A company with a novel approach to combating the housing crisis has set up in Wairarapa.
Hauora Kainga Limited, trading as Globe Domes, is a Māori social enterprise that aims to provide accessible and affordable housing in the form of its Globe Dome tent homes.
With rising rents and mortgage rates across New Zealand, Globe Domes offers a cheaper, faster-to-build alternative to conventional housing.
The company opened in Hamilton in January 2022 but relocated to Masterton in April this year.
Globe Domes sales representative Sharee Wilkinson said it’s bad for people’s mental health to feel as though home ownership is impossible.
“We aim to combat this by offering more affordable solutions” – specifically, cotton-insulated PVC tents with galvanised steel internal frames.
The domes range from four metres in diameter [touted as ideal for an extra bedroom or office] to 10 metres in diameter [mostly for commercial use].
Wilkinson said the most popular-sized dome, with a six-metre diameter, can comfortably house three people.
The domes are modular by design, with a range of optional extras that include the number of windows, extractor fans, fireplaces, and showers, and can incorporate solar panels for an off-grid set-up.
Māori landowners with a license to occupy their land can buy one using KiwiSaver funds.
Wilkinson said the company has received a lot of interest from people needing offices or extra bedrooms, people developing papakainga [housing on traditional Māori Land], and people wanting to set up “glamping” holiday accommodation on their land for extra income.
Ultimately, though, Wilkinson said, “Our mission is to combat the mental health and housing crisis, which we do by offering these options.”
