*faircompanies – videos & articles for the beginning of infinity

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. …
Thrifty couple builds self-reliant, $60K homestead & workshop

by Kirsten Dirksen on August 15, 2020

Marlena and Eugene built their homestead in Blanco, Texas using salvaged windows, doors, wood flooring, tile, a bathtub, a lot …
50 years off-grid: architect-maker paradise amid NorCal redwoods

by Kirsten Dirksen on April 26, 2020

In 1968, Charles Bello and his wife Vanna Rae moved onto 240 acres of redwood forest looking to live a …

Library card, second language, long walk: a curriculum for the AI era

by Nicolás Boullosa on April 23, 2026

Are the kids best prepared for the AI era (which is happening, whether we like it or not), the ones …

Tall couple’s budget compact home: 1 space, infinite (movable) configurations

by Kirsten Dirksen on April 19, 2026

In Scott and Susan Burbank’s tiny house, almost everything moves — even the kitchen, just not the kitchen sink. Cabinets …

Charles Bello and the good in the “California mind”: in memoriam

by Nicolás Boullosa on April 16, 2026

Between spectacle and solitude, a different kind of California comes into focus. Come visit landscapes, memories, and a special place …

5 years building private village out of free dirt for family of 6

by Kirsten Dirksen on April 12, 2026

After 5 years of traveling full-time in a tiny home, this family of 6 realized they couldn’t go back to …

Rocinante’s descendants: why it’s not enough that everything functions

by Nicolás Boullosa on April 9, 2026

What we lose when we stop naming the things we use and let systems optimize everything for us. On someone’s …

Veterans buy dirt-cheap land to build off-grid coliving homestead

by Kirsten Dirksen on April 5, 2026

On 4 acres of inexpensive desert land in Arizona, Kenny Quinn—a veteran turned earth builder—helped create a radically affordable cohousing …

It all started with 28 homes. A walkable food-forest made it a village oasis

by Kirsten Dirksen on March 29, 2026

In Tucson’s western foothills, 28 households have spent 28 years building something that most neighborhoods have lost — a place …

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 …