Someone in Toronto is building tiny homes you can tow with a bike
Toronto resident Ryan Donais says his heart breaks every time he comes across tent encampments and people sleeping outside near his home in the downtown core.
"I know how important it is to have a safe and secure place to call home, and I believe that everyone deserves that basic human right," Donais said. "Tents are for camping, not housing."
That's why he created Tiny Tiny Homes — a project looking for outside-of-the-box solutions to the city's housing crisis through the use of mobile bike homes.
Donais told blogTO that he was largely inspired by Toronto carpenter Khaleel Seivwright, who built over 1oo tiny wooden shelters for those experiencing homelessness as a temporary solution throughout the pandemic.
However, Donais — who boasts over 15 years of construction experience — says that he noted several areas where the structures could be improved and made more comfortable for those living in them.
The structure's first prototype took roughly 80 hours to build, with Donais designing and constructing the model simultaneously.
The bike home, which is completely mobile, is insulated, weatherproof, and watertight, with a sofa that converts to a bed (with 12 cubic feet of storage underneath), solar power, and a desk.
"One of the things that’s really good about this particular design is it's mobile. If it happens to be in a park, it's not going to wreck the grass. If the police come by and tell the person to leave, they can leave," Donais told blogTO.
"This structure gives people a sense of dignity. Being in a tent is hopeless. You can lock your stuff up and go to an appointment and not be worried that your stuff is going to get stolen," he explained.
"If someone is suffering from mental health issues or addiction issues, you can't even start to get your life back together without stability. How can you even go to a doctor's appointment if you’re worried about your stuff getting stolen?"
Donais began advertising his prototype on social media two weeks ago and is already on track to build his first bike home for a client. For now, he is collecting donations through a GoFundMe campaign to fund the project in its development stage.
Eventually, Donais hopes to receive funding through corporate partnerships by registering as a non-profit organization. As the project is still in its preliminary stage, he says he has not worked out the logistics with the City yet.
"I need to sit down and I need to have a conversation with the City. We need to work together, not against each other," Donais told blogTO.
"I want to see a better alternative to the tents in the parks. Can you imagine during the rainstorm last week, being in a tent? It's terrible," he said.
"The real solution would be if the City started housing people, but that's not happening."
According to the Tiny Tiny Homes website, individuals must be experiencing chronic homelessness and have at least one barrier to obtaining housing in order to eventually receive a tiny home.
Despite just recently posting images and videos of the mobile homes, Donais says he's already received tons of requests to ship the units all over the world, from France to Australia.
"The response has been outstanding," he told blogTO. "People think it's a fantastic idea."
Once the project secures funding, Donais intends to rent a larger shop space to build and store materials so that he can bring the cost of each unit lower.
"I want to figure out a healthier environment for people to live in," he said. "That's what they deserve."
Ryan Donais
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