| 19 T T Annew Boswell Offering pathways to healthy futures Taumarunui Community Kokiri Trust CEO Christine Brears: “The system that exists is just not responsive to our culture; the trust is a transformative waka of the existing system.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Taumarunui Community Kokiri Trust The Taumarunui Community Kokiri Trust (TCKT) is continuing its legacy of community enrichment with a bold new housing development on Taupo Road – a 15-home build designed to provide healthy, affordable rental housing to whānau in need. The project sits on land purchased by the trust around 20 years ago, which was once the site of thriving orchid greenhouses. While the trust initially continued the orchid business as a way to generate income and provide gardening skills and employment opportunities to the community, it eventually proved unsustainable, due to a lack of specialist knowledge. The two 40-metre greenhouses were then converted into vegetable gardens, providing food for local markets and food banks. This initiative also served as a training ground for whanau before eventually winding down in late 2018. But the land remained a valuable asset, and a new opportunity emerged. “In Taumarunui, there is a need for warm, dry, healthy homes,” TCKT spokesperson Quentin Brears says. “The trust’s expansion into housing services was underpinned by the respiratory health problems experienced by kaumatua and tamariki in damp, mouldy homes that are below standard.” Partnering with Aotearoa Housing, the trust began the process of transforming the land into a modern housing site. In early 2024, it received resource consent and by 2025, building consent was granted. In August 2025, concrete foundations were poured, with vertical construction set to begin in September. The development is scheduled for completion in February/March 2026. The new housing project comprises 15 units, including two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes. While some will be standalone, others are designed as townhouses. “Where possible, we have used local sparkies, plumbers, civil workers and concreters,” Quentin says. “In these projects we work hard to find local expertise and boost the local economy.” The trust also gifted the two greenhouses to a local community garden centre. Quentin says the project, the second of its kind developed by the trust in the last eight years, reflects its commitment to supporting its people with pathways to sustainable housing and thriving futures. TCKT has been serving the Taumarunui community since 1996. Originally established as the Taumarunui Maori Health Trust, the organisation has grown significantly, and now employs over 100 professionals, including doctors, social workers and mental health practitioners. “Our focus has always been to improve the wellbeing of our people, who are over-represented in poor health statistics. We believed we could serve our people better,” CEO Christine Brears says. “We changed the name to the Taumarunui Community Kokiri Trust so we could widen our lens into other spaces, such as education, housing and social services. The system that exists is just not responsive to our culture; the trust is a transformative waka of the existing system.” Christine says the support and vision of her fellow trustees has been critical in achieving what they have so far. “I’ve been at the coalface of this organisation since its inception,” she says. “I have bulldozed bureaucracy to enable us to do the things we do.” Contact us: admin@aotearoahousing.co.nz 0221 603 166 Hours: Mon – Fri, 8.30 am – 5pm www.aotearoahousing.co.nz Contact us for or all your earthmoving, excavation & civil construction requirements. Proudly supporting Kokiri Trust 027 403 6497 235 Echolands Road, RD4, Taumarunui
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=