch after the install?

I assume you are talking about the Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins September 18? We will set up a 20' in diameter SIPs (structurally insulated panels) platform at the fair. The SIPs panels are perfect for this situation because the platform can be set up in a couple of hours and it leaves no footprint. It will be as though we were never there when we take it down. This is obviously a big benefit when you have land you don't want to disturb or when you know you will eventually move the yurt.

The SIPs panels are made of a 4" thick hard foam insulation sandwiched by plywood. They already have a flat site available at the fair, so we have to do a minimum of leveling with adjustable piers under the platform. We will set the platform up before the demonstration attendees arrive. Then it will take about 4 hours to set the yurt up including time for questions and some hands on. The people at the demo frequently exchange contact info. Last year we sold the yurt at a discount to one of the attendees and delivered it after the fair was over. The Sustainable Living Fair is goes on Saturday and Sunday and is just chocked full of great exhibitors, speakers and entertainment.

http://www.sustainablelivingassociation.org/thefair/

You can put a fire place and chimney in a yurt right? Wrong?

Yes. Most of our customers use a wood or gas log stove for heating their yurt. It is best if you vent out the side of the yurt instead of through the roof or dome so you don't encourage leaks. We discourage any type of non-vented gas unit because they put off quite a bit of moisture which can lead to mold and mildew issues. We also have some customers who use in-floor radiant heating which works especially well if a concrete circle is used as the platform.

http://coloradoyurt.com/yurts/yurt_design_center/stovepipe_install/index.php

http://coloradoyurt.com/yurts/yurt_faq/yurt_faq_utilities/index.php

you put two yurts together, one on top of another to get two stories?

The yurt that we sell is not engineered to be placed one on top of the other, but we do have quite a few customers who have attached two yurts together horizontally like on this page:

http://coloradoyurt.com/yurts/yurt_faq/index.php

We also have a fair amount of customers who build a sleeping loft in their yurt. There is a pretty cool one in these photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coloradoyurt/sets/72157616691633118/

How long does a yurt last?

The wooden structure/framework of the yurt lasts longer than you and I will. It is very protected by the fabric cover so it rarely sees any weathering. The door may need replacing after 20 years or so depending on the environment. The fabric cover comes with an 8 year warranty so it will last at least that long and up to 15 years or so in milder climates that don't have harsh sunlight or extreme humidity. We also have a roof upgrade called Durolast that carries a 15 year warranty.

How many customers want a vacation house, a business address, a survival hut or a permanent residence?

Our customer base is about 50% commercial/institutional and 50% individual/residential. The commercial/institutional is made up of summer camps, rv parks, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, eco resorts, education centers, hut to hut ski ins and people who use them as an office or studio. The individual/residential is primarily people who use them as a vacation house or getaway for vacant land they own. About 10% of our customers use the yurt as their only home.

We also have quite a few who live in the yurt while they are building a straw bale house or some other kind of alternative housing. They will typically keep the yurt as an office or guest house when they move into the house they build.

What is the history of the yurt?

Becky Kemery, the author of Yurts:Living in the Round, covers the history very thoroughly. I'm going to point you to her website

http://yurtinfo.org/yurtstory.php

Becky is really into the whole community building idea and loves to share info and ideas. If you'd like to contact her, her email is yurtinfo at gmail dot com

What is green or sustainable about your firm and your products? Are customers asking this question?

Customers are becoming more and more aware of how their purchases impact the environment. It is a big selling point for us, but it is also a way of doing business that our company values. The State of Colorado Office of Environmental Integration & Sustainability has recently selected us through their Environmental Leadership Program as a bronze award recipient for our sustainability efforts.

Take a look at this page for details about our environmental and community involvement.

http://www.greenecco.com/profile.asp?id=206

How can you insulate a yurt, as in your Winter Stout Alpine Yurt?

Our yurts are insulated with a product developed by NASA. Sounds like it might be complex, but actually very simple. It is basically a double layer of bubble wrap that has an aluminum foil like material on either side of it. The foil material reflects sunlight away from the yurt in the summer to keep it cooler and radiates the heat from your heat source back into the yurt in the winter to keep it warm. We add a layer of off white material on the inside of the insulation so that you don't feel like you are in a spaceship.

http://coloradoyurt.com/yurts/yurt_custom_features/insulation/index.php

What makes the Colorado Yurt Company a "Colorado Company to Watch?!"

One of the things the award was based on is that a Colorado Company to Watch has both the intention and capacity (from a sales and capital standpoint) to grow. We've been very fortunate that in an economic downturn, we've had a mix of products that customers want and can afford. In many cases a family that was going to build a cabin, built a yurt instead because it was less expensive. People who were going to buy a yurt sometimes scaled back to a tipi or canvas wall tent. People seem to be thinking more about what matters in life and getting back in touch with nature is one of those things.

We also had a pretty significant increase in international sales when the U.S. dollar was low. Another factor is that we've been able to continue hiring people, providing 5 more jobs in our community this year. In fact, our company has never laid any one off and has fired only a handful of people in its 32 years in business. Other factors are listed on the Greenecco web page mentioned above.

Many are talking about a major collapse in the world economy and a catastrophic period of anger and hunger. Do you see this near-term scenario? In not, what is your perception of the next 2-5 years on the planet?

We aren't quite as pessimistic about the future of the world economy and disposition. In fact, I actually believe that the "minor" collapse of the world economy that we have seen over the past year is forcing business to be kinder and more sincere to their customers. In the U.S. it is also stabilizing prices which were formerly based on what people would pay for a product rather than what it was worth. So what seems to be happening is that the companies who "do the right thing" are succeeding and companies whose driving force is purely greed and profit are failing. Evolution at it's best!

Are yurts designed to be dismantled and moved like a tent?

Yes to "are yurts designed to be dismantled and moved" no to "like a tent". One of the great benefits to a yurt is that you can move it if you sell your property or just want to move somewhere else. Traditionally the nomads did move their yurts quite frequently and they were better designed for that. Modern yurts are built to be a more comfortable and durable which makes them a little harder to dismantle and move around so you certainly wouldn't treat it like a camping tent. (although there are some companies out there that are starting to concentrate on this application).

But moving a yurt is certainly do-able. Our crew can put up any size yurt in one day and dismantle it in a little less than that. Some pre-planning needs to go into the platform to make it as easily taken down and moved. This is a situation where the SIPs platform mentioned above comes in handy.