Resident’s Story Inspires Tiny Homes Working Circle

Resident’s Story Inspires Tiny Homes Working Circle

Sharing meals, the prospect of building a community garden in the near future and looking after one another — all the while living affordably and sustainably — were cited as being the best aspects of life in a tiny home during last week’s Tiny Homes Working Circle.

This insight from Hope, a participant whose family bought a tiny home in Norfolk County in August, gave the group a boost of enthusiasm as everyone considered the future of creating a tiny-home community in Brantford where these same concepts can thrive.

Our gratitude goes out to Janine for inviting her friend Hope to share her story of tiny-home living. Hope’s story made the possibility of tiny homes come to life in real terms.

What’s especially apparent moving forward is that this project is a grassroots movement bringing together a myriad of people with different strengths and ideas who can make tiny homes in Brantford a reality — and everyone is excited about that.

“(W)e might be stepping into the unknown, but that’s OK because we’re together.”

There are 83 spots that have been identified in Brantford as possible tiny-home properties. If land can be secured for tiny-home projects, the next step is building the tiny homes to put on these properties. This spawned ideas surrounding financing.

One suggestion was to give people living in tiny homes the option to finance their dwelling, rather than rent, so they can eventually have ownership.

Such a model, it was suggested, could open possibilities for partnerships with public housing corporations and charities.

Obtaining funding is going to be a crucial next step to moving the Brantford tiny-home project forward.

The good news is that Working Circle participants have offered to look at options, including social finance, assistance from the private sector and government grants, to make this a reality. Another participant is offering to look into regulations surrounding building codes that would be needed to build a tiny-home community in the city.

The sense of connectedness through a shared goal is clearly the greatest strength emanating from this Working Circle, even if we’re moving into uncharted waters.

Or, as one participant stated, “we might be stepping into the unknown, but that’s OK because we’re together.”

Lead image: Graphic reflections from the Nov. 30 Tiny Homes Working Circle sketched live during the gathering by Yvonne Hollandy. Click on the image to view the full graphic.

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