Living in Yurts

Historically, yurts were semi-permanent tent homes in Mongolia and the herdsmen who lived there would follow the seasons with their livestock. North American yurt owners today are more likely to artists or nature buffs, but their lifestyle gives them several things in common with the Asian nomads. Some provision has to be made for water and bathroom facilities, and having electricity is usually a plus as well.

Local zoning often dictates sewer and water requirements. Some yurt owners get by with composting toilets and out houses while others install septic tanks and drainage fields. Some catch water in a cistern and others use wells. Even in areas that don’t have access to other standard utilities, electrical service is often available. If not, options like solar panels, windmills, and generators let you make your own. For many owners, their yurt is treated like an RV or temporary residence by local governments and utilities.

In sub-arctic and temperate zones, a yurt will require some method of additional heat for comfort. Insulation is important. Like the Mongolians who kept a fire going in a pit at the middle of their yurt, fire, now in a woodstove, remains the primary heat source amid a host of alternative options.

Life in the round is an efficient use of space. Curtained partitions that still allow air circulation are used as room dividers. Yurt owners like being so close to nature. After their first big windstorm, many yurt residents express an initial surprise at how well the round design handles wind.

Most yurts are erected in backcountry settings. It is a minimalist life style in terms of economic materialism, but most people who chose this lifestyle place far more value on spiritual happiness, and in that, the yurt lifestyle usually delivers.