Building affordable and healthy homes is our focus

Building affordable, healthy and environmentally sustainable homes for iwi members is a key priority for Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.

Pou Ōhanga (Chief Economic Development Officer) Carra Hamon says the establishment of Toa Homes and a new research and development project that is focused on building “passive homes” is an exciting opportunity for Ngāti Toa to drive changes to the way the residential construction market operates.

“We are focused on constructing homes that are affordable, warm and dry. We have commenced a small research and development project to investigate building passive homes (homes that are energy efficient), using building materials that include recycled materials,” Carra said.

“Although we are currently working directly with key people who have expertise in building passive homes, we will create opportunities for all our iwi tradies and builders to be involved in the construction of larger homes.”

As a qualified builder who owns and operates his own company that specialises in high performance homes, Hyrum Modlik will oversee the building of a tiny home using our new, passive home technology and says that if testing is successful, the design approach will be replicated to build larger, more energy efficient homes.

“Our ultimate goal is to construct homes that meet the international gold standard in energy efficiency and warmth, making a huge difference to the health and wellbeing of whānau who live in them. We want homes that are so warm and dry that whānau are able to wear shorts and tshirts all year round, no matter what the weather is like outside.”

“Using new and innovative technology and using recylced materials is an added bonus that is not only good for whānau, but also for our environment.”

James Bushell, founding director of Motif, an investment company that is focused on creating ethical business models said his passion for creating a more equitable and sustainable world led him to invest with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira and our commitment to housing.

“The reality is that currently, its really only wealthy people who can afford to build healthy and environmentally sustainable homes that are also energy efficient. We have an exciting opportunity to make this kind of technology available to everyone,” James said.