tE WAIROA 

Te Wairoa is a town in the North of the Hawke’s Bay region, located at the mouth of the Wairoa River. Percentage-wise, it is often known for being New Zealand’s most Māori town, with over 62 percent of the population identifying as Māori.  Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa is the recognised iwi for most of the town’s population, however, over the last ten years other iwi are also being recognized including Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Rakai-Paaka, Ngāti Pāhauwera and Ruapani. ​

Te Wairoa is also fiercely loyal to its many hapū and marae; over 30 marae reside within a 50km radius of the Wairoa Township. The council, supported by local Māori entities including Te Ātaarangi, Reo Rua and surrounding Marae have asked to be seriously considered as one of the first bi-lingual towns in New Zealand

Maintaining the values in environments where Māori world views are not the prevailing norm is one of the dilemmas we as whānau, marae, hapū and iwi face. We owe it to the future generations of our whakapapa to do the right thing; finding mātauranga Māori solutions through research will assist our community to continue to grow and flourish.
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For the purpose of this project ahi kaa has been defined as: 

• Ahi kaa e morehu ana: Remained on the papakāinga, actively supported the marae and hapū, and maintained the homestead for the whānau.
• Ahi kaa haere atu hoki mai: do not live on the papakāinga but return regularly to support the marae and hapū.
• Ahi kaa moe mate: live on the papakāinga but do not support marae and hapū​