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Compassionate Lifestyle Off the Grid

SELF BUILD & SUSTAINABLE

FOREST Retreat IN PROGRESS

BANCROFT - ONTARIO

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Hello,

Thanks for CHECKING us out! This is our story of how we healed our sense of disconnection by moving into a forest and started building Our dream Project.

Few years back in 2018 we purchased 45 acres of rural wood land in south eastern Ontario and in 2020 we left our rental apartment in Toronto and fully committed ourselves to the construction of our sustainable house and a retreat centre. We lived in a small camper-trailer for 4 years while building our home ( literally just the two of us, and with a bit of help from friends and family). In August 2023 we moved into our semi-finished home. Currently we’re working on our off-grid elec/hvac system and interior finishes.

On completion, our goal is to hold space for small/personal retreats cultivating creativity, inner peace, connection, ceremonies, and nourishing of the body and the soul with the blessings of the environment we are nested in.

See our latest fly throughs and images (password: akira)

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Ece Savas

Hi, my name is Ece. On this project, I’m the visionary, designer, backhoe operator and comfort maker.

Professionally am a spiritual coach, educator and yoga teacher at Grails Spring Hotel in Bancroft. I have a Branding Agency called Palindrome Design where I love supporting conscious leaders around the world. I’m also the co-creator of Lead Through Impact a conscious business community online. With all my talents I really enjoy guiding and nurturing souls towards more loving, purposeful, creative and fulfilling life they are here to experience.

IVAN DELLALOV

He is the dream maker, problem solver, builder, lumberjack, mechanic, cook and everything else on this project.

Ivan is passionate about self mastery, craftsmanship, social justice and helping others. He holds a Bachelor of Biochemistry from UofT and Plant-Based Nutrition Certification from eCornel. He loves sharing his knowledge with others through workshops and courses. He has a business of flooring installation and holds two blackbelts in Karate and Tai-Chi. He is the kindest, most hard working, patient and courageous person I’ve known.

 
April with my two beautiful families, sweet little sister, spring flowers, cats, dogs and vegan eats. It was lovely to hold them and hug them in person. Both my moms and dads prepared us the most wonderful plant-based meals - so many varieties and al
This ancient city is a must see. There is just too much to see at every corner. So I didn’t bother to take too many photos. Here are some teasers. This was my third time coming here. And every time I find it a little bit more completed. Beaut
Sunshine and us ☺️🙏🏼☀️
In the meantime cats are hibernating on the bed waiting for the winter to be over. Is it over yet?
Portrait of a mischievous pup 🤍 black on the outside, white on the inside. He’s a Husky in disguise.
This is exactly how I have been feeling over the last few months. It has been cold, disconnected, uncomfortable yet serene and somewhat happy. But honestly I’m tired of it all - the snow, ice, outhouse, lack of running water, showers, small clu
Puppies diaries: today we’re watching more of the fluffy white wet things fall from the sky.

Dear dreamers and achievers, we humbly ask for your help in funds and as labour; so that, we can get through the finishing line without delays. Your contribution is not a donation but a credit for a future stay, a return of favour or products. We believe in cultivating community mindset that is all about helping each other grow and sharing abundance. This way of giving and receiving is a heart based interaction and so much more meaningful for all. Thank you in advance for your love. <3

LATEST BLOG POST

Featured
Floors Cast in Stone
Floors Cast in Stone

If everything prior to this part of the house had generally one right way of doing it, with minor nuances on the approach, the opinions on how to do the proper concrete floor varies a lot. There is plenty of information online; but when you are trying to figure something out, it all contradicts each other.

Carpe-ntry-diem - Part 1
Carpe-ntry-diem - Part 1

On April 15, 2021, after 3 months of quarantine lifestyle in Ottawa, we returned back to our land in Bancroft, just in-time for the celebration of my birthday with a litter of kittens and a new 2010 Tacoma 4x4 truck. I still remember my wishes on that birthday very clearly: to find good homes for the kittens, to complete the carpentry of the our home enough to move in before the winter and to still love each other by the end of it all.

What was it like to do our own pier foundation?
What was it like to do our own pier foundation?

Are you considering to do your own foundation? Questioning if you can manage it yourself or hire a professional? Perhaps reading our experience will guide you in making the right decision for you. This not a instructional article. I will be sharing our experience and the challenges we had dealt with.

Why build a Sustainable house?
Why build a Sustainable house?

Oh gosh! I have so much to say on this subject.

Let’s quickly go back to my childhood to truly understand. I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. As most of you know, Istanbul is a beautiful historical city with around 15 million of human and probably half as much stray population of cats and dogs….

Why Self-Build?
Why Self-Build?

... we are set in our society on the idea of getting mortgage as early as possible in life, so we can actually survive till the end of it. The biggest reason for it, is that there are no other real alternative. Either pay 2000$ rent to someone monthly, or get lucky and sign a slavery contract for life. So the main question isn’t really ‘why self-built?’, but mostly ‘why not?

COVID 19… feels like a déjà vu
COVID 19… feels like a déjà vu

Scrapies had been known since 18th century, it causes a degeneration in the neural system of ship, making them scratch their fleece off. Since it didn’t seem like a good idea to eat them, we did the next best thing. It still bothers me, years after finishing the degree. We fed the dead sheep to cows as food supplement…

Wintering in the old log cabin
Wintering in the old log cabin

I didn’t know it until I got here, but apparently: spending a winter outside of comfort of civilization had been my childhood dream. It had been inspired by Jack London stories of Gold Rush on the Yukon river, and had always seemed like the manliest and most challenging thing to do in life.

Emotional Challenges of Building our House
Emotional Challenges of Building our House

It’s inspiring even to me when I think of what we’re up to. But as we all know there is always challenges that comes with a project this big. So this week I wanted to share a bit about our emotional landscape.

Opening the road to the building location
Opening the road to the building location

Who knew a backhoe can be a girl’s best friend. Opening this road is a team effort but I think the biggest satisfaction belongs to me.

10 things to consider when buying a land
10 things to consider when buying a land

We didn't know what to look into a land when we first started looking. But in time we learned quite a bit. These are 10 things we suggest you should consider when buying a land.

 

 

OUR TEAM & RESOURCES

 
 
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Sustainability Consultant AFFECTING CHANGE

Sandra is passionate about green homes and heathy building design. She is full of knowledge, experience and a genuine interest in helping others and the environment. We’re lucky to partner with her on this project.

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Design MARENCO ARCHITECTS + STRUCTURAL GRAVITY ENGINEERING

My dear friends and amazing designers we had the privilege to work with. We considered so many different options when hiring our architects. For us the most important consideration was to keep this project intimate and meaningful. We wanted to work with someone with design sensibility and passion towards what we’re creating. And I found them not too far from my heart. I want to honour their hard work and contribution.

Distributors in Ontario:

Green Building Materials: https://eco-building.ca

Septic Systems: We wanted something light and easy to assemble ourselves. At first we were recommended EZ Flow. But this decision was changed due to our land. We’re on a very rocky & clay type of land so we had to build it up with septic sand and used the Chamber Bed method instead. The product website is: www.infiltratorwater.com/ We found our chambers locally from Kijiji.

Concrete Septic Tank and the Distribution box was purchased from www.brooklin.com whom we had great delivery and customer service experience with.

Windows: Our decision for windows were mainly affected by efficiency, price and sustainability. We were given a great recommendation by South Port Construction for a newly established Favori Windows—great customer service, quality assurance, technology and price. Their high efficiency glazing are made in Turkey—which allows me to support my home country—and the aluminum framing are custom made locally. Windows are one of the two major costs we have and we’re very happy with our decision; hence, avoiding future plastic waste.

Boilers: We did a lot of research on how to heat our house. We had no idea how important this decision was and how interconnected it is to our lifestyle. For us #1 consideration is Efficiency. As a sustainable home we want to leave a minimum footprint on the planet and to be able to burn our own wood. For that we highly recommend the Canadian G-Polar Gasification Boilers by Portage and Main. Great local business and reliable product. Distributor in our area for G-Polar is: http://greenheatingsolutions.ca

#2 consideration is Automation. We want to be able to leave our home for few months over the winter and prevent our home from freezing. With a regular boiler we had to rely on a backup propane system (or electric) to be able to do that. Plus with super efficient walls & windows that we’ll have; there is only a little bit of heating we require. After months of research, we finally decided to go with an indoor bio-mass boiler system—efficient, easy to operate and fits our size & budget. One of the best brands in the market for that is Froling Boilers—the same one the Fogo Island Resort is using. Distributor in our area with great customer service is: https://biothermic.ca/