A Ngāti Awa housing initiative is gaining national attention for an approach that goes beyond putting a roof over people’s heads, instead creating a pathway towards long-term housing security, financial independence and whānau wellbeing.
Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngāti Awa, led by chief executive Enid Ratahi-Pryor, has developed its Kāinga Māori model in Whakatāne around the idea that housing should be connected to whakapapa, community and the services whānau need to thrive.
The organisation’s Tūkōkeke Kāinga Māori development opened in March 2025 and provides 15 affordable homes for low-income working households. The homes are rented below market rates, allowing tenants to put more money aside towards eventually buying their own home.
The model represents a significant change in direction for Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngāti Awa.
After decades working in emergency and transitional accommodation, the organisation shifted its focus towards sustainable housing solutions, arguing that managing housing emergencies alone was not enough to help whānau escape poverty and build lasting independence.
The Kāinga Māori approach brings housing alongside health and social services, education, employment training and community support.
At Tūkōkeke, kaumātua, tamariki and whānau live within an environment where housing sits alongside existing services, creating a village model based around collective wellbeing rather than housing being treated as an isolated problem.
The organisation is now extending that approach through Kawarehe Kāinga Māori at Huna Road in Whakatāne.
The first stage consists of 16 affordable rental homes with an estimated development cost of $10.4 million, delivered through a partnership involving Kawarehe Trust, Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngāti Awa and Adventure Solutionz.
Plans include two, three and four-bedroom homes, with the existing homestead relocated to become a central community hub surrounded by shared green space.
The affordable rental programme targets working whānau who are actively moving towards home ownership.
Rents are subsidised below market levels, with the intention that the difference can help families build savings towards a deposit while receiving wider support to strengthen their financial position.
The work comes as Māori-led organisations take an increasingly important role in addressing the country’s housing shortage.
Government figures show $426 million has been approved since December 2023 for Māori-led delivery of around 1000 homes, ranging from papakāinga and affordable rentals through to owner-occupied housing.
For Ratahi-Pryor, the national recognition provides an opportunity to demonstrate that kaupapa Māori housing can deliver much more than houses.
It can create pathways into employment, strengthen connections between generations, support hauora and give working whānau who have been locked out of home ownership a realistic opportunity to build an asset of their own.
The next challenge is taking what has worked in Whakatāne and continuing to grow the model.
For whānau struggling between high market rents and the increasingly difficult climb towards owning a home, the kaupapa offers a different proposition.
Not simply somewhere to live today — but a pathway towards mana motuhake tomorrow.
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