Wiggly Wog

Anonymous

20m2

$1,000

Featured

The Project

The idea for the Wiggly Wog was first captured in a simple painting and from there it was simply a matter of translating it into reality. The challenge was to build a house for under $1000.

The Wiggly Wog is primarily constructed from uncut Manuka firewood, Robina posts, and earth. It incorporates reused windows and doors, has an earthen floor, and a green roof. Perhaps one of the most interesting features of this little home is its intricate ceiling. It is made from small manuka sticks which are nailed to the top side of the manuka rafters.

This project, which took the equivalent of 3 months full time work to build, has been standing for almost 30 years and would cost not too much more to build today as it did 30 years ago.

Low Cost

There are a couple factors that kept the cost of the Wiggly Wog down. First, the labour was all done by a volunteer in exchange for accommodation and food (and we understand that the volunteer spent more time relaxing than working!).

Second, all the materials were low cost or free. The main material, earth, was free and this was sourced from the property itself and formed into bricks to make the walls, poured onto the ground for the earthen floor, and layed overhead on the roof for gardens to grow. The Manuka wood and the nails and screws were the biggest costs (the screws almost broke the budget). The project is local, with the Manuka bought from just down the road and the screws and nails from a local hardware store, which helped reduce transport costs on this limited budget. Lastly by striving to be resourceful and by keeping alert, windows, doors, and a fireplace were able to be salvaged from other properties at no cost.