Our Purpose
Te Whare Hangahanga is about building warm, dry, accessible whare that restore our communities. We are guided by Te Ao Māori to create indigenous solutions that deliver properous futures for everyone.
Who are we?
We are a dedicated team who are all keen to eradicate homelessness and ensure we house everyone in Aotearoa. We are supported by our kaumātua, local marae and hapū.
Amber Craig
Kaiwhakarewa (Founder)
Amber (Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Muaūpoko) is a pioneering Māori technologist, strategist and kaupapa Māori innovator. Amber builds scalable, culturally grounded systems that serve whānau, uplift te reo and tikanga, and enable our whānau, rangatahi and kaumātua to thrive.
Steffen Rusten
Tūkotahi Phillips
Pou Hanga (Operations)
Kaitohutohu (Advisor)
Tūkotahi (Tamahaki, Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Kahungunu) thrives in the detail. His focus on operations is ensuring technically our machines run as they should and facilitating our build teams that their processes are as efficient as possible while not comprimising on quality.
Steffen (he uri ia nō Nōwei) has a background in digital innovation, marketing and start-ups, he helps shape kaupapa, clarify narratives, and turn vision into action. At Te Whare Hangahanga, he supports strategy, commercial planning, and partnerships to help scale our impact.
Sheree Dewbery
Pou Manaaki (Carer)
Sheree (Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāpuhi) is dynamic and attentive to whānau and communities - actively listening to understand key issues and outcomes quickly. Her calm demeanor and meticulous eye for detail ensure that we are proactively able to support our kaimahi, whānau and communities.
Hīria Te Rangi
Kaitohutohu (Advisor)
Hīria (Ngāti Porou, Tūwharetoa) has championed Māori data sovereignty, community infrastructure, and systems built for people, not just data. As Kaiwhakahaere she brings over 9+ years of stories and experiences from people directly impacted by cold, damp whare in Aotearoa.
Our partnerships
We are careful who we work with and we assure that our values and principles align before starting to discuss partnerships. Below is organisations that values fully align and we're working extensively with.
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organisations we are discussing with about collaborating and partnerships
organisations we have partnerships with
Whakahangahanga Charitable Trust
We have teamed up with Whakahangahanga Charitable Trust to work together to tackle homelessness and to ensure we focus on housing for those that are vulnerable, underserved and whānau Māori populations.
X-Frame
We have teamed up Ged and the team at X-Frame for our framing system to ensure we deliver an environmentally friendly, fast and recyclable system.
Victoria University - School of Architecture
We have also teamed up with Dr. Antony Pelosi, a senior lecturer, at School of Architecture to work together researching and exploring innovative approaches to housing our people.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.
Our Location
We are based in the Wairarapa, but we travel around Aotearoa to listen to the stories of the whenua.
Our Workshop
49 Waingawa Road, Carterton