A couple of weeks ago, I came across this bus in a parking lot in New Hampshire. Clearly it had been converted into some sort of living or work space, and tagged UNSCHOOL, of course I was immediately intrigued. I only wished I could see its interior and not surprisingly, there is plenty of online content about this bus.
It is the roving home of the Halldorsons, a family of five from New Hampshire. Home schooling takes on another meaning when the home is on wheels and learning through experience is the hallmark of raising their two sons and daughter. While having children is not within my frame of reference, it seems there are plenty of kids receiving a conventional education who have otherwise miserable upbringings. The Halldorsons are a tight-knit bunch. Kelly Halldorson documents their travels and discusses their lifestyle choice on her blog.
So, back to the bus. This video is a tour through a conversion that very efficiently provides the primary functions of a living space, including privacy for each member of the family.
At first, I came across Andy Stewart's documentation of converting a 17' cargo trailer into a mobile living space, complete with solar panels and a wood-burning stove.
While the trailer is no longer his primary residence, it appears to have functioned well as a boathouse during his travels. I'm particularly fond of this video from last year which quietly captures his sailing adventure around Vinalhaven, Maine.
Salt 2: boatbuilding, sailmaking, island people, river driving, bean hole beans, wooden paddles and more Yankee doings
From the introduction by Pamela Wood. Speaking of the Salt Boatyard, an apprenticeship program in Kennebunk, Maine during the 1970s in conjunction with Salt magazine, and the origins of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies currently located in Portland.
My colleagues and I at the Salt Boatyard let the natural lure of making a good product be the principal conduit for directed energy. Making the product becomes the incentive, reward, mechanism, and symbol for learning and growth...
...It is a circular process, this making and learning. To make a product, the student must learn and the product is his learning, his achievement; in the end, product and learning become one. It is an exhilarating union.
