A young couple builds a small house in rural Thailand for $22,500; no debts, but life remains difficult.

Ryan and his wife Demo moved from Bali to a village in Thailand during the pandemic. They built a small house and an outdoor kitchen for $22,500. For Ryan and his wife Demo, the pandemic was a catalyst for changing their lifestyle.

Ryan had been working in the hotel industry in Bali, Indonesia for two years when COVID-19 began. As tourism on the island came to a halt, the couple decided to return to Thailand to be closer to relatives. They traveled to Damo village in Buri Ram in eastern Thailand, where the Damo family gave them a plot of land.

"We already had this land and had plans to develop it in the future for our retirement," Ryan, 35, told Insider. "But since we had a lot of free time, we decided to start work on it during COVID-19."

As the pandemic continued, the couple fell in love with the rural lifestyle and even started a YouTube channel documenting their life on the farm. Since they weren't willing to spend a lot of money to develop the land, they decided to live in bamboo huts. Local artisans built two bamboo huts for them.

"We did it for about a year and a half, and we grew vegetables here," Ryan said. It was supposed to be a long-term plan, but then the constraints of the pandemic eased - and the couple had a change of heart.

The fruits of their labor is a two-story home with an orange roof, a sheltered porch and a small balcony on the top floor. Inside, the home has an attic style with a neutral color scheme and lots of wood accents. Ryan said he realized that in rural areas, some people turn their homes into small businesses to supplement their income. By adding a few tables and a cash register, they could easily turn it into a small cafe.

"It's just a fallback," Ryan added. "If you live in rural Thailand, you need to think about how to make money, even if it's a small amount."

Ryan says, "You're still going to need money, even if you're getting away from civilization and building your own home in the heart of nowhere."

For more photos of the family's home in Thailand, check out Insider's website.