Marae Cluster Renovations
“Kia mau ki te tokanga nui a noho”
There is no place like home.
The Marae Cluster project was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Provincial Growth Fund which aimed to lift productivity potential in Aotearoa provinces.
This project set out the pathway to upskill and develop our kaimahi while also renovating, and restoring our marae, which are taonga of our hapū.
Discover more
This video shared the in-depth stories and successes kaimahi, uri of Te Rewatu and Te Pāhou marae experienced throughout this project.
We also captured whakaaro from hapū memeber of Ngāti Rangataua who shared history of the marae and the fundamental aspects of working i runga i te aroha, me te pūtea.
Lastly our course providers who helped upskill all kaimahi of this project in building their confidence and capabilities in this field of work.
Education & Employment
All kaimahi were exposed to new learnings and gained work experience under the guidance of a Skills Lead and external contractors.
Work experience included concreting, carpentry, painting and supporting contractors where possible.
Contractors are looking beyond the project and indicated the potential to offer full-time employment opportunities to kaimahi that demonstrate potential at the completion of this project.
The project has been able to support Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa registered pakihi.
Cultural
The cultural impacts of this project were significant.
Providing a safe and familiar working environment allowed kaimahi to flourish demonstrating great work ethic, the ability to learn new tasks quickly and instilled a positive attitude to mahi, whānau, hapu and iwi.
The project gave kaimahi a greater sense of belonging, they are more connected and felt proud of the transformation they contributed to in the development and restoration of their respective Marae.
Whānau, Community
Whakawhanaungatanga, kotahitanga and, manaakitanga was demonstrated across the Marae Cluster project with multiple working bees undertaken to support individual projects.
Whānau, hapū and community collaborated to tautoko the work that is happening at the marae.
For the wider community, the renovations and improvements were highly visible and provided positive confidence of renewed economic activity.
Success Story: Tuariki Marae
Kōrero from Larni Keylar on what his māmā envisioned Meri Mary Hepi.
"He Marae iwi kore he maumau, he iwi marae kore ehara"
A Marae without people is wasted, a people without a Marae are nothing.
Mum was the back bone of our hapū - right up until the day she passed. Her vision has always been to re-build the marae for our whānau to come back too.
She aspired to create a place for our whānau, particularly our rangatahi to take the lead, to learn, to be connected and be immersed in their whakapapa and culture for the sake of future generations.
She saw this project as an opportunity to enhance the mauri of our Marae on behalf of our uri, but unfortunately Mum passed away before the project began. Our hapū saw this project as an opportunity to acknowledge Mum and all her work over the years and to ensure we see her vision through...
Ngāti Awa House
4-10 Louvain Street,
PO Box 76
Whakatāne 3158
0800 464 284
07 307 0760
runanga@ngatiawa.iwi.nz