Simplistic & primitive: Denise chooses to live in a Tiny House village

As long as you stick to yourself and do what you like, you will meet the people who appreciate it and with whom you can share it.

From a year in a simple caravan in an eco-village to months in a hut in Senegal without water and electricity. Going back to basic needs. This way, you create space for the things that really matter. Meet Denise, a real doer full of energy who lives from curiosity. She and her boyfriend have been living in their self-built tiny house for two years. She is a biologist as well as an entrepreneur, enjoys surfing and follows courses: from maintaining a vegetable garden to learning to hunt for a living. I meet Denise in the Pionierskwartier in Delft. A Tiny House village of self-builders, who together are building a green and social place on the edge of the city. A place where connection, innovation, inspiration, circularity, sustainability and responsibility are central.

 

What inspired you to live and work this way?

Going back to basics inspires me; it makes you less likely to worry about things that aren't really important at all. I spent some time in Senegal, where I studied chimpanzees for four months. I lived in a small hut made of clay with only a bed. That time certainly contributed to that. It also emphasised once again the importance of taking care of each other. When I came back, I went to live in a caravan in the Ecodorp Ppauw in Wageningen, where I also met my boyfriend. Especially in the winter when it was minus ten, it taught me to spend time on more essential things like creating warmth. Thermo underwear and a soapstone go a long way. But I also love a warm house, where I have space to share with others. So after a while, my boyfriend and I decided to build a tiny house together, based on the idea that simplistic and comfortable can go hand in hand. Because we have little space, we also have less stuff, we collect rainwater that we reuse and we pump out our own waste water. We grow our own food to a large extent and repair everything in the house ourselves. That independence is important to me.

What does your life look like today?

For me, there is not really a big separation between what I do for work and what I do for private life. I work at Natuurstad Rotterdam, where I give nature lessons to primary school children at petting zoos. As a freelancer, I occasionally give workshops at primary schools about tiny houses, off-grid living, sustainable living and basic needs. I let children draw their dream house and adjust it again afterwards by discussing the basic needs from Maslow's pyramid. In addition, I occasionally give guided tours and make educational boards about these themes. I am always busy learning new things. I have just finished a course on vegetable gardening and am now doing a course on hunting and fauna management, because I want to learn more about nature management in the Netherlands.

What are you dreaming of?

The wildest plan is to sail around the world, but the life I have here now is also very nice. It feels good now to keep this base and in the future to go on a few months of adventure with a sailing boat and our child. For now, I live with the day and I live my dream. If I want to do something different tomorrow, then I will do that, and that's how it was with the tiny house. We spent a week thinking about the tiny house. Then we started drawing and just started building the tiny house in eight months. My dream life is more of a whole; the way I live my life, the options I have and my friends are all part of it. My real friends appreciate me for who I am. So having a tiny house doesn't feel like my identity, although beautiful things do come my way, precisely because I live like this now.

How do you deal with challenges?

I think this is a piece of character. I like to just do things! I'm not really afraid to fail and I feel confident enough. It will all work out. Of course, I sometimes make mistakes, I'm aware of that too. I am realistic, even with a challenge like building a tiny house. You'll bump into things together and you know that there will come a time when you'll be mad at each other and at the project. If you know this in advance, you can deal with it better. Communication is of course important here, and that's how I started working a few days in addition to my job. How I deal with things is also largely due to my parents' upbringing. They never made many demands and I was mainly taught to do what you feel like doing. If it really doesn't work out, you can always do something else.

Does spirituality play a role in your life?

It is important to stay healthy both mentally and physically and there is a bit of spirituality attached to that. I'm not really into floating, but I am curious about things. So I don't necessarily have to sit in a sweat lodge, but I did take a Hypnobirthing course now that the first child is on the way. Spirituality has many forms and some elements are an extension of biology. Like using the breath and relaxation. I have to admit that for a long time I ignored that part of the mind, which caused me physical complaints and even developed RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). Definitely a big lesson from my student days: listen to your body better and indicate your limits.

What tips would you like to give others from your own experience?

Do what you feel like doing. If you make choices that are different from the rest of society, you are bound to get remarks. Both positive and negative. As long as you stay true to yourself and do what you like, you will meet people who appreciate it and with whom you can share it. What others expect of you is sometimes easy to live up to, because it seems like a logical path to take. If you make choices based on what others expect of you, it becomes difficult to be happy with them. If you really want something, there is a possibility to start it anyway, even if you start small. It is important to keep doing things for others, but not to let it influence your career or choice of study. This can also be done with small things like sharing a nice meal together.

What or who is your greatest inspiration?

My mother. She has a very positive attitude to life and she really does what she wants, she is caring and kind. She really is my biggest inspiration!

Any tips for people who are also thinking about a tiny house?

An important question is: do you really want it or do you think you want it? Get in touch with others who live in a tiny house, rent one for a few days and experience it yourself! What is your financial situation? How handy are you? Take a course in building a tiny house if you want to learn more and take your time. It can also be a hobby that you do alongside other things. Step by step!

More information about the Pioneer Quarter? https://www.pionierskwartierdelft.nl/

 

Written by Marous - January 2022

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