Honestly, we weren’t sure if inviting the whole world into our home was the right thing to do. Although we have a presence on social media for the beneficial purpose of sharing and gleaning knowledge, we both lean towards a introspective, modest lifestyle, yet we felt that we should open our home and share our story with intention that it may inspire.
Putting self doubt and fears aside, we prepared for the tiny house purist, push back and welcomed Bryce & Rasa into our home. Despite the fact that our home isn’t on wheels, it has a small footprint, not tiny, but is a home crafted & designed for a family of 5 to live comfortably, without excess and as low impact, healthy and sustainable as we were able to within the confines of the building code here in New Zealand. Permanent and round it is and we want to share how how we are still able to implement the ethos of tiny house living, affordability included, alongside living systems, to shelter and provide nourishment for generations to come, Bryce & Rasa could see our vision.
A few years ago, we found ourselves fortunate enough to consider buying land, however doing so, in a property bull market, with prices peaking at inflated highs never seen before. Realising that we wouldn’t be able to acquire land and build affordably in the community we had lived for 10 years, we adapted to the reality that we were being forced out of our community by the pugnacity of “housing commodification”.
During this time we came across a critique of Western economics written by Tom Wessels titled the “myth of progress”, it confirmed that progress is a type of deception which benefits the economic expansion of state/ global corporate partnerships. Alluring folk with the promise of convenience at the expense of their freedom. This awareness motivated us to never compromise freedom, we were not conned by progress and we set out to do our best to reverse all that was being economically engineered and find a solution to the commodification of housing.
A few years on we are living our creation and telling our story.
An unfailing example of “progress deception” is the global housing crisis, a dire consequence of housing commodification, which we touched on in our video. While it is acceptable practice to buy and sell a home or land, what isn’t acceptable is the way that a basic human right, has become controlled and manipulated to perpetuate economic expansion that gives huge advantage to global/state corporations and consequently completely out of reach for so many folk. To the point that the very entities that engineer housing commodification, who are also corporate influencer’s from the “World Economic Forum” are convincing us that we will own nothing and be happy. Perhaps a true statement from Buddha who lamented the pitfalls of materialism, but not so, from those that worship it!
For a couple of decades now, every western country has implemented almost identical urban housing development policies weaved into the adoption of the United Nations urbanisation agenda. Standardisation of houses, often via perverse acquisition to centralise and monopolise corporations that supply the industry and humdrum compliance, conformity and developer/state partnerships (as in the case of New Zealand) unlawfully, accessing land for urbanisation.
Folk giving up freedoms for “good urban design” liveable “smart cities” and convenience. For many first time home buyers the only way to get a mortgage is to give up their freedom and enter into contracts with banks/corporate building companies/developers that dictate where they can buy, who they can buy from and what the house will look like. Most first time buyers are forced into rapidly urbanised landscapes – compromising freedom to create a home of their choice, space, food gardens, and the potential to integrate living systems & self- sufficiency.
Historically, 30 years past- once bustling rural villages are empty, in New Zealand the realistic size home on a quarter acre where by people were encouraged to grow food has been forsaken. Everyone lives in a city or they are living in an area that is developing into one, small sections, bigger houses or tiny apartment complexes. No wonder it seems like the world is overpopulated with the perpetuation of convenience, dependency and high density living.
The solutions to “progress deception” will never be found by those that benefit from it, particularly in the form of centralised global economic influencers. The solutions are found when the status quo is challenged and we hope that in some small way we have helped you to realise that the power is in YOUR choice and creative capacity. No matter how small, perhaps it starts with supporting local farmers and producers rather than purchasing from supermarkets/building suppliers that on sell global corporate goods, choosing organic food, or better yet growing your own!
