Te Tii Village.
CLIENT | Ngāi Tūhoe
OUR ROLE | Sustainable Development Management
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION | Best Awards - Environmental Graphics 2018
Te Tii was created as a vibrant, central hub for Ruatāhuna, a remote village located at the gateway to Te Urewera. Te Tii stands to breathe new life into the village, to uplift and connect the local community. It anticipates the arrival of visitors that want to experience the Tūhoe way of life, to spend time in Ruatāhuna and be introduced to Te Urewera. The facility boasts an office building, general store, café, gas station, motel, radio station, laundry, market place, community garden and other inviting outdoor spaces.
Within our Sustainable Development Management role we looked towards the project as a vehicle to connect and enrich the human community and the environment. Every opportunity for community contribution, up-skilling, capacity building and leadership advancement was pursued.
A highlight was connecting over 20 dedicated local workers with contractors and seeing their skills and confidence develop. Seven people were promoted as a reflection of their enhanced skills and two others undertook carpentry apprenticeships. Local marae hosted contractors traveling from out of town, and children and pakeke (elders) were involved throughout. Tūhoe continue to lead in their approach to sustainability. Toxic building materials were excluded from the complex, energy is generated by solar panels and adjacent streams have been enhanced to improve the environment for fish. The on-site waste-water treatment system not only treats waste from the new facility, it ties in six neighboring homes and replaces individual septic tank reliance with a communal solution. This truly was a community project – and a pleasure to be a part of.