In response to the global climate crisis, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington embarked on an ambitious Living Pā building project to construct a 3,000-square-metre three-storey learning, teaching, research and engagement space as part of Te Herenga Waka Marae on its Kelburn Campus. While preparing to move into the new building, a research team investigated how the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge™ sustainability principles that underpin the Living Pā project could complement the tikanga Māori that regulate the marae community.

Exploitation of geothermal taonga at Ohaki has resulted in irreparable damage to whānau land, tribal land and the marae reservation, including major land subsidence, devastation of wāhi tapu, and groundwater impacts. The whānau, determined to shift from grievance mode to (eco)development mode, are committed to caring for and regenerating their whenua. This article outlines a whānau journey of re-establishing papakāinga. Their narratives provide insights and key eco-development factors which provide a blueprint for resilient whānau-based living, based on the practice wisdom of their tūpuna.