The tupuna of Whirinaki had long talked about improving their environment and restoring the culture for their hapū. The awa (river) had been neglected. It was clogged up. It flooded regularly. Livestock using the river had made it dirty. Other life in the river was dying.
The vision for the future did not need to be written down to be the deeply-held, shared commitment for the people – focus on restoring the awa and the rest will follow.
We worked with the Whirinaki community to support them to develop a pathway plan of what they wanted to achieve and how they would measure their progress.
We also worked with them so that they could work out what went well and why, as well as what didn't go so well and why and what could they do differently next time.
They were prepared to change how they planned to do things as they went, while still getting to where they wanted to be.
Watch their video to find out more about their projects and the highlights of their journey.
The people of Whirinaki, Hokianga, used the Community-led Development approach to help in developing projects that will sustain the health and vitality of their people, the land, their waterways, ngahere, flora and fauna, and cultural heritage. Whirinaki was one of four communities that agreed to work in partnership with Community Operations to pilot the community-led development approach over five years.
By standing beside each other and "paddling in the same direction" they have worked for the benefit of their community and environment.
Watch their video to find out more about their projects and the highlights of their journey.