Kāinga: People, Land, Belonging

by Paul Tapsell

‘Dare we elevate kāinga as a way of achieving regionalised ecological accountability, and in the process can we bring humanity back into balance with the universe?’

Through his own experience and the stories of his tīpuna, Paul Tapsell (Te Arawa, Tainui) charts the impact of colonisation on his people. Alienation from kāinga and whenua becomes a wider story of environmental degradation and system collapse.

This book is an impassioned plea to step back from the edge. It is now up to the Crown, Tapsell writes, to accept the need for radical change. The ecological costs of colonisation are clear, and yet those same extractive and exploitative models remain foundational today. Only a complete step-change, one that embraces kāinga, can transform our lands and waterways, and potentially become a source of inspiration to the world.

Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2022

Reviews

[Catarina Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an immigrant, I think it’s incredibly important to learn about where you live; learn about where you are a visitor. "Kāinga just might be the instrument New Zealand needs to heal the seeing agricultural sector and decalcify its drainage-hardened arteries before the country goes into cardiac arrest." When we say #LandBack, this is what we mean.

[Daria Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply personal and deeply researched reflection on Aotearoa New Zealand's past, present, and future, and what it will take to heal the social, economic, and environmental wounds of colonisation to create a more just and equitable society for all.

[Kita Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really thought provoking. Seems that iwi is not the right sort of body that the Crown should be negotiating with. Iwi is too big. It should be kaainga. Lots to think about.

[k.]

a powerful and informative work of great importance. as a british immigrant to aotearoa with immense privilege, this book has helped reframe my views regarding maori relations to whenua, using language and argumentation that felt instantly familiar, comprehensible, and convincing, even to my unorthodox philosophicopolitical mind.
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