Marae Solar Project

Solar systems installed on Tairāwhiti marae so they can keep serving through extreme weather.

Closes

Programme rather than a round — contact Trust Tairāwhiti

Who can apply

Marae across Tairāwhiti. 22 marae were equipped with solar systems as of the 2025/26 year; up to 12 more are underway for 2026/27, potentially bringing the total to 34.

Amount

Total project cost is $2.6m; Trust Tairāwhiti contributed $15,000 per marae, with further funding from the Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal Trust, Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority, Te Puni Kōkiri, the DIA Lottery Community Grant, Eastern & Central Community Trust and the Todd Foundation. Not a cash grant to the marae.

Funding route

Grant

Applicants

Marae & hapū, Iwi & Māori organisations

Before you apply

A programme rather than a fund, and it exists because marae become the place people go when the power fails. After the weather events of recent years, energy resilience is the difference between a marae opening its doors and not.

22 marae were equipped as of the 2025/26 year, and the programme has since expanded rather than wound down — up to 12 more marae are underway for 2026/27, potentially bringing the total to 34. Total project cost is $2.6m, funded by the Cyclone Gabrielle Appeal Trust, EECA, Te Puni Kōkiri, the DIA Lottery Community Grant, Eastern & Central Community Trust, the Todd Foundation and Trust Tairāwhiti, which also contributed $15,000 per marae.

Trust Tairāwhiti also runs a general Community Fund for the Gisborne district, listed here, and has funded a taiwhenua, an iwi trust and marae-led kaupapa in recent rounds.

Official source →

Checked 16 September 2026

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Details change without notice. Check the funder's own page before you apply. Tōku Waka does not administer, assess or award this funding.