Erik Grankvist is a 19 years old Swede, just graduated from high school who wanted to pursue his dream of building a traditional off-grid log cabin in a forest, by hand. So he did.
15 minute version.
Sometimes we hear a call from nature. When I was 18 years old I ventured out alone with only a backpack full of simple hand tools to actualize my dream. Build my own traditional off grid log cabin by hand from the materials of the Swedish wilderness. Just like our Forefathers did. I had no previous experience in building, gathering materials or filming. So I started studying myself the old arts and learning from my grandfather and mentor Åke Nilsson. I began to cut down trees and film with my phone, learning as I go. My project started full time once I graduated high school in summer 2019. I filmed everything myself and edited this video so you can follow my journey and hopefully learn as I do. The tractor is a Ferguson TE20 “Grålle” from 1946, they were wildly used to move timber. In 1950 the first chainsaws came to Sweden but they were too big and heavy to be practical. I didn’t want to take down every closest tree. So by using the tractor (also as a little tribute) I could haul a few trees from further away, about 150 meters. I would have loved to use a horse but don’t have one. yet..
And here’s the full version.