creating new purpose-built homes for kaumātua
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.
Link to article and video: Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrakei creating new purpose-built homes for kaumātua | Newshub
