Homefullness

Zola Rose interviews Magda Garbarczyk from Fine Line Architecture about the 'Straw Lines' project, a modular housing system using low carbon materials like straw and timber to address New Zealand's housing crisis, climate change, unhealthy and expensive building materials, and waste from the agricultural sector.

The project aims to reconnect traditional building methods with modern practices, promote community involvement, and reduce environmental impact.

Magda, alongside collaborator Min Hall, discusses their design competition entry focused on carbon-negative construction that uses locally sourced materials and prefabricated straw panels, making housing construction faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

Furthermore, they explore the potential for community-led and neighbourhood-scale building initiatives to enhance affordability and sustainability.

Links: 

https://www.finelinearchitecture.co.nz/projects/strawlines

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://thehousinginnovationsociety.com/

00:49 The Relevance of Sustainable Building Materials

02:10 Magda Gik's Architectural Journey

03:09 Project Collaboration and Research

06:26 Historical Context of Building Traditions in Aotearoa

07:44 Straw Lines: Design and Implementation

10:24 Research and Development of Prefabricated Panels

17:57 Community Involvement and Future Vision

21:52 Q&A Session: Addressing Audience Queries

Host Zola Rose interviews Trystan and Stephanie from the Peterborough Housing Cooperative to discuss this housing model that is a rarity in Aotearoa NZ (a more common model in Europe).

They explore how the cooperative structure, owned by a Trust, keeps rents affordable and fosters a close-knit community of families, young professionals, and the elderly.

They talk about the cooperative's guiding principles and their commitment to maintaining affordability for future generations by capping rents and resale prices.

The episode also details the process of joining the cooperative, the benefits of living in such a community, and the challenges that other groups will face if trying to start their own cooperative housing--challenges due to the dominant systems that make land expensive and finance hard to obtain.

They speak about their conflict resolution process that is built into the guiding document but that people who are accepted to be members already have a willingness to be cooperative.

Because of the complexity, they do offer mentorship and guidance for groups wishing to create their own cohousing or cooperative housing.

Zola shares updates on the Women Revolutionising Housing hui and network, how listeners can support the podcast through the Homefullness Patreon community, and her Earth Fellows fellowship for regenerative housing.

Zola thanks the show sponsor, Home Foundation.  https://homefoundation.org.nz/

To learn about the legal routes to unlock cooperative housing in Aotearoa NZ, check out the Homefullness episode of 28 March 2025 and the Common Ground YouTube channel.

Links mentioned in the show: 

https://peterborough.nz/

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://thehousinginnovationsociety.com/

https://www.earthsong.org.nz/

https://www.cohousingco.com/charles-durrett

09:39 Living in Peterborough Housing Cooperative

16:55 Challenges and Benefits of Cooperative Living

34:31 Future Projects and Community Expansion

48:53 Final Thoughts and Invitation to Visit

Show host Zola shares her personal experience with housing instability through a creative reading of her unpublished article titled 'Homefullness: Recipes for Baking, Belonging, Connection, and Resilience into Housing Futures.'

Zola details her struggles with feelings of homelessness due to the challenge of finding available, affordable accommodation and precarious short-term house and room rentals, despite her professional background and stable income. 

She highlights the systemic issues in housing policies and market forces that creates housing insecurity for many working people in our society as well as for single mothers and older women.

She explores how collective housing can offer homefullness but that these models are in short supply due to many factors such as inhospitable legislation, lack of developer interest, and unavailable bank lending or funding. 

Zola offers practical 'recipes' for creating more connected and resilient communities for people "in situ" or creating from scratch.

The episode serves as both a personal testimony and a call to action for systemic change in housing development, funding, and legislation.

Timestamps:

00:43 Zola’s Personal Story: A Recipe for Homelessness

03:45 Her Struggles with Housing Instability

17:38 The Broken Housing System

25:10 Collective Housing Solutions

30:22 Homefullness Recipes for Transformation: In Situ and Collective Housing

38:19 Call to Action: Creating Homefullness—what you can do no matter where or who you are.

Show Links:

Common Ground website &  newsletter sign up:https://www.commonground.net.nz/

Become part of the Homefullness Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/commonground_zola

The article and companion document of resources is not yet ready for release.  Sign up to the Common Ground newsletter to get alerted when I’ve made this available.

In this episode Zola interviews Steven Liaros to discuss the importance and the roadmap to create a network of Circular Economy Villages (CEV).

These villages aim to integrate private housing development with public infrastructure to alleviate stress on local governments and create sustainable, regenerative rural and peri-urban communities.

Steven delves into the critical barriers that traditional eco-village projects face, such as local area planning policies, financing, and necessary infrastructure.

The CEV model addresses these issues by incorporating principles of the circular economy, emphasizing reduced waste and enhanced efficiency in energy and water usage, and fostering climate resilience.

The episode highlights the benefits of this model for rural areas and its role in enabling local governments to collaborate efficiently.

The discussion also covers the strategic planning and financial strategies that are key to making these villages a reality.

And, Steven envisions it being a really great place to live where people know their neighbours and share resources and activities and where folks who are a bit nomadic yet with a desire for belonging can find a community within a CEV.

05:36 Vision of Circular Economy Villages

06:32 Daily Life in a Circular Economy Village

10:20 Community Governance and Infrastructure

14:15 Planning and Financing Challenges

17:22 Engaging Local Governments and Investors

25:31 Personal Journey and Motivation

51:24 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Find two explanatory videos on the CEV on Steven's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@steven_liaros?si=_Av-PyiCkOSA2NbJ

Circular Economy Village website: https://www.cevco.life/

Common Ground: https://www.commonground.net.nz/

Women Revolutionising Housing: https://www.commonground.net.nz/women-revolutionising-housing-hui-2025

Join the Homefullness Community: https://www.patreon.com/commonground_zola

In this episode, host Zola interviews Zahra Lightway about her tour of eco villages across Australia, India, and Europe.

The conversation explore what made the ecovillages she visited successful, mainly a robust governance system, income-earning programmes and opportunities, a shared worldview (values and beliefs), and mission-driven activities.

They cover sociocracy as a governance model, the difference between eco estates and eco villages, and innovative financial models like Les Pas Sages for start-up ecovillages, and the significance of a well-structured internal economic system.

The episode concludes with a conversation about the future of ecovillages.

Related links:

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahralightway/

Global EcoVillage Network (GEN)

Main Website: https://ecovillage.org/ Global Ecovillage Network

Additional regional sites:

GEN Europe: https://gen-europe.org/

GEN United States: https://www.gen-us.net/

GEN Oceania & Asia: https://genoaecovillage.org/

Gaia Education

Main Website: https://www.gaiaeducation.org/ Sustainable Education Courses | Gaia Education - Transforming Communities

Foundation for Intentional Community

Main Website: https://www.ic.org/ Foundation for Intentional Community

EcoVillage Tours

Main Website: https://www.ecovillagetours.com/ Ecovillage Tours | Visit Intentional Communities around the world — Ecovillage Tours

Time stamps:

04:18 Zahra's Eco Village Exploration Tour

06:12 Insights and Best Practices from Eco Villages

19:33 Economic Models and Sustainability in Eco Villages

25:29 Challenges and Solutions in Eco Villages

43:52 Learning Opportunities and Resources

47:35 Conclusion and Contact Information

In this episode of the Homefulness Show, host Zola Rose engages  with Jo, the chair of the Hemp Builders Association in New Zealand, and Barbara, a resident of a hempcrete home, to explore the benefits and potential of hempcrete as a sustainable building material.

Jo discusses hempcrete's ability to sequester carbon, its role in mitigating the housing crisis, and its use in community-driven, regenerative housing models. Barbara shares her personal experience of building and living in a hempcrete home, highlighting its thermal and acoustic properties.

The episode also covers exciting updates, including the support from the Home Foundation, the introduction of an assistant producer, and the launch of a Patreon page for community support. Additionally, Zola Rose provides information about upcoming events organized by the Women Revolutionizing Housing Network and the Common Ground consultancy.

Related links:

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://hba.nz/

Time stamps:

00:00 Introduction to Hempcrete and Its Benefits

01:47 Welcome to the Homefullness Show

02:35 Exciting Announcements and Sponsorships

04:54 The Impact of Recent Weather Events

06:03 Introduction to Hemp Homes with Joe and Barbara

07:16 The Climate Crisis and Construction Industry

10:50 Hempcrete: A Sustainable Building Solution

16:10 The Process of Building with Hempcrete

22:01 Innovative Uses and Future of Hempcrete

23:58 Introduction to Hempcrete Blocks

24:21 Carbon Sequestration Benefits of Hempcrete

25:58 Thermal and Environmental Advantages

27:45 Fire Resistance and Building Code Compliance

28:30 Personal Experience with Hempcrete Homes

32:41 Challenges and Solutions in Hempcrete Construction

38:07 Community and Environmental Impact

44:44 Future of Hempcrete and Final Thoughts

Zola explores the concept of regenerative real estate with Neal Collins, founder of the Regenerative Real Estate Podcast and Choose Latitude. The discussion delves into transformative housing models that prioritize sustainability, community engagement, and affordability.

Zola shares her personal journey of finding a suitable site for her tiny home, emphasizing the importance of shifting from an ownership mindset to a stewardship approach and creating a regenerative checklist for assessing potential land for creating a homestead.

Neal discusses the need to reimagine real estate practices, focusing on community-based decision making and ecological design.  He describes how the process would look differently if one were doing a regenerative real estate buying or selling versus the conventional approach.

The episode also highlights practical strategies for creating high-performance, cooperative housing that aligns with the principles of regeneration.

02:38 Exploring Regenerative Real Estate

06:04 Personal Journey and Challenges

07:40 Criteria for a Regenerative Home

11:41 Community and Collaboration

13:50 Regenerative Real Estate Concept and Insights

18:45 Challenges and Opportunities in Regenerative Real Estate

27:35 Collaboration potential for professionals working in the regenerative housing sector

39:26 Q&A Session: Steps of buying and selling using a regenerative approach

In this episode, host Zola Rose discusses what creates successful community-led housing (CLH) with guest Thomas Moore, a senior lecturer in Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool.

They explore the concept of Enabling Hubs, a practical form of advocacy infrastructure, and why these Hubs are so important for overcoming the challenges communities face in achieving affordable and sustainable housing for themselves.  Tom explains how these hubs are funded and function and about the training programmes to build capability for community-led housing advocates.

Tom shares his excitement at discovering collective housing models, his insights from his research on Community Land Trusts, the importance of genuine community engagement (not just consultation) and how his planning students are learning from their communities what makes for great homes.  

Both highlight the need for robust government support and community participation approaches to planning and development.

Zola makes a case for integrating environmental sustainability into affordable housing projects through frameworks like Permaculture Design.

01:15 Meet Our Guest: Thomas Moore

03:17 Understanding Community-Led Housing

07:26 Thomas Moore's Journey into Housing

14:27 Exploring Housing Models and Innovations

24:49 The Role of Enabling Hubs

35:50 Educational Initiatives and Student Engagement

42:51 Final Thoughts and Recommendations for Further Learning

Books

https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/creating-community-led-and-self-build-homes

https://uclpress.co.uk/book/postcapitalist-countrysides/

https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781789621082

Podcast

https://middlemarchclh.co.uk/podcasts/

Springhill co housing - https://www.springhillcohousing.com

Enabling hubs report - https://www.shu.ac.uk/centre-regional-economic-social-research/publications/homes-in-community-hands-year-three-evaluation-report

Accreditation training - https://www.cch.coop/clh-training-programme/

In this special episode of the Homefullness Show, host Zola Rose sits down for an engaging interview with her daughter Oriah, a law student at Otago University in New Zealand.

They explore Oriah's unique upbringing in an off-grid homestead in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Topics include their unconventional home setup with indoor and outdoor 'loos,' the transition from a suburban lifestyle to a self-sufficient homestead, their meaningful rituals and traditions, the "free learning" style of education, and living surrounded by wild animals.

The discussion also touches on the broader community involvement through the Woofing program, their intercultural interactions with the local Zulu community, and the various sustainable practices they adopted and shared with schools and visitors.

The episode offers rich insights into intentional off-grid living, the importance of community, and holistic education.

To see a video we made about our homestead where Oriah is narrating, go here:

Link to YouTube video of our homestead: https://youtu.be/dNzA3HPxAB0

00:26 Visiting My Daughter in Dunedin

01:22 Introduction to the Homefullness Show

02:13 Special Guest: My Daughter Oriah

02:24 Our Unique Upbringing in KwaZulu Natal

04:54 Holistic Home Environment

06:41 Family Traditions and Rituals

10:13 Learning and Growing on the Farm

13:25 Eco-Friendly Practices and Innovations

25:35 Coexisting with Snakes

26:26 Wildlife Visitors at the Homestead

29:13 Common Ground Consulting Agency--our services

30:11 Sustainable Living Systems

32:13 Fire Management on the Homestead

36:28 The Woofing Program Experience

40:25 Building and Living in Yurts

42:54 Interacting with the Zulu Community

45:22 Reflections on a Unique Upbringing

48:33 Upcoming Events and Announcements (for those living in Aotearoa NZ)