Made with support from Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
Kaumātua from Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrakei are returning to their whenua to purpose-build homes that they've co-designed with architects.
Ten new builds were made on a budget of $5 million and were allocated to kaumātua based on need.
Anita Poko, 71, has spent most of her life living in Australia, however returned home two years ago after the death of her older brother.
"You know when you get phone calls like aunty's passed or your uncle's gone and you just think, 'Oh man I want to come home'. But when my oldest brother died and I came home, I just knew at that time that it was time to stay home."
What makes this housing initiative special is the collaboration between architect and owner, catering to their needs.
"We didn't really want carpets, we wanted floorboards which are easy to maintain when we get older and we can't push the vacuum cleaner, things like that," says Poko.
Architect Madeline Sharpe helped draw up the plans for Poko's whare and says the homes aren't just for kaumātua, but for their whānau in the future.
"They all believe that they are building whare not for themselves but for their mokopuna and their children's children and they see that really long-term picture. I think she and all of them realise that they're building for their grandchildren as well," Sharpe says.
What sets papakaīnga apart is that it's right next door to Ōrakei Marae, something Poko has been missing since she was a young girl.
"I was born down the bottom and my parents died when I was 12, so I was sent away from here. We never had a marae and I'm happy that we do have one now and I'm glad that I am close to that marae," she says.
