Netonia Yalte built her first handmade house out of necessity. She was a single mother of three, living in poverty on Canada's Graham Island, so she set about building a house herself made with materials scavenged from the beach.
She taught herself about stackwall building, also called cordwood construction, a natural roundhouse technique that involves stacking logs crosswise and securing with mortar or cob.
That first home was constructed 26 years ago, and she hasn't stopped building since. Her structures are works of art, made with colored glass, whale bones, cedar, and driftwood. She has built over 30 structures including outhouses, gazebos, and a wind wall. Each one is unique; she never repeats the same design twice.
Hear Yalte tell her own story on CBC radio.
