Winter Newsletter 2026

Happy winter! A time for processing and reflection, and maybe things slow down a little if we are lucky. In Alaska, life becomes more weather centered. Stoking the fire, digging out from snow, sanding, covering, maintenance...the beat goes on.

This year, we are looking forward to some major production changes! We are planning new tooling, new jigs, as well as some design changes. Dynamic change is afoot. The next couple weeks will be all about jigs, patterns, and tooling. Manufacturing is complex, you must be able to pace your growth and constantly discern what comes first...the chicken or the egg?

On the design front, welding the Duro-Last cover eave seam is a long time coming for us. We would love for our yurts to function well in the tropics, but using a thread-based connection is not ideal for moist heat. Therefore, welding! We’ll be working on a prototype cover for our 60’ woodshop yurt, so stay tuned on social media for pictures and updates.

We’ve also introduced some design changes to our larger yurt sizes. We are now including vertical support studs on the 30’ and 34’ tall walls as standard, with an option to include this package on the 20’ and 24’ tall walls.

We are also now including weather strapping and tie downs in every order, and we strongly recommend our customers use these to anchor their yurts to the foundation in heavy wind areas! Our yurts are already rated for 100 mph winds and 60 lbs/square ft snow load, but extreme weather does happen, and we want our product to function as intended in all our customers’ diverse environments. There are limits to lightweight portable structures, but we’re going to keep pushing them!

Other than that, we’re now also crafting single width doors in-house out of Douglas fir. The door and window sections of our Build Calculator have been adjusted a bit to help streamline the ordering process for the majority of our customers. You are still able to order different custom door and window configurations, just please make a note in the comments field.

Prices have gone up a bit for the first time in many years to help with all these improvements, as well as overall costs of materials and transport. Alex and Raven have done a wonderful job updating the pricing and ordering on our Build Calculator and in all the various places. Technology changes so often, I am grateful for that help. Our social media is all their work also, and the videos are art. I seriously love that it’s local Homer folks caring and building with us. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube!

Our production season is pretty full this spring. There are a few spots yet, but the summer could fill quickly so if you want summer delivery, please do us a favor and order now to secure a spot with your deposit. It helps to be able to plan both the yurt manufacturing and the onsite work for the customer. Contractors often schedule now. We can work with you through your set up and foundation questions with full customer support and access to many experienced professionals. Nomad Shelter can help!

We still have one 16’ lightly used yurt for sale in stock. It’s camp yurt style, with a tan cover and heavy insulation. If you need shelter now, we can have it shipped by the first of February. We also have two 16’ Lease To Own yurts in stock, available to ship in March to in-state Alaskan customers only. Everything else is made to order. We are hoping to expand the Lease To Own program this year to include all yurt sizes with in-house financing. If you have any interest in LTO for larger sizes, please send us a message on our website with what size! This will help us gauge interest and get this off the ground.

We hope to be able to keep more yurts in stock and ready to ship in the future and are working on getting ahead of the game with new management systems, tooling, and processes that will help us free up pockets in the summer production schedule. To this end, we have also been looking for investments or possibly selling the business to new energy. Either one would provide an opportunity to upgrade the tooling and technical side of the business and bring some fresh energy into the process. We will keep you updated on that front and have hired Transworld Business Advisors to broker for us. If you may be interested in getting involved, feel free to message us on our website.

Mid-winter is our time to rest and reflect. To vision and plan. The sun starts coming back soon, and our 2026 production season kicks off February 1st in the new 60’ wood shop. This structure is really taking it to the next level, and with the new welded seam cover on, we’ll be ready to go! We won’t be selling 60’ yurts for now, but will let you know when it’s all finished and re-tooled. So excited for that! Manufacturing in the round, lightly on the land with lots of hometown talent and care.

Happy winter and stay tuned!

 ~ Jess ~