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A Māori advisor to a large engineering and environmental consultancy is trying to bring her professional colleagues together with her Hokianga whanau to find solutions to future climate-related challenges.
Aimee Matiu from Pattle Delamore Partners says Ngai Tupoto at her home marae in Motukaraka were without power for 10 days after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through in February.
She says they’ve come up with ideas about how to survive off grid, but they need experts and government help to make them a reality.
“Our aunties, our uncles – who are not engineers and scientists, but live and breathe the whenua -they know what to do. So it’s about bringing those two worlds together and see how we can fight this big taniwha together,” Ms Matiu says.
She says they’re looking for off-grid alternative energy, better connectivity to communications and better emergency coordination of people and resources.
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