“I made it myself,” Martin Schmidt gestures towards the oven in the spacious kitchen/dining area. And it's not just the oven. The 62-year-old is one of the growing bands of witty locals and foreigners who built their homes out of materials on Tenerife Island, and rents leave no other realistic ways to provide them with their homes.
However, while parts of the island oppose the construction of a united house between these, essentially false towns, Martin himself admits that his perfect life in the Canary Islands is disrupted. The rudder can be heard in the background a little further away from the beach of El Puertito on the southwest coast
A new hotel is being built for tourists, and Martin has realized that it is a phenomenon that everyone has to get used to, to ensure there is plenty of space for those who want to visit.
From Heidelberg, Germany, Martin has been telling the Express for three years that he works from home, with a garden, shower room, bedroom and plumbing. He started with just caravans.
The former factory worker explained: “I worked in Germany for 41 years. I worked and it broke down. Then I decided to change something in my life. Then I found this place. I changed my life.” Martin added that he grew his food and got water from a shared tank on site.
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Daily Express Tour Car-built home in Tenerife, Martin Schmidtt
Martin Schmidt built his own home in Tenerife (Image: Tim Mary/Staff Photographer)
He clearly enjoys the reliably pleasant weather of Tenerife, looking at palm trees in the distance and measuring whether the wind is too strong to go for a immersion in the ocean. However, the fuss from the hotel construction at this time is a “nuisance” he admits.
“There's no more stress,” he says. “I was able to spend time walking to the beach (by myself). I was really sick (in Germany). I had to sleep three or four hours a night and take pills for my brain. I don't take pills anymore. I can't sleep for eight more hours. Nothing.
“Most of the time, I'm alone. Neighbors and friends come to visit me. It's a great community. This is one of the last natural places in Tenerife. I can't find anything like this anymore in Tenerife. That's completely changed.”
Martin believes that around 50 people live near him, and about 300 are close to the sea. Many of these are Canary, he says.
He adds: “In the Canary Islands, flats are really bad. Tourists pay all (high) prices on holidays, so it's very expensive. Normal Canary workers can't pay this price.”
Martin started out as a caravan and now has an entire house. (Image: Tim Mary/Staff Photographer)
People are building their own homes in Tenerife. (Image: Tim Mary)
Director of Geo Tenerife discusses the “geological interest” site
A Tenerife man, hoping to cross the road and be known only to Miko, 47, is busy building a house for himself, slams his nails into a wooden panel. He explicitly informs that he and others are occupying the area. “We respect nature. We don't want these people to build hotels everywhere. We deserve the place. We're waiting for someone to talk,” he explains.
“It's very expensive to find rent during this period. Everyone rents for the holidays. No one is renting for the people here.
He worked as a manager at a hotel on the island until two years ago. “I've finished that life,” says Miko. “I don't want to work with tourists anymore. I make s*** at the sea with hotels and don't preserve nature. They provide s*** food to people. No one is honest here.”
“The island is full,” he adds. “Too much traffic.” Driving around the site is Sharon Backhouse (55), director of Geotenerife. The group is campaigning to stop development in the region. She said: “Many of these people will stay here to block activities. We are putting pressure on the government to protect this sector. They are moving ahead. It all should be protected – it's an international value.”
Sharon Backhouse is Director of Geotenerife (Image: Tim Mary/Staff Photographer)
DIY Holmes line up on the coast (Image: Tim Mary/Staff Photographer)
She argues that there is an excuse to allow the development of the area as authorities have not taken action against illegal housing. Express contacted the Tenerif Island Council for comments.
Sitting nearby at his homemade home is Mateuszwędrowieec, 37, from Kujawi, Poland. “This is not about tourists, it's this place,” he says. “This is just people living their lives. I've been here for six months and then I'm back in Poland. I'm spending the winter here. I treat this as a winter camp.
“And it's all free, that's the funny part.” The musician then mentions the issue of sewage runoff into the island's oceans, lamenting the “big money impact” that means Tenerife is dependent on visitors.
Addona Cordoba uses coastal homes as vacation homes (Image: Tim Mary/Staff Photographer)
By the sea is 27-year-old Addona Cordoba, from Tenerif Island and working for a car rental company at one of the island's airports. He claims that his father was the first to establish a home in the area, and that his family used it on holidays.
He said: “You're separated from life. We were the first, so we got the (best) view.”
Activists say the impact of overtourism in canaries has caused real estate supply, rental and environmental crises.
Actors say 100,000 people marched through the city of Santa Cruz, Tenerif's largest town, last month, demanding change last month.
Addona says he will come to his house for a break, but the others live there forever as they don't live anywhere.
“Buying a house here is difficult and complicated,” he explains. “It's expensive.” He then details that the rent south of the tourist-favoured island is around 1,200 euros per month.
Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, where many locals live, it costs around 800 euros. People usually earn an average of 1,300 euros per month, adds Addona.
On his way to the beach with his swimming gear there is Greg Robinson, 50, from Hull.
When asked what he is doing from a local complaint about the effects of the effects of the through-going, he points out that this is not a problem unique to Tenerife or Spain. “It's everywhere,” he says. “In Whitby (same).”
