Looking to start your tiny house journey, but need a supportive place to build?
Join our Tiny House Building Residency Program. Designed to empower serious DIYers, our Residency Program provides the space, tools, and expertise to build your own tiny home on wheels.
About the program
What we offer:
- A place to live while you build your tiny home (including RV, bus, or van conversion), with all utilities covered.
- An outdoor site to build your new home (site determined by project size).
- Access to a shop full of tools (including wood, metal, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, 3D printing, and blacksmithing tools).
- A locker for your personal building supplies and tools.
- 1 hour per week consultation with an expert with 8 years of experience building tiny houses, vehicle conversions, and natural and sustainable dwellings.
- The opportunity to join our community’s natural and recycled building classes.
- Training in the correct use of tools, build safety, and shop etiquette.
What is required of you:
- The drive, passion, and energy to complete the tiny home of your dreams (within no longer than 1 year).
- A commitment to work at least 20 hours per week on your home build.
- Proof of sufficient financial backing or remote job to purchase all of your building materials and supplies, and to meet basic needs such as food. IMPORTANT: All building materials and consumables must be purchased by you. Items like blades, glues, sandpaper, screws, nails, paint, etc. are not provided.
- An established plan to get started with your home on wheels.
- Flexibility to live off-grid in “glamping” accommodations in Southern Arizona.
- A good attitude and willingness to live as part of an eco-friendly community.
Accommodation options & pricing:
All of our dwellings will give you a taste of the tiny house lifestyle, helping to inform your own must-haves! We currently have 3 residence options and build sites. Accommodation pricing is per dwelling, not per person.
300-Square-Foot “Bunk House” School Bus
$1,000/Month
A converted, full-size school bus, the Bunk House is simple but homey. It features two full-size beds (bunk-bed style), a basic kitchen with camper stove, gravity-fed sink, living room area, and composting toilet. This extra-large residence makes a good home base for an individual, couple, or friends who are looking to live and build together.
54-Square-Foot “Truly Tiny” House
$800/Month
A perfect example of maximal minimalism, this budget-friendly dwelling is suited to those who appreciate a well-designed simple, cozy space. Originally our community director’s tiny house on wheels, he enjoyed building it and then traveling 15,000 miles around the country while exhibiting and speaking at tiny house events. It is now secured to the land as a permanent residence.
This dwelling has a full-size bed and a surprising amount of storage. Features a large star-gazing skylight, mini-fridge, propane heater, and outdoor kitchen. It’s ideal for a single person looking to live authentically and economically while building their home.
Bring Your Own Dwelling
$500/Month
If you currently have your own RV, Van, Bus, or dwelling on wheels that you would like to live in while you build we have spots available! All spots are dry-camping. You will need to have a composting toilet or use our outhouse. You will also need to be solar-powered. Generator noises carry throughout the valley and ruin our natural ambiance.
We do not have water or power hookups for bring-your-own dwelling builders. But we do have water a few hundred feet away that can be hauled to your unit. We have an outdoor composting toilet available for use. A community shower, laundry, office space with internet, and kitchen for you to use. Basically, you just need a bed!
Utilities and services for accommodations and build sites
- Water: Water must be transported to all dwellings. We have large water storage tanks about 100 feet away. Carts are available, or you can use your vehicle.
- Shower & Laundry: We have laundry facilities and a shower in our community pump house.
- Power: Solar. Each dwelling has their own small independent system that will run a mini-fridge, lights, and charge small electronics. Our shop has a 6500 Watt inverter and 2800 Watt solar system. While our systems are up 99% of the time, during a rare winter cloudy day power may be limited.
- Phone & Internet: All major cell phone providers work well here. Starlink internet reaches our shop and the community bus, which has a small office setup. Internet service is not always reliable in our camp dwellings. You’re welcome to bring a hotspot.
- Sanitation: We utilize an outhouse-style composting toilet system that is a short walk from the dwellings. To help minimize waste and sanitation issues, we prefer that guests follow a vegetarian diet while here. Non-vegetarians are asked to please take any meat product trash off the property themselves and not put it in the community dump, and purchase cookware & dishes to use during your stay.
- Building Trash & Demolition Disposal: Your build site and our workshop are expected to stay clean and organized throughout your build. A city dump is about 30 minutes away. If you do not have the ability to haul trash yourself, we offer dump services for $30-$50 per truck load depending on weight.
- Transportation: There is no public transit here. You are required to have your own vehicle. You are responsible for getting to and from the property, and picking up your own supplies. Our road is accessible by standard 2-wheel-drive vehicles, but it can get muddy and slick during rains.
About Your Host
Richard built his first tiny home in 2015 at the age of 23. Constructing his 250-square-foot tiny house on wheels was a life-changing experience. In 2017, Richard built his second tiny home on wheels – a 54-square-foot teardrop trailer – then spent a year and a half traveling the country looking for a place to call home.
In 2019, he came across the small Arizona town of Bisbee and fell in love with the area. In 2020, Richard bought 24 acres of undeveloped land and got to work building a haven for tiny house dwellers, travelers, and those looking to live a simpler, healthier lifestyle outside of the rat race.
Through his organization Terraform Together, Richard has hosted over 250 travelers on his land, teaching natural building and sustainable living skills. He has helped plan and design dozens of tiny homes for clients, and deeply values self-reliance and financial independence. He has experience with SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), traditional stick framing, welded steel framing, cob, hyperadobe, pallet buildings, and more. He has built the Terraform Homestead from scratch, including setting up solar systems, a pump house, workshop, and more. He also has hands-on experience helping others with bus, van, and RV conversions both in the United States and Europe.
Reviews from previous work-trade guests
FAQs
What can I build?
How much time do I have to build?
Can you host my house after I complete my build?
What is the property like?
At 4,500-foot elevation, midday in the summer is hot, but the days cool off quickly. A typical seasonal desert climate means mostly pleasant spring and fall, with occasional freezes in winter.
Wildlife includes rattlesnakes, spiders, scorpions, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, bees, wasps, and javelina. All new community members are required to sign a waiver acknowledging that we are not responsible for any injuries they may incur while here.
Can you host children or families?
Are you pet friendly?
About the Area
Our community is between Bisbee, Tombstone, and Sierra Vista in Southern Arizona.
Bisbee (20-minute drive south): Bisbee is an amazingly small, artsy community tucked away in the mountains. It has a handful of great dive bars, a brewery, regular live music, cute shops, and an all-around great vibe.
Sierra Vista (30-minute drive west): Sierra Vista is where we get all of our supplies. It has big grocery stores, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, a good library, UPS, co-op, chain restaurants, etc. There is also a large hospital 20 minutes away.
Tucson (90-minute drive north): A great spot for a weekend getaway, Tucson is a large metropolitan city with an international airport and free camping near town.
Hiking/Biking/Outdoors: Our property touches BLM land, making cross-country hiking accessible literally from your doorstep. The Arizona Trail southern terminus is a 45-minute drive away. There are TONS of mountains and hiking trails very close by.
Other Cities: Phoenix is about a 3-hour drive. The Grand Canyon is about 6.5 hours away. We are within a 1-day drive of Colorado, Southern Utah, San Diego, and New Mexico, and only 45 minutes from the Mexican border.
Application
To apply for our Residency Program, please fill out the fields below.
If you are a potential candidate, we will respond within a week to set up a video interview.