Ten years ago, Moksha Osgood built an 8 x 10 cabin in a friend’s backyard for $1500. After surrounding it with quickly growing bamboo, he moved into his new home paying only $400 per month in a town where the average rent is 5 times that.

Osgood was inspired to build his tiny home after paying $1800 per month rent and recognizing that while his favorite spot was his bamboo garden, most of his neighbors didn’t use their backyards.

He moved into his new abode “Cabana” and began a 9 year experiment in living with just the essentials. Osgood, a woodworker, prefabbed the entire home and put it up in a day to be as discreet as possible in the tiny urban backyard. Large salvaged windows form much of the two sides of the hut so Osgood, an avid outdoorsman, feels he’s living in nature.