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Did you miss me?

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 2 and a half years later, the dream is still alive... and there has been some progress. Let's get into it! I have secured some land. It's not much, just about 500 Square meters or 5,400 Square feet. It is just on the outskirts of the city, water and electricity are not available on site right now. I will have to use ground water and figure out my own power source but that's manageable.   I have also settled on a design. It has been months of back and forth tweaking and adjusting but I got there in the end.  The proposed layout is about 36 square meters (388 square feet) sort of enclosed in a fence for security purposes. My idea for this is based on the Brazilian houses with no external windows visible from the street. Ideally I should be able to fence the whole site, but I don't have the funds for it right now. I will nonetheless have temporary fencing around the site most likely in thatch.  I have opted for a low cost option in the design. Lower cost will mean...

The Beginning

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 Hi, I started this blog to document my journey as I self build my first home. I am going to document my process through    Acquiring the land to build on: At the present moment I have no land to build on, and my best and most affordable bet right now is to get something on the outskirts of Lilongwe as that is where it is more affordable.   Designing my house: At the present moment my idea is to build a starter 2 bedroom house with lots of    garden space, any requirements for more space will be handled as the need arises. Being an architect,   I have a million ideas for the design of the house, but I have sort of settled on a design I think will be cost effective and best  suit my needs. Construction of the house: I want to have a detailed record of the construction process as I think I will want to look back at the process once it is all done. I also have a couple of "odd" elements I want to   incorporate in my house and would als...