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Ria Akuhata lives in a van to pay off her mortgage faster
It was after midnight in the Auckland suburb of Avondale, and Ria Akuhata was asleep in her van. There was something in the air that night. Outside protesters slept in the branches of native trees, rare kawaka and black maire, destined to be felled to make way for a new housing development. It was a thump against the van’s roof that awoke Akuhata. “Someone’s ripped off our signage!” one of the protesters yelled. Even small movements inside a minivan can be difficult, the 48-year-old says. The space between limbs and vehicle is negotiated through a series of “strange yoga poses”. As she scrambled to her feet, the sleeping bag around her ankles caused her to fall forward on to her palms.