Te Whare Tapa Whā
This kaupapa is guided by the teachings of Sir Mason Durie and the model of Te Whare Tapa Whā. In this understanding of hauora, wellbeing is like a whare supported by four pou. Each pou represents a dimension of life that must stand strong for the whole person and the whole whānau to flourish.
Across our sites and services, each space offers holistic care while holding a particular focus.
Waimanako is our gathering space for taha whānau, where relationships are strengthened and belonging is restored.
Waimanaaki is our outreach service for taha tinana, bringing nourishment and practical wellbeing support to whānau where it is needed most.
Waihāpai supports taha hinengaro through warm and steady one on one and small rōpū support.
Taranaki Retreat holds taha wairua through the Residential Support Space and Whare Tāpu, where stillness, karakia and reconnection with te taiao support restoration.
Together these pou work as one whare, each strengthening the other so that whānau can move toward balance, safety and collective oranga.
The First Pou — Taha Whānau
Waimanako sits like a pātaka of belonging, its doors open to all who arrive. Cups of tea cross the same table where laughter and tears sit together, as they always do when people are truly present with one another.
Whanaungatanga moves easily here in the warm greeting, the space made at the table, and the quiet understanding that no one has to face life alone. Support grows naturally in this place through shared stories, through kindness, and through the simple act of showing up for one another.
Waimanako is a gathering space where connections are formed, dignity is restored, and the strength of community becomes visible in everyday acts of manaakitanga.
The Second Pou — Taha Wairua
There are places where stillness settles naturally into the body. The Residential Support Space, with the Whare Tāpu at its heart at Taranaki Retreat, rests in one of those places.
Here the rhythms of karakia, reflection and quiet presence allow wairua to settle. Those who arrive carrying the weight of loss, trauma or disconnection are welcomed into a space where spiritual wellbeing is recognised as essential to healing.
Through time, stillness and connection with te taiao, people rediscover breath, presence and the gentle return of inner balance.
The Third Pou — Taha Tinana
The body carries everything. Grief settles in the shoulders. Fear sits quietly in the chest. The long exhaustion of survival can live deep in the bones.
Waimanaaki moves through the community bringing nourishment, practical support and care for the physical wellbeing of whānau. Warm meals, health checks and everyday acts of assistance honour the truth that the body must be sustained before anything else can begin to heal.
When tinana is nourished the mauri begins to lift. Energy returns. Strength grows. Hope begins to speak again.
The Fourth Pou — Taha Hinengaro
Some burdens are carried so long they settle quietly into the mind. Grief. Loneliness. Thoughts that circle in the dark hours with no place to land.
Waihāpai provides a warm and supportive space where kōrero can unfold safely. Through one on one support and small rōpū gatherings, people are able to speak what has long been held in silence.
Here the hinengaro is met with patience and compassion. Healing is not rushed. Instead it moves gently, step by step, as people rediscover their own strength and clarity.
Whenua
All of this work is deeply rooted in the whenua and the histories of the places where this kaupapa lives.
Waimanako stands beside the Huatoki Stream within the rohe of Ngāti Tūparikino, Ngāti Tawhirikura and Ngāti Te Whiti hapū of Te Ātiawa. These waters have long been part of the life of the people of this rohe, carrying the stories and footsteps of generations who gathered here before.
Waihāpai also sits within the rohe of Ngāti Tūparikino, between two ancestral waters, the Waiwhakaiho and the Henui. These rivers have shaped the life of this place for generations, carrying stories, sustenance and memory across time. Dr Hurangi Waikerepuru spoke of the Waiwhakaiho as the umbilical cord that connects tangata to whenua, sacred waters gifted from the heavens that continue to nourish the land and the people.
The Residential Support Space and Whare Tāpu at Taranaki Retreat stand on the whenua of Ngā Mahanga hapū of Taranaki Iwi. This land carries deep memory and continues to hold those who arrive seeking stillness and restoration.
Waimanaaki moves throughout the rohe of Te Ātiawa, travelling where nourishment and practical support are needed most. In doing so it passes through places that hold deep cultural and historical significance, many of them wāhi tapu where the footsteps of tūpuna remain present in the landscape.
Across all of these places the relationship with whenua remains central. The land holds memory. The rivers carry life. The people continue the work of care.
When the whenua is honoured, the people are strengthened. And when the people are supported, the whare of wellbeing stands strong.
‘Ko te whenua te pūtake, ko ngā pou te oranga’
‘The land is the foundation, the pillars are wellbeing’.
