This is the amazing hobbit-style house an eco-friendly farmer built from scratch for just $185.
Michael Buck created the “cob” home at the bottom of his garden using an ancient building technique. He now lends it out to a woman who works on a neighboring dairy farm.
In keeping with his green philosophy he lets her pay her rent in milk. Cob houses — made of earth, clay and straw — date back to prehistoric times.
Ex-art teacher Michael, a smallholder near Oxford, used only natural or recycled materials… and not a single power tool. The floorboards were rescued from a skip and the windows came from an old lorry windscreen.
Michael also carried huge bundles of reeds on his back to avoid leaving a carbon footprint and taught himself how to thatch. Although it has no electricity the mushroom-shaped cottage has running water from a nearby spring and walls painted with chalk and plant resin.
It has a kitchen, dining area and bunk bed. Heat comes from a wood-burning stove and thanks to the cob walls the house is surprisingly well-insulated.
A shallow well acts as a fridge and there’s also an outhouse with a composting loo. Michael, who spent two years on the house, said he was a bit disappointed because it was meant to cost NOTHING.
He added: “With proper maintenance it could last forever, but it would also naturally return to the earth if left alone.”
