Pōhatuiri Marae
Maori communities have got so use to ‘modern infrastructure’ that they shocked to learn that some of the old and more self reliant ways have there benefits. Encouraged by what they have learnt from NIWA, the Pōhatuiri Marae Trust is seriously considering developing a ‘sustainable marae’.
Back in April 2007, the Pōhatuiri Marae Trust decided to rebuild there marae near Waitomo. The trust approached NIWA about renewable energy solutions for providing electricity. We asked “electricity for what?”, and so began an interesting learning process.
The total quantity and peak demand rates of electricity demand from a marae complex is highly dependent upon: size and frequency of hui, and choice of technology used in the marae (eg. cooking, space heating, water heating, refrigeration). Few people use the marae every day, but the facilities have to cope with big hui once in a while, so the team costed each package of options for two scenarios: moderate occupancy, and high occupancy (requiring approximately double the water and sewage infrastructure, and 30% more electricity). NIWA discussed the options available for each form of energy demand. “As the community began to understand the issues more, they soon realised they wanted to know more than about electricity. They wanted to understand the implications of a more holistic solution that included electricity provision, clean water supply, and sewage treatment.
NIWA conducted a desktop review of marae building plans, topography, climate, and water resources. The team created three packages of options ranked as ‘most environmentally sensitive’, ‘moderately environmentally sensitive’, and ‘conventional design’. The ‘most environmentally sensitive design’ included: passive lighting, good insulation, gas cooking, solar hot water heating, photovoltaic cells, stand-by generator, high efficiency refrigeration, rainwater collection & filtering, and composting / grey water toilets with 3-stage sub-surface irrigation sewerage treatment system. In comparison, the ‘conventional design’ included: grid electricity, electric / gas cooking, electric water heating, a heat-pump, rainwater and trucked water, and standard toilets and infiltration sewerage treatment system.
What surprised the community was that the combined costs of the three packages (from conventional design to most environmentally sensitive) were all comparable in cost. The primary reason for this is that ‘environmentally sensitive designs’ generally has less resource and processing demand, hence more complexity can be afforded per unit of flow.
The ‘traditional maori’ practices of maximising passive light, good insulation, controlled water use, compositing toilets and maximising the use of local fuels are all sustainable and cost effective.
NIWA energy research engineer Rilke de Vos says “Together, we’ve identified the tradeoffs, and the marae committee can now pick the options which best fit its budget and environmental objectives.”
Inside the wharenui at Pōhatuiri Marae, NIWA and the whanau discuss renewable energy and efficiency options.
For enquiries contact
Michele Hollis
ph: + 64 4 386 0483
mob: + 027 255 2500
m.hollis@niwa.co.nz