Kaipō Marae

Funding for many Marae in the Taranaki region has not always been easy. Last year the boundary area eligibility for TSB Community Trust funding expanded, bringing with it greater opportunities for rural communities to gain access to funding. Sylvia Forester, treasurer and respected kuia of the Kaipō Marae, persevered against technological and geographical challenges to submit a funding application for her hapori.

In 2018, the Marae received their first grant of $2,400 to support their operational costs, marking the start of a great relationship between the Trust and a number of local Marae. Even with strong support from hapū volunteers there are some costs that cannot be avoided. Operational funding not only helps to pay for insurance and calling out expert help in emergencies but also the increasing administration costs associated with the running of the Marae.

Kaipō Marae serves around 4,000 people from the local hapū, with people travelling from across the region to hui and ceremonies in Waitōtara. In 2019, they received a further grant of $5,000 which is being used to cover administration costs associated with the development of the Marae. This will bring building expansion and an update of facilities to the much loved wharenui, which has been an important part of the area since 1860.

Syvlia explained some of the issues that expansion will help them overcome: “At the moment there are only two toilets on site, so for any large events we have to bring in portaloos. If we are able to expand we will be able to house more members of the hapori comfortably, use the Marae for more community wide events, and even look to bring back schooling on site”.

“It’s another hurdle that we don’t have to jump over. At the moment with the operation side of things we have a high number of costs associated with expanding, so every dollar counts to help with costs like district council application fees and flooding surveys, because we have to try and save costs somewhere”.

Sylvia will now be the Ngā Rauru, “Expert Nanny”, for her area to help any other Marae or local organisations that are eligible for funding to make their applications bringing even greater impact to the iwi of Taranaki.

Through our Community Funding the Trust offers a range of grants to eligible community organisations and individuals. To find out more about the types of grants the Trust makes, please click on the bu?on below.