Tiny Home Expo Brisbane

Why I went

My senior project is all about tiny homes, so the Tiny Home Expo in Brisbane was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. It was an incredible experience. I got to walk through heaps and heaps of tiny homes, see what’s out there, and talk to the people who build them and live in them.

So many shapes and sizes

There were tiny homes of all shapes and sizes from companies all over Australia. Walking through so many of them gave me a real feel for how big or small different designs can feel. Two homes with a similar floor size can feel completely different depending on how they’re laid out. I also got to learn about the different renewable options out there for tiny homes.

Listening to the speakers

One of my favourite parts of the expo was listening to the speakers. One of them was the founder of Park My Tiny Home, and it was really interesting to hear how the business got started. Another speaker talked about renewable and sustainable building materials that could be the future of tiny home building, and of the whole construction industry. Since I’m heading into construction myself, it was exciting to hear where the industry could be going.

Who tiny homes really help

The thing that stood out to me most came from listening to the speakers and hearing their stories. I realised that tiny homes help people who really need them, like women and children experiencing domestic violence and people experiencing poverty. A large number of the speakers and people sharing their stories had been through domestic violence or poverty themselves. It showed me that tiny homes aren’t just a design trend. For a lot of people, they’re a safe place to start again.

Tiny homes and financial independence

The other thing I noticed is a bit of a passion of mine. People use tiny homes as a way to become financially independent. I spoke to so many people who had lived in tiny homes for over five years, and they said they paid a maximum of $150 a week in rent. That’s way cheaper than renting a house or an apartment, and it frees up so much money to save and invest. It made me see how tiny homes and FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) can go hand in hand.

Finding Dandelion Safe Homes

One of the places I visited at the expo was Dandelion Safe Homes, and their work really resonated with my values. They’re a charity that helps women get out of domestic violence, as well as young people and teenagers in challenging situations. They train women to build tiny homes, and the finished homes go to people who need a safe place to call home.

After the expo, I reached out to them. I told them I was really interested in what they were doing and that I wanted to be a part of it, volunteer and learn new skills. They said yes, and in October I got to volunteer with them. You can read about it on my [Outlearning page].

What I took away

The expo gave me much more than ideas for my project. I came home understanding how much good tiny homes can do, both as safe housing for people who need it and as a path to financial freedom. It also led me to an organisation I’m now volunteering with.