A vision of housing in the future

Staunch community housing advocate Rueben Taipari and his partner Heeni Hoterene hosted a Northland Housing Forum hui at their home at Ahipara last week, giving the visitors the chance to see the rammed earth house the couple had been building for two years, and had moved into this year.

Mr Taipari told the forum that a rammed earth housing project had been launched in 2010, to seek alternative solutions to the housing problems of many people in Te Hiku o Te Ika. A project was a joint effort between the University of Auckland and Ahipara's Unaiki Mare Whanau Trust, with the support of Te Puni Kokiri's Special Housing Unit.

Working in conjunction with the Ahikaaroa Trust, which provided support to whanau wishing to build homes on their ancestral land, Unaiki Mare Whanau Trust successfully applied for finance via the Maori Putea fund.

"Our whanau had to raise a 25 per cent financial contribution, plus the land, which we did with advice and assistance from Richard Dickinson, who was the manager of ASB in Kaitaia," Mr Taipari said.

Three homes were being built at Ahipara, with completion scheduled for June next year.

"I had been listening and researching for the past 15 years, and when the opportunity came up with the university I grabbed it," he added.

He also thanked the Housing Forum, whose support had been crucial, and reminded members that many people in Tai Tokerau were living on their land in tents and cold, damp shacks.

"This is the reality that our people are living in, and it's not our future," he said.

"I have a great vision of health, prosperity and calm. Housing for Maori on Maori land is very beneficial for us all. The tikanga of this whenua [where 20 generations of his whanau had lived], the historical connection, you can't buy that. This is a prototype to share with other whanau.

"This house was not just built on love, but sweat and tears as well," he added.

"We always knew we were doing something we can share with others. It's all about whanau on papakainga - family living together on their land. This entire house was built by whanau, for whanau. We can do it ourselves, and we need to do it ourselves."

Ms Hoterene said the trust had asked the government to declare Tai Tokerau a priority for social housing funding.

"I don't want this money to help to further profit iwi leaders and runanga. We need to work together and plan together," she added.

"The whanau have the mana over the land, therefore the money should come down to them, not the organisations," Mr Taipari said.

"We built this so we could stop the 'can we/can't we' korero. We've done it. We're sitting here in it today."

Ms Hoterene also spoke of the possible employment benefits, in flax processing and building, if the project prospered.

"Whanau could create employment for themselves in Te Tai Tokerau," she said.

Visitors from Motuti and Panguru were interested in adopting a similar scheme for their communities, Dean Motu saying that what was happening at Ahipara had persuaded him to return home from Australia.

"It was worth coming home for," he said.

Tim Howard, who helped establish the forum in 2005 as an umbrella organisation aimed at helping people and communities to work together, said home insulation had been the early driving force.

"The state of housing here is a shame on successive governments, as is the taking of land and the alienation of the people," he said.

"The beauty of the Northland Housing Forum is that we learn from one another, pull together and support one another. We don't have all the answers, but we have some tools to help work beside you."

A hui in Moerewa last month discussed funding for Maori housing, and gave a range of organisations the chance to share information. The programme included a presentation on two local projects, information on the Social Housing Fund's Putea Maori Fund, networking and discussion of the Northland Housing Forum's future direction.

The forum, which hosted the hui, is a collective of Maori and community organisations involved in housing-related issues, which advocates for the housing needs of whanau, families and communities.

Issues raised in Moerewa included Maori home ownership models, support for multiple builds, challenging local government policy, and recognition of Tai Tokerau's need for quality housing.