*faircompanies

CA artist-farmer builds $25K quiet home to savor simple life

by Kirsten Dirksen on November 9, 2022

Needing a break from roommates and social work environments, L Gilbert wanted an affordable home for one in pricey California. …
Turns barren suburban lot into high-yield Microfarm & YT studio

by Kirsten Dirksen on August 8, 2022

On a 1/3rd acre urban lot in Corvallis, Oregon, horticulture professor and youtuber Andrew Millison has spent the past 12 years …
25Verde apartment jungle is an ecosystem of 150 trees, 60+ apartments

by Kirsten Dirksen on January 16, 2022

With 150 trees sprouting across 5 floors of terraces, balconies and roof gardens, apartment complex “25 Verde” rises like a …

Aspirational inefficiency: dispatches on the rise of pickup trucks as lifestyle

by Nicolás Boullosa on March 26, 2026

From workhorse to wish fulfillment, the pickup truck is often a vehicle that carries less in its bed than in …

Rebuilding abandoned giant Earthship into 3-story, off-grid home ecosystem

by Kirsten Dirksen on March 22, 2026

What does it take to rebuild an abandoned giant off-grid Earthship into a fully working 3-story home? About 45 minutes …

Nature’s hidden infrastructure: how fungi shape the world beneath us

by Nicolás Boullosa on March 19, 2026

They are the first wave of life after fire. Yet fungi, usually overlooked, do far more: shaping medicine, fermentation, and …

30 years fine-tuning micro-homestead oasis: nothing missing, little extra

by Nicolás Boullosa on March 15, 2026

For nearly 30 years, David and Pearl Omick have been fine-tuning a tiny, portable home in the Sonoran Desert—an 8×16-foot …

What if? The fork in the road the world missed in the 1970s

by Nicolás Boullosa on March 11, 2026

Today’s crises are not sudden; they are the slow release of tensions accumulated since the 1970s pivot from production to …

Nordic homestead near Russian border: couple’s no-bank, no-phone life

by Kirsten Dirksen on March 8, 2026

“I’ve only worked for pay for 3 weeks in my entire life. I’m 60.” Yet Lasse Nordlund has never stopped …

Being outdoors all year without being outside: do courtyards make sense?

by Nicolás Boullosa on March 4, 2026

From the Alhambra to California backyards, an ancient architectural typology shows how patios, plants, and water create microclimates, social space, …

He lived on the street. Now turns raw dryland into frugal homestead

by Kirsten Dirksen on March 1, 2026

After being laid off with just $6,000 in savings — and having experienced homelessness — John started over. He left …

Male stuff: ensuring boys turn out decent adults (hint: it’s not hyperparenting)

by Nicolás Boullosa on February 26, 2026

Homecoming epics and schoolyard standoffs: raising decent boys in a culture that sells insecurity as manhood. Imagine growing up as …

4-generation family builds container fourplex atop giant missile silo

by Kirsten Dirksen on February 22, 2026

After purchasing a Titan II Missile Silo Complex in Arizona—decommissioned in 1983 and buried under concrete and dirt for more …