Wakatū Incorporation director Miriana Stephens Photo: Supplied / Wakatū Incorporation
A business leader at the top of the South Island is confident papakāinga living can be a blueprint for other housing projects in Aotearoa.
Miriana Stephens is one of more than dozen contributors to a new book, Pakukore Poverty By Design, edited by Rebecca Macfie, Graeme Whimp and Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich and published by Bridget Williams Books.
Stephens is an award winning businesswoman and is a trustee at her marae in Motueka, Te Āwhina. In her essay she writes that the "papakāinga is more than just housing, it is a lifeline" and, along with other Māori communities "are proving that when we reclaim our land and lead our own housing solutions, we create strong, thriving communities."
The papakāinga development at Te Āwhina welcomed its first tenants in 2023, and it's the largest project of its kind in Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui (the top of the South Island).
Stephens (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Rārua) said growing up the marae was her first home, she was raised there by her grandparents which provided a very good education.
"For me our marae was really all about manaaki and I often think about our name Te Āwhina, around looking after one another."
Stephens said marae are central to cultural connection, identity and belonging for Māori.
"We haven't lived together for over 200 years, so we've actually got a lot to learn. It's about connection and especially to live on ones own land and be part of marae life, I feel that marae have the potential to be game changers for that connection, for that belonging."
The $15 million papakāinga project at Te Āwhina Marae is the largest of its kind in Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui (the top of the South Island) and is part of a larger marae redevelopment. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
The papakāinga program has 26 houses with a mix of single people to intergenerational families, she said.
"That's been interesting and challenging because the whare are reasonably close together, so I would say that privacy is at a premium, but again we learned about how we do come together as a community."
Stephens there are 35 to 40 tamariki living on the papakāinga and she sees the connection between them.
"What I can see there is that hononga, that connection that they have with each other, the way that they live with one another, how they potentially work through their good times and their raruraru, there's a bit of pecking order on the basketball court if I'm honest."
Stephens said because the papakāinga is marae based it enables "succession by design," there is an expectation that families support the paepae and the kitchen.
"It's not just a house but it's being part of your hapori (community).
"There is real opportunity to actually live on the marae, to work on the marae, know who you are, be proficient in te reo Māori and tikanga and I think that's a fulfilling life. So if Te Āwhina is gearing ourselves towards that I believe these are hapori of the future and why wouldn't we share and learn with others who might also want to do the same thing."
People in Nelson are doing it tough with a lot of businesses closing and that's why the marae is important to support those families who might be struggling, she said.
The region has also faced devastating floods, but Stephens said living in a housing development like the papakāinga forces people to think about others and to check in on each other.
"I'm an optimist, so I also think that we redesign systems, laws and policy for equity, dignity and actually our collective well-being."
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