DANA MERRYDAY/THE CHRONICLE
These structures are known as “yurts” in the West. The word comes from the Russian “yurta,” which in turn comes from the Turkic word “jurt.”
PART ONE OF TWO PARTS
COTTAGE GROVE – Alan Bair never intended to start a company or a movement.
Then one day, he read an article on yurts in National Geographic detailing how nomadic sheepherders created one of the most efficient surface-to-volume ratio structures by using very lightweight natural materials.  . . .