The Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta has congratulated Ngāti Korokī - Kahukura Trust on the start of their papakāinga development on their Marae whenua under the gaze of Maungatautari Mountain in Cambridge.
The trust is hosting a 'turning of the sod' ceremony today at the site of their papakāinga development.
Te Puni Kōkiri has supported the work with almost $1.2m to build infrastructure for 17 individually owned whānau homes and one communal papakāinga facility.
"This papakāinga project will help to realise the aspirations of whānau moving on to the papakāinga site, nestled below Pōhara marae on Oreipunga Road, Cambridge. This is an exciting milestone for the whānau as they continue to strengthen their development aspirations for their whenua which is held in trust in general freehold land title.
"A key focus of the trust is the importance of shared working areas, supporting whānau to work together and reduce overall individual living costs. The papakāinga design includes infrastructure for community wide, eco-friendly, communal amenities including a communal laundry and maara kai," Minister Mahuta says.
"Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, have a new home ownership model for whānau with the Westpac bank creating a new shared equity arrangement. The whānau will individually own outright their own homes and land, and will recognise a lifetime iwi interest in any future transactions. This is an innovative land tenure model, that enables whānau to buy their own homes through standard mortgage lending criteria, as well as upfront capital to support first home deposit criteria.
"The overall papakāinga plan promotes healthy, affordable and sustainable living practices and will contribute to the intergenerational wellbeing of their whānau. Forty-eight rangatahi and tamariki will benefit from these papakāinga homes and they will participate along with their parents and grandparents in its development," Nanaia Mahuta says.
