It’s a Tiny House Love Affair!

Introducing John and Fin!

We are thrilled to tell you about HomeBiogas users John and Fin Kernohans! 

John is a retired immunologist, the handyman of his property, a craftsman (his family is Amish), DIY fanatic, repurposing expert and an avid outdoorsman who fills the freezer throughout the year with wild game and fresh fish.  Fin was raised in Thailand as a Buddhist, is a vegetarian, yoga instructor, massage therapist, fitness expert, acclaimed interior designer and personal trainer. John and Fin believe that it is their many differences, as well as having so much common ground, which has created and solidified what they refer to as their ‘tiny house love affair.’

Together, John and Fin founded the United Tiny House Association (UTHA), which is one of the largest tiny lifestyle support organizations in the world with over 67K members. The couple promotes their tiny lifestyle by striving to be true examples of living tiny in their DIY, off-grid 304 square foot tiny home, known as Beloved Cabin, which they have lived in full-time for the past ten and a half years. 

The dynamic duo believes that their journeys and adventures living in the big cities of Bangkok & London (Fin), and Miami & Kaohsiung (John), along with their travels together around the globe, their tiny off-grid minimalist lifestyle in the Georgia woods with their 31 free-roaming rescued cats, 3 dogs, many goats and pet chicken, has gifted them with an abundance of joy and love for each other and for the world around them.

Making a Big Difference in a Tiny House

John and Fin are responsible for organizing 28 highly successful, for charity, Tiny House Festivals. These festivals have gained international recognition as being some of the world’s largest tiny house events and have raised over 773,000 dollars for more than one hundred charities and great causes.

During the course of the past six years their festivals have contributed to building a tiny house for a homeless veteran, paid for a fifth wheel travel trailer for a homeless veteran, raised money and purchased equipment for fire departments around the country, purchased life-saving medical equipment for multiple children’s hospitals, and has financially supported many charities and causes. 

They also founded the UTHA Scholarship Fund, which is awarded annually to a college-bound high school graduate who has displayed high achievements scholastically and in community service.

They Might Look Familiar 

John and Fin have shared their story and their journey many times and have plans to continue doing so in the near future. They run the Facebook and Instagram accounts @belovedcabin & @unitedtinyhouse, and travel the country in their 148 square foot Tiny House On Wheels (THOW), known as the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, which has been featured many times including on A&E’s “Living Smaller,” HGTV’s “Tiny House, Big Living,” JEOPARDY! andThe Rachael Ray Show.   

John and Fin’s book, “Tiny Talks: Communicating BIG with Love and Laughter,” will be coming out soon.  It is an account of their humorous journey in living a tiny and minimalist lifestyle, being a mixed-race couple, and how their age-gap and cultural differences have made them a uniquely funny couple.  “It’s a book about our TINY love affair with each other and the funny World around us!” they say. 

Sharing the Dream 

In addition to their Beloved Cabin and towable Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, John and Fin have a sixteen acre Beloved Cabin Tiny House Homestead & Stay. The accommodations, which were featured on USA Today’s top ten list of tiny house vacation getaways in the nation, include three tiny houses on wheels, two yurts, two geodesic dome homes, three bell tents, a skoolie, and will soon include a tree house (being built now!) and a small cabin.  

They are part of Airbnb’s campaign focusing on successful Superhosts. 

On a Journey with HomeBiogas

Full disclosure, we at HomeBiogas were so enthralled with John, Fin and their ‘tiny house love affair,’’ that we provided them with a system at no cost in return for their participation in the HomeBiogas Kickstarter Program. 

We originally met John and Fin in March 2017, at the 2nd Annual Georgia Tiny House Festival, when HomeBiogas attended as a participating vendor. The couple says that they were big supporters of ours even before this. You can spot John in this video where we demonstrated how useful a HomeBiogas system is for tiny house home-owners. 

John and Fin joined the Kickstarter Program and installed their first HomeBiogas system in May 2020 and say that the entire process from delivery, to setup and implementation was simple and easy. 

“With HomeBiogas, were properly disposing of waste, we’re creating fuel to cook with and we’re creating fertilizer to grow the food that we eat”

Today, the HomeBiogas system is an integral part of the couple’s daily off-grid lifestyle by serving as  another tool in their on-going and continuous quest in being more self-sufficient and having a smaller carbon footprint. The system provides John and Fin with an additional way to properly process their  human waste in a method that is healthy for their land, organic, non-toxic, and benefits them daily.  They explained that not only do they appreciate the clean cooking gas that the system produces, but they also enjoy using the liquid fertilizer for their gardens. They even introduced goats to their homestead this year to utilize their waste to feed the system!

The Feeling is Mutual

When we asked John and Fin if they would recommend getting a HomeBiogas system they said ‘of course we would…and we do!’  They shared that they are often approached by companies asking to collaborate and promote their products and services, but that they only partner with products that they believe will be an asset in their off-grid, minimalist lifestyle. The couple said it looks to partner with companies that have similar beliefs as they do in being good servants to supporting the health of our planet.  We’re proud to have made the cut!

“We like the fact that our trips to the dump are so few now, compared to a few years ago. We’re able to use less and live more, no more filling up propane tanks. We do less recycling and more repurposing.”

Whether you operate your own Tiny House homestead like John and Fin or are just busy running your personal household, a HomeBiogas system is an accessible and affordable way to reduce your carbon footprint and create clean energy for yourself.  See which HomeBiogas system best fits your lifestyle!