Katy's Story 

"   I’m Katy, I’m 42 and solo Mum to River, who is 9. We’re from the Manawatu originally.

We’ve been living in our little van for two years. It’s been ‘pretty cosy’ in the van, you could say. We’ve been travelling around looking for a place to live. We packed up our stuff two years ago and were searching for the place that felt like home.

For two years, I walked the length of New Zealand in that time, whilst River had some time with her Dad. Once I got back from walking, River was like “I cannot live in that van anymore Mum”. It was not a good situation for her.

The van was tiny and freezing, there was a lot of condensation, a lot of mould, and we drove each other crazy living in a small space. We felt like we were always moving but it never really felt like home. We didn’t have connections. We were isolated and I had no support - unless I parked up next to family, which we did often. But it was really hard as a solo Mum - in a mouldy van.

I always had a dream of living in a tiny home. I think renting a place is throwing your money away, basically. So, I never wanted to rent, I just wanted to own my own home. But didn’t have enough finances for an actual house AND land but I could afford a tiny home So, we didn’t know what to do.

It felt overwhelming to look for lease on my own. I was just stuck. But that was what drew me here.

When we walked into the Redwood, it just felt like home. We liked the spaciousness, after being in such a tiny space - it felt like a mansion, and it still feels like a mansion.

We how have a land lease in Lower Moutere. We just love it. It’s an idyllic spot for the tiny house. We have the community there, that my daughter feels a part of. And we just have everything we need in the tiny house. After having to go to the dump-station every 3 days, and we couldn’t even cook in our van. So, we barely leave our tiny house at the moment.

I got so much help - getting the transportation arranged and help with moving it, getting the plumber - someone was there doing everything and I didn’t have to worry. I actually felt you lived up to your name - Arohanui. "