Bluebell - A tiny cottage built onto a van Pt1 - Georjie Adams - BS059

Georjie Adams is building a fantastic van based mobile home. It's unlike anything you are likely to have seen before - it's a work of art! Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbluebell/

In this conversation we discuss the issues Georjie faced as a woman wanting to build and the project that has grown out of it, as well as some of the reasons this lifestyle appealed. Part 2 contains more experiences and philosophies the Building Bluebell project has created.

From Georjie's website - get in touch!
We are looking for women builders, makers, architects, engineers and labourers who want to be involved or share their story! Whether you have an on-going build project, have finished a piece of work and would kindly share some content, or simply have advice/information/experience to donate then we'd love to hear from you!

Emailinfo@inherhands.orgto get involved or drop a thought

Links

https://www.inherhands.org/
Bluebell roof video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vWHixxW6kg
NZ house trucks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housetrucker
West Dean College - https://www.westdean.org.uk/
Right to Roam - https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/
Landscapes of freedom - https://landscapesoffreedom.com/

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Georjie Adams

Builder of Bluebell

My name is Georjie, and I have been in the process (that is still on-going) of building my own 'tiny home' for 3 years. I started off with almost zero experience in building, I could barely use a drill and had no practical understanding of engineering or architecture. On starting the project - and throughout the majority of the building process - I had no access to internet at my workshop space or home. Therefore, no youtube! Working in an old barn on an isolated hill, I also had no teacher or building help. I relied entirely on intuition - something we all have - which I was excited to learn is enough of a groundwork to use basic tools and materials. Then, accompanied with determination and a dose of perseverance, I trialled-and-errored my way into gaining a deeper understanding of woodwork and construction principals.

It was nothing short of an enlightenment to learn that building, at least in fundamentals and everyday basics, was really simple! How had I been lead to believe (through direct/indirect comments and more problematically, deeply challenging ideology) that this hugely approachable and crucial life-skill was so far from reach? That it was not just physically out of my potential, but that I couldn't really trust my hands to do as 'good' of a job as a man. My mind started unpicking years worth of comments, social examples, media/imagery and prominently my educational experiences. All of it had enforced a narrative that it is not a woman's place, it's just not the way of things.

Unlocking the potential that lay coded in my fingers waiting to be unlocked, that of which to make and manipulate materials, to create and construct, has been the most empowering and important experience of my entire life. Nothing has brought me the same sense of confidence, excitement and independence as such a simple set of skills. I am no master, but I' determined that this is something all women should get the fair and equal chance to explore and learn.