Papakainga is a form of housing development which occurs on multiply owned Maori or
ancestral land. Traditonally the literal meaning of papkainga housing is ‘a nurturing place
to retun to’. The possibility of building papakainga housing on their ancestral land is
something Maori have long been calling for.

The concept of papakainga is not new to the Western Bay sub-region but it has previously
been associated with Maori housing in a marae setting. A new Western Bay model takes
a revolutionary approach to enable all Maori – both hapu and individuals – to play a part in
building a home on their land.

A Maori housing initiative begun in 2004 by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, in collaboration with several non-governmental agencies, was a joint response to the increased difficulty for Maori to access affordable housing. The resulting model has been successful in helping a number of Maori families to ralse their dream to live in their own house. It has also formed the foundation of a national template being used by hapu and iwi.