"Yurt Sweet Yurt" might not have the same ring to it as "Home Sweet Home", but Sheffield area resident David Masters believes one day it just might.

The 33-year-old wilderness guide gave up the hustle and bustle of being a produce broker at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto to become owner of an outdoor adventure tour company. Since moving his home and business to northwest Flamborough last year, he has been experiencing first-hand what it means to live in a totally sustainable and self-sufficient way. For the past 14 months, he has lived totally of the grid, without electrical power from traditional energy sources. Instead, the lights and appliances in his new home are powered by the wind and sun. A nearby woodlot provides him with the fuel to heat his dwelling.

Nestled on his parents' property northwest of Troy, his new abode is anything but conventional. It's a yurt, a circular, canvas-covered structure with plywood sub-floors, wood lattice walls and a cone shaped roof, pierced at the top with a Plexiglas skylight. Its lattice walls unfold like accordions and the roof interior looks like the underside of an umbrella with wooden spokes rising to the central skylight. Durable vinyl laminated fabric encloses the portable structure, which also feature windows and a framed-in entry door.

Yurts can be found at campgrounds and ski lodges. They are also used as workshops, offices, art studios, conference centre and guest homes.

Masters notes that living in a yurt is an ideal lifestyle for anyone wanting to reconnect with nature and explore alternative power solutions in hopes of leaving a greener planet for future generations. "I thought it was a good way to exemplify my company," he explained.

"I wanted to live the way I teach," he added, referring to his role as an environmental educator who leads canoe trips, hikes and excursions along the Bruce Trail and through Canada's National Parks.

A 700-square-foot yurt can be installed on a wood platform in less than a week with the help of a few friends. Masters set up his 450-square-foot model in a couple of days with the help of a close friend, 78-year-old Olavs Volmers of Sheffield who died of cancer on June 14, just three weeks before Masters hosted a "Woodland Yurt Gathering" to introduce his new home to are residents and curious onlookers.

The open house also attracted local business owners, cottagers, summer camp operators, and individuals interested in learning more about sustainable living. In addition, the even served as a fundraiser for cancer and Parkinson's disease research.

Both causes mean a great deal to Masters, not only because of Volmers and his fight with cancer but because his dad, Bill Masters, who is stricken with Parkinson's and cancer.

About $1,200 was raised at a barbeque as well as through the sale of promotional clothing bearing the logo of Masters' four-year-old company, Lunatic Adventures Inc. The Company name is a play on words derived from the name of Masters' tour companion and Siberian husky, Luna. Guests enjoyed a tour of the yurt, refreshments donated by Black Oak Brewery of Oakville and traditional folk music by Marty Pullin, director of the Sheffield Museum.

This fall, Masters plans to build a second yurt on his parents' property. It will serve as a classroom to teach outdoor skills such as navigation, wilderness first-aid, canoeing, and relaxation techniques such as yoga. He also plans to teach and show the benefits of sustainable living to his students, both adult and children.

Masters, who grew up in rural Flamborough, was introduced to camping and the great outdoors by Volmers. The two developed a lasting friendship, cemented by their common love and respect for their natural surroundings.

"I've always had a passion for the environment, ever since my first canoe trip," Masters said.

He has taken his passion and turned it into a business geared towards helping others break away from stressful jobs to enjoy some time in quieter surroundings. The philosophy of Lunatic Adventures Inc. is simple and straightforward: "to encourage others to seek out the passion within themselves, and experience the simple rhythms of life that can be found in the natural world all around us."