She built underground cabin in remote Arctic for $200 as cozy Stealth Home

So in the north of Norway the majestic mountains raises straight up from the sea and the summer nights are filled with golden sunlight from evening to morning and the winter's darkness, the snow, the crystallized waterfalls and northern lights make everything glitter and vibrate with beauty and I just wanted to be a part of that beauty to bathe in it. This seemed so natural and the human world not so. So the huge mountains surrounding this little village where I was studying really lured me in and when the spring came the first thing I did was to move out in a tent and I loved it, waking up with the bird songs and the sun and I started to collect driftwood at the beaches in order to build something more solid for the winter, something that could keep me warm because I freeze really easily and I wanted to build as humble as possible in the landscape. I was inspired by the traditional soil huts which was used by the Sami and the Kvens in recent times and which has kept people alive here ever since the first humans arrived in Scandinavia. In addition to the driftwood, on the garbage dump I found even more planks and windows and a door and building tools and it was really hard physical work, especially carrying up all those planks on the hill took weeks. I also got help from other students that really enjoyed just to get a break from their studies. I used weeks walking the landscape up and down, eating crackers with blueberries and cloudberries that I found on the way. I wanted to find the right amount of wind shelter, of drenation to build where it was flat enough and where the sun hits the right places. I wanted to take back a piece of land but as the rumors spread about my occupation plans I actually got permission from a landowner. I spent the autumn building. In the day as it was light I could build and in the night I was studying. I was building as quick as I could but the Norwegian winter was quickly approaching and I realized I had really little time because soon the frost would set the ground so it would be impossible to dig up the walls which were going to be of soil and I made it just in time. I moved in on the same night that the frost made its mark in the ground. The next morning the soil was solid as a rock. I wanted to see if it's possible to live on this planet without paying just to exist and the hut itself with all its interior costed almost nothing. I paid a little bit for new screws for water protection and some secondhand material. A guy that was going to tear down his house sold me an oven for a symbolic price, ten dollars, and maybe this added up to like a few hundred dollars over the years. I planted berries and herbs on the roof and the walls of the gamme as well as an apple tree in front of it. The winter that came the first year was the coldest in years and years but inside the gamme it was like a sauna. The oven I had bought was actually way too big for a little space. I also used the stove to cook all my food and also to melt snow to have water to drink. The soil also isolates so well because the ground really keeps this minimum temperature which is amazing. The one and a half year that I lived outside I really fell in love with nature. The seasons, the mountain, the lake down below that I was ice skating on or swimming in. Every day I felt blessed with gifts. I've always been searching for freedom and when moving out from home after high school far away to the north of Norway to study I still felt kind of trapped. Studying the whole day, working in the evenings, the nights and the weekends to pay the rent. I thought this is what is expected of me and this is what society says will give success but this can't be it. I really felt that it must be another way and in the city one can get so comfortable and so disconnected to life and to the living while being out there wet and cold, starving while waiting for the fire to do its magic. One really can feel the contrast, it shakes you alive somehow. And even though now I'm traveling, right now I'm in South America after hitchhiking with sailboats over the Atlantic. I really wish I could have guided you to the Gamma in person because even though I'm here now on the other side of the Atlantic I really think of the Gamma as my home and I long for being back soon. Funny, since Francisca was on the other side of the Atlantic when we came to Norway we knew we'd never find her hut on our own. So we asked our mutual friend Henrik to show us the way. So this is just a kind of town walking path almost. Yeah I mean it's for the local people to get out in the marka as we say, the forests. Okay you can't really see it but we're going up there and that's the great thing because we're going to a soil hut you know and it's so camouflaged. Do you know where it is, can you see it? Yeah I mean I see some of the chimney because it's like glimpsing but you can't really see it. I think I see something. Yeah you do right? At the top up there. Yeah so camouflaged. Do many people know about this? Yeah it's become a little bit famous, people talk about it and she is borrowing it out to everyone who wants to go there. Loaning it out yeah or letting people stay yeah. Oh so many berries. That's great so we're getting our lunch on the way up. Well you see that the soil is quite soft or at least the upper layer so it seems like maybe a good spot for this. Yeah exactly it's basically what she did you know just found you will see like 20 meters away she just dug out the soil and put it on the walls and in the beginning she only made like a adventurous map with drawings of how to get there. Most people couldn't find it because it was not precise. Like a treasure map. Yeah exactly treasure map. It's way more joyful to have to find the treasure and get there and it's a bit more hidden it's a greater feeling. So is this all protected nature? First she really wanted to make a statement by not asking for permission but she talked with some people and they convinced her to ask because she she might be allowed and she was allowed by the landowner like they were cool they were like that's a cool idea like it's okay you can build it. Not an easy place to find I mean. Yeah she's doing everything she can to not lead people there because there is enough people. That find it. Who find it and get there so she made sure not to make a trail you know really close. Wow it's so green here now it's growing a lot so yeah here it is. Wow you could just miss it. It's just emerged into the landscape. So it's only a window a window and a chimney everything else is just dirt earth grass. And she also planted the edibles you have these currents now. So you can eat off your house. Yeah even blueberries on the house. So it was the idea was to have a bit of a garden. You're building a house you might as well doing it soil why not have a garden right? Eatable house. Edible house. So here you see that it was dug. She dug with hand tools and these are well used. Oh my gosh yeah. So it looks like there's pieces of even put onto a lattice work or something. Yeah I mean it's a bit tricky to like in the storms and in the rains the soil you know. It wasn't like this in the beginning but it's like compacting down you know so you have to refill with soil sometimes. Look at look how big this tree has become this is gonna become huge. So amazing how much plant life it is on it you know. You wouldn't know you're you just wouldn't know you're on a house. No this is like walking over there. Right it feels like you you can eat from it you can. And there's blueberries here around the chimney. So I guess the idea is that with with the dirt insulation and a chimney that's enough that's. That's all you need yeah. You don't use a lot of firewood to keep yourself warm even when it's 10 minus outside. This is a traditional style door right because it kind of pulls up a little. Yeah yeah. Slopes. But I think that's just because the construction is tilted all the walls are tilted. To make the soil not fall you know. It's not the best thing like one one time we had a rescue operation. It was a friend who slept there and it was so much snow in the night that she couldn't open the door you know. And luckily she had like battery on her phone you know so she could call us. But she she could have destroyed the window you know and got out. So but. And there's even moss strategically placed kind of. Just to seal it. And here you have like breathing holes. Oh so for air. For air air flow yeah. Oh because it couldn't be too airtight too insulated. Yeah you see it from here as well like she made holes for air circulation. Because when everything is closed you know it can get airtight. But I thought about that as well. And the door is really beautiful. I love like all these details. So great like this is your home like plants and everything. It's beautiful. And this burning technique as well. She also did inside you know the walls on the inside. To protect against moisture. Do you think there's a difference being inside an earth hut? Like is that important that it's earth? I think so. It feels so protected. It feels like you're inside the earth. It's something calming about it. It's really quiet though. You don't hear a thing. There's no electrical stuff here. But it feels so good to enter the door. Like enter into the earth. There's a lot of firewood here. That's nice you know. People left so much firewood. And how do you get firewood up here? Do you hike it or do you cut it? You can find dead branches. But this is brought in from town or something. You've stayed here? Yeah yeah many times. I love coming here. Many times alone. You can really find the calmness and be away from the noise of civilization for a little while. This place is surprisingly homey. It doesn't feel like an earth camping hut or something. I mean it actually feels like a little cottage. Yeah yeah I agree. It's a special atmosphere here. You really feel good like at home in mother earth. I mean it does feel a little bit hobbit like. You know like that sort of. But not because of the dirt necessarily. Just because it's so cozy. Yeah super cozy. This becomes a double bed. So under here she has tools and food and then you just do like this and you can sleep two people here. So simple because otherwise there would be space. You can't really have a bed in here and move around. Yeah we need solutions like that. Do you fit? Yeah. Oh just barely. Oh it's super nice. Oh yeah. She's spent nights here. Yeah many. So it's a transformable bench slash bed storage. Yeah exactly. Many many purposes. Seems to go down in a very easy a nap in a very easy way. Yeah. Yeah I can I can almost stand her. But I'm pretty tall. So it was built for her. Yeah not for me. What's the tradition of this here in Norway? Back in the days like hundreds of years ago like this was a normal way of building houses. The Sami people were really good at it and they have kept the tradition alive you know. So why why would people build huts? Because it's great like it's so well insulated. It's like into the ground so it doesn't get minus degrees. And it's so easy to heat up you know because it's so well insulated. So you just need a small oven and it becomes a sauna. That made sense you know. It was local materials. It's very efficient for insulation. And affordable. Puppet cheap. Yeah obviously like before I mean they they just built it I guess. You had the soil. You had the the trees. So originally you have like birch birch trees. Bam bam bam you know. But she modernized it. And then you know it's really important to have the the birch the birch bark. That's she wanted to do this but you know it's so difficult now to get a hold of enough birch bark as the protection from the rain. So this is better material than plastic you know. It lasts longer. This is totally waterproof. So that's what they used before. And so before you would have seen birch branches underneath. Yeah. And now we see salvaged plywood. She found them by the shore in containers at the junkyard. This is really cool as well. She just found this. This is like a Siberian lark. I don't know the English. Larch maybe. Larch. Super solid and nice. Drifting from Siberia you know. And yeah made a bookshelf. And drifted that far. And to sit on you know. It's a bookshelf you can sit on. Yeah. Many purposes there. And here you see there's a the thickness of these the thickness of the walls where this represent. Yeah. Oh yeah. It's you know it's also the air between this wall and the next wall is like this or something. With just air. Oh. That's also important. Why is it important? For the insulation. Because this layer will insulate as well. The air stays like you know around zero. So when the dirt starts to freeze the air actually be a better insulation than maybe having the dirt straight on the wall. Yeah it helps. If it's 10 minus outside and you heat air it gets warm instantly. Yeah now you really feel the space like it's cozy you know. And I love all the details of wood in this frame and also for the bookshelves. So there's dishes too silverware. Cups like nice looking too. Not trying to be camping gear. So kitchen would be here. Yeah and you just make the food there you know. It's just as simple as you get it you know. What's this? Is this directions? Yeah like how the bed works. Even a blanket for dogs and a tarp. And food like help yourself feel free to leave if you have some spare food. And also like tools and painting stuff. Make art you know. Oh nice. This for example the view from the peeing spot. Right there's no toilet here. And if you have to poop you dig a hole far away and yeah. So you have to respect. Seems to work yeah. Yeah. Many of these things are left by people you know. People feel like they want to contribute and put a nice touch you know. It's something about this feeling of giving trust and gifting. And then you want to give back. You want to give trust. It works you know. Someone have left this note. Nature is not a place to visit. It's our home. I like that you know. The less I needed the better I felt. Bukowski. And yeah this is the Gamme book one and two. Now you see some earlier stage. People eating outside. You can really become calmer. And just really dive into a book or write or just calm your mind you know. So many people describe this. And so this is an important story about Franziska. She made a future length film that became really big. And she got the idea when she isolated herself here for 10 days. She got this film idea that she started writing on. It's from her personal story with her sister growing up. We were a couple back then. And I was the camera person. We filmed it in this area you know. It has been to so many festivals winning prizes. And it was like nominated for the best film in Norway. I like the Norwegian Oscars. Do you think that this could be a full-time home? With obviously not exactly like this. But this sort of influence a full-time home? Yeah. Yeah for me I've become so inspired by this hut. That I really want to make probably a little bit bigger. But definitely to live in a space like this I think is possible. And also just super good. And energy efficient. It shows how little space you actually need. For me this is like a perfect tiny house. To make it into the soil like. Yeah Hobbit style. It's a good way to live on the land. Make sense? That's the gun man.