First community-designed, culture-led home from new outback housing initiative arrives in Tennant Creek
The new home, which is modular and accessible, was co-designed by traditional owner Norman Frank and designer Serina Morton. (ABC News: Chris Marrkarany Fitzpatrick)
In short:
The first in a series of new "explain homes" — modular and culture-led houses built by Aboriginal-led organisation Wilya Janta — has been trucked into Tennant Creek.
The design prioritises outdoor living, shaded breezeways, separate verandahs, two bathrooms for cultural avoidance, disability access and solar power.
What's next?
Four similar homes are planned for Tennant Creek next year, with Wilya Janta staff saying they hope the homes can ease local overcrowding challenges.
Five trucks rumble up the Stuart Highway, each carrying a slice of home.
Warumungu traditional owner Norman Frank and his partner, designer Serina Morton, stand on the side of the road, waving as five prefabricated modules head for Tennant Creek — pieces that will be bolted together in about a day, before the home is finished locally over the coming weeks.
Serina Morton and Norman Frank greet the trucks as they arrive via the Stuart Highway. (ABC News: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick)
The home they will create is the first of five new houses bound for Tennant Creek, with the other four set to be installed next year.
Each home will be slightly different, as each has been designed in collaboration with the specific family that will live in it.
"That's what we'd like to see across the whole NT … our people not suffering in these houses and getting sick because of overcrowding," Mr Frank said.
"We want to live our way in our country."
The first of Wilya Janta's "explain homes", which were co-designed with community members, has arrived in Tennant Creek from Adelaide via the Stuart Highway. (Supplied: Wilya Janta)
Culture-first design, built for big families
Five years ago, Mr Frank founded Aboriginal-led housing initiative Wilya Janta, to build what the organisation calls "explain homes" — prefabricated houses co-designed with Tennant Creek residents for the way families actually live.
The features include wide shaded breezeways, two verandahs creating separate spaces for men and women, two bathrooms to support cultural avoidance, and an outdoor kitchen so that hunting and cooking do not cut through living rooms.
Doorways are wider and access is flatter for elders and people with disabilities, and the home is oriented east-west in keeping with Warumungu custom.
Serina Morton, who designed their prefabricated home, said the build was a dream come true after years of work.
"[There are] two showers, two to three rooms … one kitchen inside and one outside … and two large lunch rooms for the kids and for ourselves," she said.
She added that placing rooms where people actually gathered was the purpose of the co-design.
"We designed it ourselves," she said.
Frank Norman and Serina Morton say the new home was years in the making. (ABC News: Chris Marrkarany Fitzpatrick)
Heat, bills — and the design fix
Wilya Janta staff said the build was cost-competitive with standard NT public housing, but cheaper to run, in combining highly efficient, air-conditioned interiors with big, usable shade outside.
Chief operations officer Simon Quilty said the wrong design trapped heat and pushed power bills up.
"Out here in summer, it can get hotter inside than out if the design's wrong," he said.
Simon Quilty says the right design is critical for reducing heat within a home. (ABC News: Chris Marrkarany Fitzpatrick)
He said the new home model balanced cost and performance with input from CSIRO and architects.
"The up-front cost is about the same, but the long-term savings are extraordinary," he said.
Solar on the roof, power in community hands
The prefabricated home is wired for rooftop solar and batteries, with Wilya Janta and its partners aiming to link the future homes into local energy systems.
"The technology is here, and it will save families huge power bills," Dr Quilty said.
Across Australia, First Nations groups have been pairing housing with community-controlled power in recent years, setting up micro-grids powered by solar and battery systems in a bid to live more sustainably.
Last year, the small remote community of Marlinja switched on an Indigenous-owned solar micro-grid connecting every household, with residents reporting bills down by about 70 per cent.
Chantelle Johns, Marlinja community liaison officer for Original Power, the organisation that built the micro-grid, said that shift was about more than dollars.
"The micro-grid is already saving us money — creating local jobs, training and empowering the community to grow," she said.
Wilya Janta has partnered with Original Power for the installation of the solar power and battery systems in their explain homes,
Staff said they hoped a micro-grid system may also be possible for Tennant Creek in future.
Chantelle Johns says the micro-grid in Marlinja is saving the community money and creating local jobs. (ABC News: Chris Marrkarany Fitzpatrick)
Health at the centre
Overcrowding in homes in the Barkly region, where Tennant Creek is located, has been linked to infectious disease and acute rheumatic fever in children.
Dr Quilty said bigger, smarter layouts — such as shaded social spaces plus more usable cool rooms — could help ease crowding without blowing out budgets.
"Our houses will accommodate lots of people when family visit for footy, culture or funerals," he said.
Once the modular home is set up in Tennant Creek, it is finished with bricks and connected to plumbing, electricity and other infrastructure — a process that takes roughly a month. (Supplied: Wilya Janta)
"Healthy homes close the gap … and when families shape them, they work."