It may be the height of summer, but a Turangi-based iwi is busy insulating hundreds of houses.
Tuwharetoa is using some of its Treaty of Waitangi settlement money to insulate members' homes before winter arrives.
The tribe is paying two-thirds of the cost, with the Government footing the rest of the bill under its Warm Up New Zealand, Heat Smart programme,
Whare with young whanau and the elderly are generally being worked on first.
Iwi spokesperson Dickson Chapman says the job's being done by tribal members through the Raukawa Charitable Trust.
He says the purpose for setting up the Trust was to provide employment and there are up to 15 people on the payroll.
Dickson Chapman says about 600 homes have been insulated, with another 2000 to go.
