This is the first of several installments on ultra low cost desert shelters. The idea came from reading Phillip Garlington’s website at Rancho Costa Nada (“the cost nothing ranch”), where he tells his story of chucking a regular 9-5 job and creating a new life in the desert. Economic woes are driving millions of people out of the economy, many of whom become economic refugees with no place else to go except the cheapest land available – the desert. As a result, desert communities are springing up throughout the southwest US deserts.
