The designers at I-Beam Design created the Pallet House Project because they were inspired by one simple, but unbelievable, fact: 84% of the world’s refugees could be housed with a year’s supply of recycled American pallets. Just based off of a year and a half year of pallet production in the US alone, 33 million refugees could live in a Pallet House. That’s a lot of housing for a LOT of people in need. What makes their design so brilliant is that virtually anyone can build it very cheaply and in less than one day.

The Pallet House, by I-Beam Design, was conceived as a transitional shelter for refugees returning to Kosovo.

The pallet house is simply and provides great flexibility in terms of configuration. Each family could build a house based on their needs and size.

Since the house is made from spare wooden pallets, it is easy to acquire the materials to build the shelter.

Not only that, but the house is very simple. Only basic tools are required to build it.

You could add on to the house with found materials, such as plastic sheeting or tarps.

The pallet houses can even be upgraded to include insulation, heating and cooling.

I-Beam Design provides “IKEA-style assembly instructions” so that anyone can assemble these houses. You don’t need a background in carpentry.

For only $75, you can buy a pallet house information kit that includes: pdf plans, sections, elevations, photos, diagrams, renderings and a materials & tools list.

Even though the pallet house was originally designed for refugees, you could use those plans to build yourself a beautiful little camper cabin or shelter.

It’s amazing what can be done with materials America “wastes.”

So for less than $100, you can learn how to build a shelter (basically, a house) that is without plumbing but will protect you from the elements. Building a small cabin (or even a treehouse for your children) was never so easy. If you’d like to buy the plans yourself, please visit I-Beam Design’s website. Source: I-Beam Design