“There was a place in my garden for my parents’ house.”

With careful steps, Ine Karman (70 years old) from Meppin takes one step at a time up the stairs in her house. “It's okay, but take it very slowly. I can handle these stairs now. I won't even start climbing the steep stairs to the basement anymore.”

Eni and Bas (74) Kerman suffer, as they say, from PHPD. “I mean pain here, pain there,” Eni says with a laugh. “We're not old yet, and we certainly don't need help completely, but we're noticing that things are slowly tapering off.”

Her husband nods affirmatively. “There is a garden of about 2,500 square meters behind our house. Great, all this space. But the work is increasingly becoming too much for me. What I used to do in one hour, I can now do in one day.”

Which is exactly why the couple has been thinking about living smaller for some time now. However, a large apartment with a balcony is a nightmare for a couple.

Bass: “It's not really for us. If you're used to the spaciousness of the countryside for 28 years, such a transition isn't healthy. We want to stay active, but a little less.”

Thus arose the plan to erect a small house in the garden of his daughter, Barbara Scholten, in the rural district of Dalin.

Scholten: “I have a lot of space here. I also like the idea of ​​having my parents so close. That way they're probably less likely to rely on care. If they end up needing more care, I can do it as easily as that.” We started developing the idea at the beginning of 2023. We came across Duntep from Staphorst, a company specializing in mobile huts. We then approached the municipality of Coevorden with our plan. We expected it to succeed, especially since this plan would provide a spacious home elsewhere in the municipality, which is good for traffic flow.

Read more below the picture