Source; Central College News

Following a class trip to Costa Rica in 2014, two university students from the United States returned to their campus in the midwestern state of Iowa and sought to complete an environmental science project inspired by their accommodations in our country. While in Costa Rica, Amy Andrews and Ethan Van Koote stayed in little shacks powered by solar panels; in essence, highly functional and very cheap dwellings. Once they returned to the U.S., they realized that size matters when it comes to sustainable residential construction.

Andrews and Van Koote had been doing research for a sustainable home building project for their senior year as environmental studies majors in Central College, located in the city of Pella. According to Central College News:

They proposed a $3,350 budget — but when no grant money was available, they became scavengers to complete the project as cheaply as possible. With truckloads of reclaimed materials and 10 weeks to build, the students created a house for $489.

“Everything we used was on its way to the landfill,” Andrews said.

Recycling just about everything is a fact of everyday life in Costa Rica and many other nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. These two Iowa students paid attention to recycling in Costa Rica during their trip; once they were back home, they wholeheartedly applied recycling to their project:

The biggest hand-me-down Andrews and Van Kooten reclaimed was a 52-year-old granary being used as a storage shed. (Iowa is a major agricultural producer of corn and other grains). The students also rescued lumber, insulation, cabinets and countertops — even a chandelier — from local buildings being demolished and from the Pella and Vermeer corporations. An old hog feeder became their loft, and they turned a deer stand into a ladder.

Because of their tight (or nonexistent) budget, Andrews and Van Kooten worked toward different goals than many tiny home enthusiasts. The students left out features they wanted but couldn’t afford, like a composting toilet and a solar water heater. But they still plan to add a 6-foot porch, plus rain barrels that will provide filtered water for the sink.

Here’s the list of building materials:

Acquired materials:

• Original structure (granary)
• 4 windows, donated
• Interior cabinets, sink and carpet, salvaged from Pella house
• Insulation, salvaged from Hilltop manor retirement home
• Wood stove, donated

Expenditures:

• OSB plywood for ceiling, $110
• Exterior paint, $25
• Foam ceiling vents, $25
• Bolts, $10
• Door frame, $40
• Exterior door, $13
• Interior paint, $30
• Drip cap for windows, $16
• Brick mold for window frames, $60
• Wood stove piping materials, $120

Total Cost: $489