Even if you don’t plan on making a back country trip to Norway any time soon, these tiny cabins may give you a few ideas on how to create a tiny house that melds nearly seamlessly with its natural surroundings. Koiene (pronounced koi-eh-n) are a system of tiny, convenient cabins scattered around the countryside of Trøndelag, Norway for use by anyone who’s in the area for hiking, fishing, foraging, hunting, cross country skiing or snowshoeing.
The simple, little structures can be rented through a website that specializes in memberships for these types of vacation cabins. The site and the cabins are run voluntarily by groups of students. The cabins are named after the area they are in and these multi-syllabic locations are distinctive from each other: some are on a river or creek, some on top of a mountains, some by the lake or other larger body of water.
The koien rent for about 30 to 60 kroner (about $5-$10) per person per night and there are separate prices for members and non-members. Many of the cabins can fit up to 8 or 10 people, but none of them have electricity. All cabins have a propane or primus stove and are equipped with cutlery, plates, cups and pots and pans for cooking. Many of the cabins have an outhouse, but bathing options are limited: you might have to jump into that local stream or lake.
Photos by NTNUI Koiene