Is this Yarraman house the way of the future?

A Yarraman resident is opening up her home in the hope of inspiring others to follow in her footsteps in creating a sustainable future for Australia.

The living room looking out over the towns of Blackbutt and Yarraman at Jan Bagdonas’s eco friendly house. (Picture: Tristan Evert)

Jan Bagdonas is leading the way for a sustainable future with her solar-powered, eco-friendly home in Yarraman.

The house is situated on 14 acres of land off the D'Aguilar Highway and runs off two 500 amp batteries with a one kilowatt inverter, powered by four solar panels.

Jan Bagdonas's eco friendly house in Yarraman.

Jan said with all of her appliances under 240 volts, she has no trouble living off the grid.

“I am able to run everything I need off the four solar panels and a gas bottle for the kitchen,” Ms Bagdonas said.

“The whole system was put in for under five grand with all materials locally sourced.

“Once it is all up and running it honestly takes very little maintenance and is a simple and sustainable way to live.”

The house was built two years ago by a local Blackbutt builder who milled all of the pine by hand with the house structurally approved by engineers.

Jan Bagdonas on the front deck of her eco home.

Ms Bagdonas has subdivided her land into four blocks with the plan of selling the other three to like-minded individuals, however is facing difficulty from the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Ms Bagdonas said in order to sell the land the council is trying to force her to power all four blocks and water proof the toilet, which is not connected to running water.

“I am currently unable to sell my land because Queensland legislation states that blocks must be connected to power before going on the market,” Ms Bagdonas said.

“The whole idea of this style of living is that it is affordable and sustainable.

“To power all four sites would cost upwards of $100,000.”

The inside of Jan Bagdonas's eco house in Yarraman.

Ms Bagdonas is urging people to get in contact and said to come and view the property in the hope to inspire others to move towards a greener future.

“I want people to come and look how easy it is to live sustainably and live off natural resources,” Ms Bagdonas said.

“Everything used to build this house was locally sourced and installed by a local builder and electrician.

“The Government shouldn’t be able to force me to connect power and each development should be assessed to its own merit.”

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