East Coast iwi Ngati Porou is to set up its own building firm with the aim of creating affordable housing for descendants.
Ngati Porou Runanga chairperson Apirana Mahuika says the tribe has the raw materials needed for construction.
He says they have a forestry company, and a lot of the trees will soon be ready for harvesting - with the bulk ready to fell in two years time.
It is also helping seven rangatahi train as carpenters at Eastern Institute of Technology by providing them with scholarships.
Mr Mahuika says it's not all about putting up structures; it's about ensuring the people of Ngati Porou are not just the hewers of wood and the carriers of water.
He says tribal lawyers are looking at how the building company will be set up.
The iwi already has a number of subsidiaries including Ngati Porou Seafoods Group.
