Dan Price, the tallest hobbit on the planet. This is Dan Price's tiny underground home in Joseph, Oregon, USA. The interior, slightly more egg shaped than round, is only 8ft (2.4m) wall to wall with a roof only 4ft (1.2m) high at the entrance rising to 5ft (1.5m) at the back of the tiny shelter. The room where Dan hatches his ideas for his publications under the title, The Moonlight Chronicles, is sheltered by 2ft of earth that slopes into the woodland where deer roam as free as his creativity. Dan gives a tour of his home: see video button above

Dan's inspiration for his home goes all the way back to his childhood when he read a story called, My SIDE of the MOUNTAIN (left), which tells the story of a boy who sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits, his tool for survival. Dan is doing rather better than just surviving. On his small plot of land, where he has been living for some three decades, he has a compost toilet, a sweat lodge, an underground art studio (8x20 ft) and his tiny underground 'hobbit' house. On hot summer days Dan's tiny home maintains a steady 58F (14C) because the surrounding ground stays at a constant 55F (13C). Living this way is something the weasel from Dan's childhood book, the rabbit and ground squirrel understand well. If it's good enough for them it's good enough for Dan... and many others who are living underground around the world. Dan is an author and illustrator who has written a beautifully illustrated booklet about building his tiny house (above right). It's as much a book about the philosophy of simple living as it is about building a tiny shelter. In the video left you can watch an interview with Dan by Russ Roca of Path Less Pedaled (You might like to skip the first minute). Thanks to Ivan Fiorilla (AKA Peter Piper) for help with this story. Tweet Tell your friends via Facebook or Google+ More on Natural Homes...