A $2,000 Kōkiri Programme grant covered Mere’s tools. Eighteen months on, she’s running her own small building crew.
Mere spent nine years in the Army before discharging in 2024. “I knew I wanted to build things with my hands, I just didn’t have the capital to get started,” she says. The grant, paired with mentoring from a Kōkiri Programme volunteer, covered her first set of tools and a builder’s licensing course.