"Less is more" is not just an empty phrase for him
A kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, two children's rooms. Sounds like a normal flat - except that it only measures 32 square metres. Johannes Gerber lives in a tiny house and has everything he needs there.
"I've always loved having few possessions in order to be as independent as possible," says Johannes Gerber. He used to sail across the Atlantic or cycle across South America. He now lives out this independence in his "Tiny House". The idea of sustainability came later, namely through his girlfriend Gianna. "At first, I had to keep reminding you to switch off the light," she says to Johannes. Two years later, he lives almost CO2-neutral.
Tiny house on your own
He is not connected to the power grid, his toilet is a separating toilet: liquid comes out at the bottom, solid remains at the top. His water currently comes from the tap into a 150-litre tank. "That's enough for a week," he says. The average Swiss person uses just under 145 litres a day! A rainwater treatment system is soon to follow. Apart from the chassis, he made everything on his vehicle himself. He used materials with a good energy balance as often as possible and put a total of around 400 hours of employees' time into his little house. "But as a layman, I would expect to double that," says Johannes. As a self-employed carpenter, he is a professional. And he has a valuable tip: "Don't shy away from the cost of a structural analysis and building physics consultation. If it's not right, it will be problematic."
I keep hearing about problems that start much earlier. With the parking space. "It's not easy to find a pitch in Switzerland," he admits. But if you talk to people, you'll also find open ears. In addition, the association "Kleinwohnformen" is currently working with various municipalities to look for suitable plots of land. These are then to be brokered to association members.
Multifunctional construction
Johannes' Tiny House is located on the site of a farmhouse where Gianna lives with her daughter and their son. His two children from a previous relationship are there every other weekend. The tiny house is too small for the entire patchwork family and the situation is too difficult. "My two older children stay with me in the car when they are here." To make them feel at home, they each have their own room to which they can retreat. This is made possible by the space-optimised design: The beds span the width of both rooms and are one above the other. They are panelled with wood on the side of the other room and open on their own side.
The rest of the house also follows this principle. The living room stands out as a kind of bay window. "It can be retracted on rails if I need to move the car for a move," explains Johannes. The TV unit doubles as a wardrobe, the bench seat can be folded up to create storage space and the ceiling of the children's room serves as Johannes' sleeping area. "It was important to me to leave the space free at eye level in order to create the greatest possible sense of space." He has achieved this. I don't feel cramped at any point, quite the opposite. It's really cosy.
"Caro, think about where you really spend your time at home," Johannes asks me as he grinds coffee with an old grinder. Hmm, I can cross off the corridor and the office. I only really spend a lot of time in the living room and occasionally in the kitchen. The bathroom and bedroom are a means to an end. I consider the space in my flat to be necessary to store my clutter. But it really only annoys me anyway. Every now and then I have fits of rage where I want to throw everything out of the window. But unfortunately I never do, because then I feel like I need everything.
He appreciates the simple things
Johannes owns a television, laptop, printer and smartphone. He first has to heat up the five litres of water he has available for showering. A nightmare for some, but a real treat for Johannes. "The fact that I can't just press a button has taught me to appreciate things." From showering and drinking coffee to doing the laundry. Because the washing machine is powered purely by muscle power. "15 minutes of spinning is enough to get the laundry clean," he says, surprising me. With my electric-powered machine, there is no programme under 30 minutes.
This "extra effort" enables him to live independently of the electricity grid. "The wind and sun produce the electricity for me." Solar panels and a wind turbine are mounted on the roof of the tiny house and an inverter inside, which converts the electricity to the usual 230 volts. "So far, I've always had enough power for my electrical appliances." Heating is provided by a wood-burning stove. And that works incredibly quickly in the small house. "It only takes about an hour for the car to heat up from ten to 20 degrees Celsius. After that, it tends to get too warm."
It actually gets warmer and warmer during our conversation, so I have to move away from the stove. I still get red cheeks. Perhaps it's not just because of the heat, but also because I realise that I'm trapped in my own comfort zone. If you want to do something good for the planet, you have to sacrifice comfort. But that doesn't have to be negative per se - it can even be fun. Johannes and his family at least seem pretty happy.
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My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
