March 27, 2026 • 7 mins
Kate Hall has embarked on a new project.
She and her family have just begun transforming their 1960s home in Red Beach into what they’re calling a ‘Suburban Homestead’ – a home that produces more, wastes less, and works with nature rather than against it.
Kate joined Jack Tame for a chat about the project – their goals, current plans, and the reason they’ve made this decision.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks That Be Now.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Sustainability expert Kate Hall is here with details of her
very interesting new project this morning. Good morning, Kate, you
have an incredible new project on the go, truth be told.
I actually feel like it's a bit of a shame
that they haven't set up one of those reality TV
shows you know, ye, yeah, not yeah, you know, like
a couple moves to the south of France and ties
(00:34):
to restore an old barn, or you know, it's almost
like a Grand Designs project in a sense. Tell us
about your suburban homestead.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Yes, so, I mean, anyone's welcome to make a TV
show about it, always open to the idea. But basically
what we figured is so many people have the dream
of buying a little slice of land, having like you know,
a milking cow and chickens and growing your own food.
And I think people, especially at the moment, are dreaming
of that with the price of everything, a little bit
(01:05):
of it more self sufficient. But the reality is most
of us can't do that. It's you know, out of
our cost range because the prices land and homes and
it's just it feels impossible to most people. So what
we're doing because we have a very tiny slither of land,
like very tiny, We've got eight neighbors, so it's in
dense you know, high density Subbia. We are trying to
(01:28):
show people what you can do with that situation, which
is quite a common situation for a lot of people.
So we're calling it the suburban homestead Projects and were, yeah,
we've kicked it off. We've got you know, plans, new
plans for that for the outside, and we're just basically
creating a home that produces more wasteless and works with
(01:51):
nature and takes those principles. But on a little tiny slither.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
What a great idea. So what are you gonna do?
What are the big changes?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So we're thinking of things like chickens, or specifically smaller chickens.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Maybe quail have rules about chickens.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Are you allowed?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
There must be rules about where you're allowed chickens.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We can't have roasters and stuff like that. Reasonable, Yeah, yeah,
but I'm thinking about because chickens actually create that they
can be quite destructive, and so thinking about it's like quails,
you know, there's smaller Yeah, things like that. We're installing
solar panels, so thinking about how we can make yeah,
(02:31):
use of bitter energy. So we're working with a company
called Cogo have actually built a tool that you can
see what cost and energy savings you can make in
your own home. So yeah, think about how we can
then use that that solar energy and what kind of
bitter systems we can have. And speaking of on the roof,
we're thinking of bee hives on the roof.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
On the roof Yeah, wow cool.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Our roof is pretty great and set up for it.
It's like pretty flat and right, Yeah, you can have
I think that could be a bitter use of space
because we're thinking vertical, you know, with even with our guard. Yeah,
we're thinking like vertical gardening and doing things a bit differently.
We're also like our house is in nineteen sixties bungalow
(03:15):
that really needs a bit of TLC. So we're you know,
getting a new roof and thinking of like double glazing
and all that sort of stuff. We're finding New Zealand's
businesses that actually like do things more sustainably because the
construction and demolition waste accounts for forty to fifty percent
(03:39):
of total waste since landfill each year.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
So that's a crazy as just huge.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Huge, and so yeah, we kind of want to show
people what you can do. We want to like, you know,
work with these companies and see you know, compare prices
and all that type of stuff. Yeah, other people can
actually do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
So you kind of document the journey basically, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah, yeah, exactly because imagine if you know, even if
we all just made small decisions, but around our home,
around big things like you know, your new roof, things
like that, that can actually really yeah, make a huge impact.
So we're working with Eco Choice Al. I don't know
if you've seen their little kind of eco certification tick
and a lot of construction things or your paint buckets
(04:26):
and stuff like that, but they have been around for
ages and certify construction based companies. So that's been really.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Helpful to fantastic. So they can help you work out
which companies to work with.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yes, then you.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Can work out what might be the most sustainable way.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Sure, right, So it's not just a case of being
like we're going to do that. We're gonna have solar panels,
we're gonna have a garden, and we're going to have beehives,
et cetera. It's like we've actually any construction stuff that
we're going to do, we're going to try and build
in the most sustainable way rather than what's necessarily the quickest,
all the cheapest.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
One hundred percent. Yeah. Absolutely, So it's a mixture of
we'll be trying to like reuse things and you know,
like we're going to try to rain water harvesting, you know,
so we can water the garden more efficiently, especially in summer.
And so currently we have got like some old up
cycled big barrel things, so yeah, you can we actually
(05:17):
use these productively or do we need to, yeah, get
another solution. So it's a mixture of like gooi, but
also working on sustainable businesses and.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Dear, I suggest that none of these, none of these
big ticket things are super woo woo. You know, like
my you know, my my parents collect rain water, and
you know, I know people with solar panels and you know,
and and beehives and all of that stuff, and and
and I don't know anyone with quails, but chickens have
certainly got a big text. I mean, these are all
perfectly sustainable, you know, they're not They're not super out
(05:48):
there changes but as you say, if more of us
just did a little bit, it would collectively equate to
a significant.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Change, exactly. And then it's also much more durable on
a daily basis because you know, having people call it
a life sentence block, don't the kind of a lifestyle block,
because that actually involves a lot of labor, a lot
of time where you know, there's still we're still working,
like there's still Yeah, So I think doing it on
(06:19):
a small scale is also quite efficient in that sense
that you get all the joys of growing your own
food and you know, going to I can't wait to
go get the eggs in the morning with my daughter. Yeah,
things like that. That really that's all the good parts
of what we want from a lifestyle block. Rights, so good,
all the lovely fields. But yeah, we can get that
(06:41):
without having to move to the blop.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'm really excited and I hope that you will as
well as sharing us, sharing with us your successes. I
know you do this, make sure you tell us what
turns out to be more challenging than you expect it, right,
Like those are the things that are often really useful
from a learning side of the equation.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yes, yeah, we're hopefully going to do it and make
all the mistakes. So yeah, yeah, so we shouldn't have
chickens because the name Kats are gonna yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, yeah, no, work out the right things. Hey, thank
you so much, Kate. How exciting. So you can follow
Kate's journey on her social media channels to search ethically
Kate on social media, her name will pop right up.
It's sixteen minutes past eleven on new Stalk See. But
thank you very much for your feedback. John says Jack
Kate's homestead project sounds like that old English program from
(07:32):
back in the day. It's called The Good Life. I'm
get it sounds like about ten different programs, doesn't it does?
There is a slightly idyllic kind of quality, especially when
planning it out. It's always interesting to see if the
reality matches the dream. But I'm sure Kate's going to
keep us up to speed to that with that.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks d B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks That Be Now.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Sustainability expert Kate Hall is here with details of her
very interesting new project this morning. Good morning, Kate, you
have an incredible new project on the go, truth be told.
I actually feel like it's a bit of a shame
that they haven't set up one of those reality TV
shows you know, ye, yeah, not yeah, you know, like
a couple moves to the south of France and ties
(00:34):
to restore an old barn, or you know, it's almost
like a Grand Designs project in a sense. Tell us
about your suburban homestead.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Yes, so, I mean, anyone's welcome to make a TV
show about it, always open to the idea. But basically
what we figured is so many people have the dream
of buying a little slice of land, having like you know,
a milking cow and chickens and growing your own food.
And I think people, especially at the moment, are dreaming
of that with the price of everything, a little bit
(01:05):
of it more self sufficient. But the reality is most
of us can't do that. It's you know, out of
our cost range because the prices land and homes and
it's just it feels impossible to most people. So what
we're doing because we have a very tiny slither of land,
like very tiny, We've got eight neighbors, so it's in
dense you know, high density Subbia. We are trying to
(01:28):
show people what you can do with that situation, which
is quite a common situation for a lot of people.
So we're calling it the suburban homestead Projects and were, yeah,
we've kicked it off. We've got you know, plans, new
plans for that for the outside, and we're just basically
creating a home that produces more wasteless and works with
(01:51):
nature and takes those principles. But on a little tiny slither.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
What a great idea. So what are you gonna do?
What are the big changes?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So we're thinking of things like chickens, or specifically smaller chickens.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Maybe quail have rules about chickens.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Are you allowed?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
There must be rules about where you're allowed chickens.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We can't have roasters and stuff like that. Reasonable, Yeah, yeah,
but I'm thinking about because chickens actually create that they
can be quite destructive, and so thinking about it's like quails,
you know, there's smaller Yeah, things like that. We're installing
solar panels, so thinking about how we can make yeah,
(02:31):
use of bitter energy. So we're working with a company
called Cogo have actually built a tool that you can
see what cost and energy savings you can make in
your own home. So yeah, think about how we can
then use that that solar energy and what kind of
bitter systems we can have. And speaking of on the roof,
we're thinking of bee hives on the roof.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
On the roof Yeah, wow cool.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Our roof is pretty great and set up for it.
It's like pretty flat and right, Yeah, you can have
I think that could be a bitter use of space
because we're thinking vertical, you know, with even with our guard. Yeah,
we're thinking like vertical gardening and doing things a bit differently.
We're also like our house is in nineteen sixties bungalow
(03:15):
that really needs a bit of TLC. So we're you know,
getting a new roof and thinking of like double glazing
and all that sort of stuff. We're finding New Zealand's
businesses that actually like do things more sustainably because the
construction and demolition waste accounts for forty to fifty percent
(03:39):
of total waste since landfill each year.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
So that's a crazy as just huge.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Huge, and so yeah, we kind of want to show
people what you can do. We want to like, you know,
work with these companies and see you know, compare prices
and all that type of stuff. Yeah, other people can
actually do it too.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
So you kind of document the journey basically, yes.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah, yeah, exactly because imagine if you know, even if
we all just made small decisions, but around our home,
around big things like you know, your new roof, things
like that, that can actually really yeah, make a huge impact.
So we're working with Eco Choice Al. I don't know
if you've seen their little kind of eco certification tick
and a lot of construction things or your paint buckets
(04:26):
and stuff like that, but they have been around for
ages and certify construction based companies. So that's been really.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Helpful to fantastic. So they can help you work out
which companies to work with.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yes, then you.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Can work out what might be the most sustainable way.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Sure, right, So it's not just a case of being
like we're going to do that. We're gonna have solar panels,
we're gonna have a garden, and we're going to have beehives,
et cetera. It's like we've actually any construction stuff that
we're going to do, we're going to try and build
in the most sustainable way rather than what's necessarily the quickest,
all the cheapest.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
One hundred percent. Yeah. Absolutely, So it's a mixture of
we'll be trying to like reuse things and you know,
like we're going to try to rain water harvesting, you know,
so we can water the garden more efficiently, especially in summer.
And so currently we have got like some old up
cycled big barrel things, so yeah, you can we actually
(05:17):
use these productively or do we need to, yeah, get
another solution. So it's a mixture of like gooi, but
also working on sustainable businesses and.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Dear, I suggest that none of these, none of these
big ticket things are super woo woo. You know, like
my you know, my my parents collect rain water, and
you know, I know people with solar panels and you know,
and and beehives and all of that stuff, and and
and I don't know anyone with quails, but chickens have
certainly got a big text. I mean, these are all
perfectly sustainable, you know, they're not They're not super out
(05:48):
there changes but as you say, if more of us
just did a little bit, it would collectively equate to
a significant.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Change, exactly. And then it's also much more durable on
a daily basis because you know, having people call it
a life sentence block, don't the kind of a lifestyle block,
because that actually involves a lot of labor, a lot
of time where you know, there's still we're still working,
like there's still Yeah, So I think doing it on
(06:19):
a small scale is also quite efficient in that sense
that you get all the joys of growing your own
food and you know, going to I can't wait to
go get the eggs in the morning with my daughter. Yeah,
things like that. That really that's all the good parts
of what we want from a lifestyle block. Rights, so good,
all the lovely fields. But yeah, we can get that
(06:41):
without having to move to the blop.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'm really excited and I hope that you will as
well as sharing us, sharing with us your successes. I
know you do this, make sure you tell us what
turns out to be more challenging than you expect it, right,
Like those are the things that are often really useful
from a learning side of the equation.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yes, yeah, we're hopefully going to do it and make
all the mistakes. So yeah, yeah, so we shouldn't have
chickens because the name Kats are gonna yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, yeah, no, work out the right things. Hey, thank
you so much, Kate. How exciting. So you can follow
Kate's journey on her social media channels to search ethically
Kate on social media, her name will pop right up.
It's sixteen minutes past eleven on new Stalk See. But
thank you very much for your feedback. John says Jack
Kate's homestead project sounds like that old English program from
(07:32):
back in the day. It's called The Good Life. I'm
get it sounds like about ten different programs, doesn't it does?
There is a slightly idyllic kind of quality, especially when
planning it out. It's always interesting to see if the
reality matches the dream. But I'm sure Kate's going to
keep us up to speed to that with that.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks d B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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