How Kiwi Live: Ahi has weaved a light and art-filled home base with her two cats

Things like being safe and warm. Bright with good smells whether it's food or the sweet smell of summer coming. I love when you have a nice breeze through the window.

My favourite part [of this home is my] living room, my wharenui (meeting house). It is surrounded with art that either I've created or from beautiful friends. Being surrounded by mahi toi (art) and beautiful photography makes me feel really safe and like I'm in the right place.

The day I moved in. I moved in with a really significant human in my life and a good friend. It was a beautiful day in January and there was this orange light filling our house. I remember we all had these smiles [illuminated by the] Aotearoa sunset. And that breeze was just gorgeous.

My cats, definitely my cats, claws and all. Kowhiri and Tamatea. Tamatea is named after the time of the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) when he was born. And then probably my tino rangatiratanga flag.

My ngeru (cats) have Māori for their ingoā (names) which reflect a bit about their personality. Kowhiri our chosen one is a queen and knows it while our sweet Tamatea is more withdrawn considering the time of month he was born in.

We have a big front yard that slopes down. I would probably change the weeds. I don't know the name of the annoying poppies that, if you don't dig them out, grow everywhere but I'm always trying to keep them at bay. If I could put a weeding mat in certain parts that would be the best thing.

In my māra (garden) I’m trying to grow my own food from seeds and maintain them. So I like to try and get outside and also I’m a kairaranga (weaver) so I’m harvesting harakeke a lot and cleaning it.

Raranga is a way of passing down and ensuring the continuation of a beautiful skill. Because if you look at a lot of writings and books, they say that traditional skills are out of fashion, no one's going to do them, they're going to die out. I think that was the beginnings of consumerism. I take a lot from the modern and then give it back in a natural way like teaching people how to make [harakeke] fishing nets.

I do a lot of my workshops on my marae in Wellington and I've gotten to go to some schools, even a Girl Guides [group], that was really cute. It’s beautiful accessing all ages and ranges because all cultures weave so we can all share that and connect through it. And it brings us closer to nature.

At the moment I'm waiting for the sun, waiting for spring and summer. And then it's getting up, pottering around like little shuffles around my house. Making a hot drink. Feeding my little meow meow cats. I feel like I do that for a couple of hours. Get enough caffeine, do enough wiggling around and then it's plotting and planning the day. What are we going to do are we going for harvest, do I have to clean harakeke, do I have to prep harakeke?

The end of my day is super similar. It's like shutting down my house and closing my windows, wiping down my benches. Love to spray and wipe. And watching TV. House of Dragons just ended - it ended boring, so I’m waiting for a new TV series to come and take my time away.

I like having people over to watch terrible TV. I’m a YouTube fiend, I’m a reality TV fiend. My dirty secret is The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I'm rewatching Outrageous Fortune at the moment and it’s taking me back through the fashion sense. Pascalle was so nice. I love filling up my living room with all my chairs, real bad TV, lots of laughing and food.