When whānau return to whenua, they don't just need houses. They need homes that hold whakapapa — and a partner who understands what that means.
Te Pūtake Living delivers papakāinga developments for iwi, hapū, and ahu whenua trusts across Aotearoa. We bring modular efficiency to the build, and Te Ao Māori to the framework around it.
— Why papakāinga, why now
Papakāinga is one of the most powerful forms of housing in Aotearoa — whānau living on their own whenua, sharing infrastructure, raising mokopuna alongside kaumātua, and rebuilding the connection between people and place.
But the path from aspiration to handover is long. Multiple landowners. Trust governance. Resource consent. Funding that's getting harder to secure. Engineering on remote sites. Most whānau don't have a builder who's walked it before.
We do.
— What we deliver
Pre-engineered modular homes across three tiers — Te Whare Kākano, Te Whare Tipu, and Te Whare Rākau — designed for whānau of every size and every life stage. Every home meets New Zealand Building Code, with full code of compliance on handover.
Explore the rangeFrom your first hui through to handover karakia, you work with one team. We help navigate landowner consents, trust structures, consent pathways, and funding applications. No subcontractor handoffs, no finger-pointing.
See how we buildTe Pūtake is a Māori-led business. Te Ao Māori is the framework we operate within — not a layer we apply at the end. Whakapapa, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, and tino rangatiratanga inform how we work, who we work with, and what we leave behind.
Read our kaupapa— The papakāinga journey
Papakāinga has additional layers around governance and funding — distinct from our single-home build process.
Pre-project · Open-ended
Most papakāinga begin years before the first home is built. Hui with whānau. Vision-setting. Identifying who whakapapa to the whenua. Deciding what kind of community you want to build.
We don't rush this stage. When you're ready to talk to a builder, we'll listen first — about the whenua, the whānau, and the vision. No pressure, no obligation.
3–12 months
Before homes can sit on whenua, the legal and governance foundations need to be in place. For most papakāinga, that means:
We partner with — and refer to — specialists in this space. The Māori Land Court, kaupapa-aligned legal advisors, and surveyors with papakāinga experience. We don't pretend to be lawyers, but we know who to put you in touch with.
3–6 months
This is where the development takes shape. How many homes. What configuration. What infrastructure. What it will cost. We work with your committee to build a concept that reflects whānau aspiration and the realities of your whenua, then help you assemble a funding pathway. Most papakāinga combine multiple sources:
We're builders, not funding consultants — but we've been through enough applications to know what evaluators look for, and we'll help you put your strongest case forward.
3–6 months
Once the concept and funding pathway are clear, we move to detailed design and consent. Because our homes are pre-engineered to NZ code, design moves faster than custom builds. Resource consent on Māori land has its own pathway — generally faster where district plans support papakāinga, slower where they don't. We work with your council and surveyor to find the cleanest route. What we deliver in this stage:
6–9 months, running in parallel
This is where modular pays off. Homes are built in a controlled factory environment, while your site is prepared in parallel — foundations, services, roading, shared infrastructure. Two timelines running side-by-side instead of one after the other.
You receive regular updates with photos from both the factory and the site, so your committee always knows where things stand.
1–3 months, staged
For papakāinga, homes are delivered in a programmed sequence — not all at once. This lets your community absorb each whānau as they arrive, and gives us tighter control over installation quality.
Each home is craned onto its foundations, services connected, final fitout completed, and handed over with a formal handover. Many of our handovers include a karakia or whakatau, led by your whānau, with our team present.
— Scope
— A note on funding
Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga concluded in May 2025, and the Government has signalled a more flexible approach to investment in Māori-led housing through Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga and Te Puni Kōkiri.
What this means in practice: there is still funding available for small-scale papakāinga, but the pathways are evolving. Committees considering papakāinga now should plan for funding to be assembled from multiple sources, not a single grant.
We track the changes closely and can help your committee understand what's currently available, what's likely to open, and how to position your application.
— Who we work with
Multi-home developments tied to marae or settlement land. We work alongside post-settlement governance entities, charitable trusts, and iwi commercial arms.
Whānau-led trusts on Māori freehold land. We help navigate landowner consents, Māori Land Court processes, and TPK funding pathways.
Registered providers delivering affordable rental papakāinga. We deliver to specification, to programme, and to budget — with reporting that meets CHRA standards.
Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga, Te Puni Kōkiri, Kāinga Ora, and local government partners. We deliver Māori-led housing solutions that align with Crown priorities and iwi aspirations.
— How long does a papakāinga take?
From first hui to first whānau moving in, most papakāinga developments run 18 months to 4 years end-to-end. The build itself is typically the fastest stage — what takes time is governance, consent, and funding.
We're upfront about timelines from the first kōrero. No promises we can't keep.
— Te Ao Māori, in practice
We're often asked what makes Te Pūtake different from a mainstream modular builder. The honest answer is: it's not what we add, it's what we don't strip out.
We're a Māori-led business. Our IP and sovereignty stays in Aotearoa. Our design framework starts from how whānau actually live — not how a brochure photographs. We respect tikanga where it matters, and we know the difference between performing culture and operating within it.
When we work with iwi, hapū, and trusts, we expect to be held to a higher standard. That's not a burden — it's the kaupapa.
— Frequently asked
Yes. Most of our work is on whenua Māori. We help navigate landowner consents, trust structures, and resource consent on Māori land.
Te Puni Kōkiri typically supports developments of 3–10 homes for small-scale papakāinga. We've delivered single-home builds and have capacity for larger multi-home programmes — talk to us about scale.
That depends on your governance structure. Homes can be owned by the trust, owned by individual whānau, or held as affordable rental stock through a registered CHP. We work with whatever structure your committee establishes.
No. Government funding is contested and not guaranteed. We help committees build the strongest possible application and combine multiple funding sources where needed.
Te Pūtake homes are pre-engineered for NZ code and modular manufacture. That's how we deliver at the price and timeline we do. We can adapt within the tier you choose, but we don't take fully custom designs.
Yes. Te Whare Kākano works well as a kaumātua flat or transitional housing unit. Te Whare Tipu and Rākau scale for whānau and intergenerational living.
We deliver across New Zealand and select Pacific markets. Talk to us about your location.
A kōrero. No cost, no obligation. We'll listen to your aspiration, your whenua, and where your committee is in the journey — then suggest the right next step.
It's about the people who live in them, the whakapapa they carry, and the legacy they pass on. When your committee is ready to talk to a builder, we'll be ready to listen.