Kaumātua who live on our marae keep the home fires burning across Aotearoa: in a new initiative, the Tākitimu Te Puni Kōkiri team is helping to keep those elders own homes warm and healthy.

Working alongside the Hawkes Bay District Health Board, Te Puni Kōkiri is working to see kaumātua flats are healthy, safe and comfortable. The DHB’s expert knowledge and resources was boosted by the relationship facilitation and coordinating support from Te Puni Kōkiri.

An initial survey of local marae found that nine had kaumātua housing in place and three reported that those homes needed extensive work or major upgrades. Work was soon underway that saw insulation, safety and heating solutions for every flat.

Through the project, Waimarama Kaumātua Flats were identified as a potential location for a unique, communal heating system.

Te Puni Kōkiri Acting Deputy Secretary Eruera Reedy says, “we understand that using this type of system for multiple homes on a marae is a first: it's similar to the old school boiler system.”

A pōwhiri was held to acknowledge the mahi and whānau reported that there’d been no hospital admissions since the heating system had been installed: the flats were now seen as an enviable place to live.

Hawkes Bay DHB healthy populations team spoke of their commitment to assist with better health for the Hawkes Bay people and their environments. They said it starts out with fundamental issues like where you live, your home. Through greater insulation and knowledge whānau can consider better heating solutions which will then reduce illness.