Poipoia te Kākano, Kia Puāwai: Re-indigenising Design of Place and Space in Rural Māori Communities

Colloquium
Tepora Emery,  Maia Te Huia Rarere,  Anna Adcock,  Kathleen Morrison,  Fiona Cram,  Zack Makoare,  Violet Ayden-Pou,  Beverly Te Huia Rarere,  Morehu Munroe,  Matariki Makoare,  Nikita Mitchell  

Poipoia te Kākano, Kia Puāwai is a community-based Kaupapa Māori housing research programme that seeks to leverage Māori knowledge to inform housing solutions that work for Māori. This presentation highlights our research journeys and learnings. Rangatahi (youth) researchers at Waipuka have explored their kaitiakitanga (guardianship) responsibilities and are now inquiring after the housing aspirations of those wanting to live on their papakāinga. Regeneration of Te Kinakina wetlands in Te Kaha has led to a commitment to climate resiliency and an inquiry about how housing can be built in harmony with the whenua (land). In Te Wairoa, relationships between the home people and those returning home centre around concerns about belonging and having a place to call home. And at Te Hauke whānau have built houses on their papakāinga and are telling stories about being home and having secure housing, and the impacts on family health and wellbeing. The four projects highlight the importance of communities having control over research kaupapa (agendas) and methodologies. While exercising our autonomy, we shared our expertise, grew together in our love of research and, as kākano (seeds), we have supported each other to blossom. The projects highlight the interconnectedness of the taiao (land and natural environment), whakapapa (genealogy), tikanga (Māori custom law) and whanaungatanga (relationships) as a foundation for housing. Next, we will build a toolkit to support decolonisation through narratives, about our right to a house that is a home, where we can enact kaitiakitanga and the whenua can nurture wellness, vitality and sustainability.