Home is where the yurt is

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Publication title: Mountain Scene

Treespace Queenstown Ltd’s looking to pop five yurts — portable, round, insulated tents — on the hillside for worker digs

Subject to Queenstown council’s approval, staff living in them will manage and maintain the native plantings and land till Treespace is ready to build its 55-lot subdivision, to include cabins, chalets and a lodge.

Treespace director Adam Smith tells Mountain Scene they need comprehensive management on site for the native tree they’re planting over almost 400 hectares — to date, they’ve planted out 150ha — which have to mature for several years, as well as weed eradication and exotic management.

The plan’s to house up to two people per yurt — each one’s 7m in diameter and 4m high, will be covered in a recessive black canvas material, and will include a domestic low-emission woodburner, gas cooker, composting toilet and potable water supply.

The residents will in turn look after a share of the land around their yurt, ‘‘as if it’s their backyard’’.

Noting it’s a ‘‘fantastic location to live in’’, he says it seems like a synergistic way to use the larger mountain and manage the land with a high amenity value for those tending it.

‘‘It is [unusual worker accommodation], but the sort of person it appeals to is the sort of person who would enjoy the work that they would be doing.

‘‘It’s not for everyone, but for the people it does appeal to, it...