EarthShip Van: Dipa Vasudeva Das's Wooden Cargo-Van Camper Conversion

From the outside it is a plain white high-top cargo van. Open the doors and you step into a small wooden cabin with low seating, rugs, a tea table and a wood-burning stove. Dipa Vasudeva Das built the interior himself and calls the van his EarthShip.

A golden retriever lying beside the white cargo van later converted into the EarthShip – photo by Dipa Vasudeva Das — The EarthShip before the build, with the family dog. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

The EarthShip van and its builder

Das builds camper vans by hand and publishes his projects through DivineFactory.net. Tiny House Talk featured the EarthShip in December 2014 and described it as a "zen motorhome" in an Asian and yogic style. He went on to build more campers, which he named Pegas, Safira and Nefrite, and later the VEDUNA CamperVan, featured in 2017.

From bare cargo van to wooden cabin

The gallery follows the build from the start. The empty steel shell comes first, then the workshop where the woodwork was made, a raised floor frame with space underneath, insulation fitted between the wall ribs and, finally, timber lining that covers every surface. Curved shelf brackets and an arched window with a flower-shaped frame give the interior its handmade character.

Empty steel interior of the cargo van before the conversion — The bare cargo area before work began. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Workshop with tools where the van's woodwork was made — The workshop. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Van floor frame being built with space for storage underneath — Building the raised floor. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Insulation fitted between the van's wall ribs during the conversion — Insulating the walls. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Wood lining going up on the van's walls and ceiling around a roof window — Lining the interior with wood. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Fully wood-lined empty van interior with a skylight — The finished wooden shell. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Wood-lined van interior with drawers and an arched window — Built-in drawers and an arched window. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Kitchen, storage and carved doors

One side of the van holds a compact kitchen: wooden shelves lined with jars, a worktop with a teapot, and a small stove. Storage is built into every gap. Pull-out drawers sit under the side door and open to the outside, and the carved wooden doors have round windows that can be opened to the view. At the back, an extra panel adds room, and racks carry two folding bicycles that Das found at a bazaar.

Wood-panelled van kitchen with shelves, a small stove and a kettle

Carved wooden door with round windows on the side of the EarthShip van — The carved side door. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Wooden drawers pulled out beneath the van's side door — Drawers that open to the outside. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Dipa Vasudeva Das looking out through the van's open wooden door window — The door window open. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Rear doors of the van open onto a wooden panel and patterned textiles — The rear of the van. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Rear of the van with two bicycles stored behind the wooden panel — Bicycles stored at the back. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

A living room by day, a bedroom by night

The main room changes with the time of day. In daytime, rolled mattresses and cushions become low seating around a wooden tea table. At night, the mattresses unroll into a double bed. Das filled them with buckwheat hulls in cotton covers, with a little lavender, and when they are not in use they roll up and go into a compartment under the floor, along with other gear and musical instruments.

Wood-panelled sleeping space with patterned bedding and a skylight inside the Earthship van. Gallery attribution: Dipa Vasudeva Das.

Low seating with cushions and a laptop inside the wooden van — Daytime seating. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Low wooden tea table with cushions inside the van — The tea table. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

A group of people and a dog sitting together inside the EarthShip van — A surprising number of people, and a dog, fit inside. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Double bed made up with white bedding inside the wooden van — The space set up for sleeping. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

Storage compartment under the van floorboards holding instruments — Storage under the floorboards. Photo: Dipa Vasudeva Das / DivineFactory.net

The wood stove and life on the road

Heat comes from a small wood-burning stove with a glass door, vented through a stovepipe in the roof. The last photographs show the van parked in the countryside with smoke rising from the pipe, and set up at a camp with a fabric awning and a tented entrance.

If you are planning your own conversion, test the layout first: live with a mattress, a box of kitchen gear and a camping stove in the van for a few weekends before fixing anything in place. Have heating, gas and electrical work installed or checked by a qualified fitter, and keep the finished weight within the van's legal payload.