Being without a home was the worst time in Dunedin woman Cyndee Elder’s life. Her desire to provide affordable housing for others was borne out of her own experiences, she tells business editor Sally Rae.
Cyndee Elder isn’t big on labels.
In fact, she reckoned the world would be a better place without them. She preferred people’s differences were accepted.
Referring to her own circumstances, the 41-year-old Dunedin woman and mother-of-two was in some ways thankful for the hardships she had endured.
As much as she would have preferred not to have gone through them, they did give her a different perspective but that also came with stigma attached, she said.
On paper, Ms Elder is a beneficiary. She does not have a clean credit record, nor does she have a steady income, and she lives in a state house. She admits she has made some “silly decisions” in the past.
She is also managing director of Able Abodes Ltd, a business recently launched in the city to provide architecturally designed, affordable housing solutions.
“My biggest holdback has been being inside a system that doesn’t recognise someone’s lived potential. We’re so focused on degrees, which are important for some people, but other people have just as much talent.
“Just because it’s not written on a certificate, or [they have] been born on the other side of the tracks and haven’t had same opportunities given to them or presented or missed”, she said.
The genesis for Ms Elder’s idea to provide affordable housing came in 2016 when she candidly acknowledges she was “in a crap place”.
Various factors were at play, including leaving an abusive relationship. She had no job and no home and spent eight weeks in emergency accommodation. At that time, there was an 18-month waiting list for social housing
Being without a home was the worst time of her life.
“You can go without other things but not having somewhere to be able to work through all of that bad crap, not having that sanctuary to disappear and be able to rebuild yourself. That, for me, was horrendous. And being a mum without a home.”
It started with her trying to find an option for herself . That morphed into a mission to provide affordable housing for others which has led to the launch of Able Abodes.
“As far as the system is concerned, what I’m doing is not classed as work. For me, [I’m] doing this amazing thing but it being overshadowed by my income source is a little bit annoying.
“It’s like you’re living two lives. I go downstairs for a food grant, I put pantyhose and a skirt on and go upstairs and I’m listened to [but] I’m that same person.”
Initially, she found some accommodation “pods” in China but rocketing shipping costs after Covid-19 hit meant importing them was not feasible.
By then, she had the blueprint for her idea so she decided to see if the materials were available in New Zealand to build small homes.
After making a few calls, she discovered everything she needed was in Dunedin.
Able Abodes provided the design, construction and sales of architecturally designed housing solutions — described as “a modern take on the humble cottage” — using locally sourced materials.
Space in the 54sqm tiny home had been optimised for sustainable everyday living and the buildings were fully consented.
The foundation has been laid for the first home which will be auctioned through Ray White real estate.
The plan is to get investors to purchase the homes and become part of the company and for tenants to do rent-to-buy at a weekly rate.
Ms Elder said she had been overwhelmed by the support from Dunedin businesses, saying they had all “pulled together like a family”.
“It hasn’t been like a business transaction, there’s actual want in it. I ask, why would a qualified joiner that’s successful as, an architect, a builder … there must be some merit in it if they are willing to put their name on the line.”
Prior to founding the business, the only formal qualification Ms Elder had was a level three business management certificate from Otago Polytechnic.
She knew nothing about housing or pricing or taxes — “I was a barmaid, I poured pints and fixed cars” — so it had been a learning curve.
She was grateful for the support she received, including from Business South and described the process as “very surreal”.
“It just happened, it wasn’t actually planned. I had a vision of what I wanted to do and I just gunned it”, she said.
The dream was to eventually have pockets of leased land throughout New Zealand which were home to tiny homes, not just Able Abodes, but also other small home builders.
Asking for money was “quite a thing” for Ms Elder, who acknowledged she had never had money and she knew how to live without it.
She spoke at a Dunedin City Council meeting but accidentally brought the wrong papers with her, so was without her prepared speech. But she managed to “sail through”.
Fine with one-on-one conversations, she started to get a bit more nervous when talking to larger groups but — “at the end of the day, we are all the same”.
“We do different stuff, we might have different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs … we all need a home, we all need food and regular social connection is extremely important.”
Asked her thoughts on Dunedin’s well-publicised homelessness crisis, Ms Elder said she had been one of those in the past that had complained about it, saying the council needed to sort it.
But now, she believed the hundreds of people complaining about it could help to make a difference.
“We can’t all afford houses or build houses but collectively … if 500 people making a complaint, why can’t we start contributing what we can?
“Five hundred times $10 is rent for a building for the winter.
“I think we do need to look at ourselves, I just think we’ve lost our human touch. It’s all about money. What good is money if we have no businesses, if we’re camping under trees? Money has no value if it’s not being being used for purpose.”
