Ontario teen says he'll live in 'modular home' invention for a year to prove it can end homelessness
He's already invented a wooden car.
Ribal Zebian is going to test a house he designed by living in it for a year.
Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he's in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself.
Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall. With that in mind, he conjured up a blueprint for a modular home that would help address both problems.
Zebian’s version of a modular home would be made of fiberglass panels and thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam. He chose those materials because he believes they can make a sturdy dwelling in a short amount of time—specifically in just a single day.
“With fiberglass you can make extravagant molds, and you can replicate those,” Zebian told CTV News. “It can be duplicated. And for our roofing system, we’re not using the traditional truss method. We’re using actually an insulated core PET foam that supports the structure and structural integrity of the roof.”
Zebian also believes these homes don’t have to be purely utilitarian—they can also offer attractive design and customizable features to make them personal and appealing.
“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is bring a home to the public that could be built in one day, is affordable, and still carries some architecturally striking features,” he said to the London Free Press. “We don’t want to be bringing a house to Canadians that is just boxy and that not much thought was put into it.”
Beginning in May 2026, Zebian is putting his modular home prototype to the test by living inside of a unit for a full year with the hope of working out any and all kinks before approaching manufacturers.
“We want to see if we can make it through all four seasons- summer, winter, spring, and fall,” said Zebian. “But that’s not the only thing. When you live in something that long and use it, you can notice every single mistake and error, and you can optimize for the best experience.”
While Zebian knows that his modular homes aren't a long-term solution to either the homeless or housing crisis, he believes they could provide an inexpensive option to help people get the shelter they need until certain policies are reformed so the unhoused can find affordable permanent dwellings.
@hard.knock.gospel What to buy for the homeless at the grocery store. 🛒 Most people get it wrong. After being there myself, these are the survival items that actually matter 💯 The 2nd to last one is about more than survival—it’s about DIGNITY. We are all one circumstance away from the same shoes 🙏 SAVE this for your next grocery run. 📌 IG@hardknockgospel Substack@ Outsiders_Anonymous #homelessness #helpingothers #kindness #payitforward #learnontiktok
Zebian’s proposal and experiment definitely inspires others to try to help, too. If you wish to lend a hand to the unhoused community in your area in the United States, but don’t know where to look, you can find a homeless shelter or charity near you through here. Whether it’s through volunteering or through a donation, you can help make a difference.
- Homeless man turns $27 and a fib into a multimillion dollar business helping ex-convicts ›
- A Utah town's solution to homelessness is so good, every state will be mad that they weren't first. ›
- Convertible sleeping bags turn into insulated tents for people experiencing homelessness ›
- Ex-convict buys North Carolina prison and turns it into housing for other former inmates - Upworthy ›
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Smiling warmly in a cozy sweater, feeling relaxed and happy.
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Mom shares her $100 'Thriftmas' plan for 4 kids, and it sparks a fascinating debate
One parent's practical holiday strategy is another's irresponsible decision.
A family opening humble, inexpensive Christmas gifts.
Every year, families walk a tumultuous tightrope of creating holiday magic and trying not to wreck their budgets in the process. One growing trend, often called “Thriftmas,” helps strike that balance by finding secondhand treasures.
For one Pennsylvania mom of four, that approach recently became an unexpected viral moment.
Jade Wagler shared that her family set aside a $100 holiday budget for all four of their children. In a TikTok video that spread far beyond what she expected, she explained that they would rather save for a family vacation next year than go into debt for Christmas gifts. With everything costing more these days, and having to pay for two surgeries of her four-year-old son that year, things were already quite tight, and they couldn’t prioritize both.
To stretch her budget, Jade visited local thrift stores and kept track of color coded sales. So far her finds include a musical jewelry box, a unicorn hoodie, an alphabet toy, a book, and a toy grocery cart for her youngest. Her total so far is only $14.50, which leaves her with “a whopping $85.50” to continue building a thoughtful and affordable gift collection.
Plenty of viewers applauded her focus on reducing overconsumption and keeping her spending realistic. Many also agreed that choosing memory-making experiences like a vacation was far more important than having stuff.”
“I wish thriftmas was more common, we truly are ruining the world,”
“As an older parent trust me the vacation will mean so much more,”
You don’t need to spend lot of money on Christmas to have a good Christmas 🎄.”
“We need to stop this overconsumption and get back to just love.”
“My kid is 20 years old. He doesn't remember any of the gifts he received at Christmas BUT he does have good memories of the Christmas vacation to Disney Land. You have the right idea mama. We live in a consumer society. Your children won’t know the difference between new and used.
Others in the comments disagreed more bluntly and questioned her approach. Some insisted she “knew Christmas was coming all year” and therefore should “learn to budget it in.” Others insisted she should have been shopping sales throughout the year. “I start Christmas shopping December 26, for the next Christmas! This way I can provide a magical Christmas and not get in debt,” one person wrote.
Jade admitted to Fox News that the volume of negative comments was difficult to take in. "I think that it's hard to see people not choosing kindness, especially in the state of the economy that we're living in."
Still, she’s remained committed to her plan. Because for her, Thriftmas is not just about being frugal. It’s also about reducing negative environmental impact. As she reminded critics 80% of all toys ending up in landfill, incinerators, or the ocean every year. In 2022 alone, people worldwide threw out more than 7 billion e-toys, according to the Michigan Library.
The bigger conversation her video sparked touches something familiar for many families. The pressure to create a picture perfect holiday often collides with financial (and environmental) realities that cannot be ignored. It seems to be a lesson that needs repeating year after year: the heart of the season does not depend on the price of the gifts. It grows from the traditions we shape, the care we put into our choices, and the memories our children carry forward.
Jade’s version of Christmas magic may look different from someone else’s, but it’s guided by intention, creativity, and love. And for many families searching for balance this year, that feels like a meaningful reminder.