The United Tiny House Association (UTHA) was founded on August 15, 2015, by John and Fin Kernohan, as an organization for the advocacy and support of the tiny house movement and for those individuals either living the tiny house dream, desiring to start their own tiny house journey, or those simply interested in what all the excitement and buzz is all about in regards to tiny houses and the tiny h
ouse movement. Within a few short years of being formed, the United Tiny House Association has grown to be what is considered the largest tiny lifestyle support organization in the entire World with over 51K+ members as of May 3, 2022. John and Fin began their tiny house love affair living aboard a narrow boat and traversing the canals of the English countryside in the UK after meeting each other when Fin was living in London and John was living in South Florida. After Fin proposed to John and asked for his hand in marriage, they settled in the United States where they have been living in their self-built 304sqft tiny house, known as “Beloved Cabin”, since December 2011. They now reside on their 16-acre Beloved Cabin Tiny House Homestead & Stay in the woods of Georgia, where they have embraced solar energy, rain water collection, methane gas production for cooking fuel, composting/soil creation, raising chickens, growing their own vegetables and fruits, solar thermal energy, and more to facilitate their off-grid and minimalist lifestyle They have also created a tiny house community for others to have a place to bring their own tiny homes or to rent a tiny house from John’s and Fin’s own personal collection of three tiny houses on wheels, 2 yurts, 2 geodesic dome homes, a short-bus conversion, a tree house, and 2 small cabins they have built over the years. They also have their towable 148sqft tiny house, the World-known “Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9“, which is both their travel home and, also, their tribute home honoring firefighters and emergency responders. Fin was raised in Thailand as a Buddhist, is a vegetarian, yoga instructor, massage therapist, fitness expert, and personal trainer. John is a retired immunologist, the handyman of the property, a skilled craftsman (his family is Amish), DIY fanatic, re-purposing expert, and an avid outdoorsman who fills the freezer throughout the year with fresh game and fish. Together, John and Fin strongly believe it is their diversity and being so different in many aspects, as well as having so much common ground, that has created and solidified their “tiny house love affair”. After years of organizing not-for-profit outdoor concerts and festivals as fundraisers for students and college-bound homeschool students, as well as being on Florida’s state board for home education, John, along with Fin, created the For-Charity Tiny House Festivals; including the now famous Georgia Tiny House Festivals (2016 – 2022) and the 60K+ attendee & 116 tiny structure Florida Tiny House Festivals (2016 – 2021); as well as 12 other record-breaking for-charity tiny house festivals in California, DC/Virginia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Tennessee… and their historic Nation-wide TINY HOUSES across AMERICA and their two FREE International Online Tiny House Festival. On May 23-24, 2020, John and Fin organized and hosted the first ever FREE International Online Tiny House Festival, which spanned two days and involved 5 countries, over 30+ tiny home tours, more than 2 dozen speakers, and live entertainment… and they repeated this amazing event again on May 22-23, 2021. The For-Charity Tiny House Events from the United Tiny House Association embrace all modalities of tiny living, whether they are professional-built tiny homes, private-owned tiny houses, DIY structures, ADUs, tree houses, skoolies (converted school buses), yurts, campers, vardos, or any other tiny residences anyone calls home. Also, all tiny house lifestyles are encouraged and supported. These include, but are not limited to, off-grid living, on-grid living, wilderness living, ADUs, and both suburban & urban living. Most importantly, United Tiny House Association’s For-Charity Tiny House Events are designed to support local communities and charities, through the fundraising activities at its Tiny House Events and as a means of giving charities and non-profit organizations a platform to share with others. To date, the United Tiny House Association has given away and donated over $748K+ from the proceeds of their 25 For-Charity Tiny House Festivals to over 100+ charities, non-profits, great causes, and within the communities where they hold their events. John and Fin have been featured on HGTV, the DIY Network, TODAY.COM, The Rachel Ray Show, JEOPARDY!, AOL, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, and numerous newspapers, newscasts, magazines, Vlogs, Blogs, and Podcasts around the World. They are regularly invited to speak at public colleges and events, meet with Local/National/Federal government officials, work with individuals one-on-one, and partner with other organizations in their efforts to bring both the tiny house community and those outside the tiny house community together in a common understanding of what living tiny is all about.
“Do something BIG in your world… by simply doing something TINY!” – John & Fin Kernohan
