Our Kaupapa
Eco Funeral Resources is dedicated to restoring community-led, compassionate practices around dying, death, and bereavement.
Who We Are
Registered as a charitable trust in 2022, Te Atawhai Aroha has a Te Tiriti partnership governance model, with tangata whenua and tauiwi co-chairs. We work alongside whānau / family, hospice teams, Māori health providers, and local marae to provide end-of-life and post-death care that is empowering, accessible, and culturally safe.
Ngā Pou Herenga, The Funeral Guides Collective
It is a charitable trust based in Whakatāne. Working since 2020 and then registered as a Charitable Trust in 2024, we are dedicated to restoring community-led, compassionate practices around dying, death, and bereavement.
We have a Te Tiriti partnership model of governance, with a Tāngata whenua whare, and a Tau iwi whare, with co-chairs.
We work alongside whānau / family, hospice, Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora and local marae to support end-of-life and post- death care that is empowering, accessible, and culturally safe.
Our Social Enterprise:
Eco-Funeral Resources
Eco-Funeral Resources was created to import and make professional-grade Cooling Platforms available across Aotearoa.
Profits from this enterprise support the wider work of Te Atawhai Aroha and Ngā Pou Herenga, Funeral Guides Collective—reducing reliance on grants and ensuring sustainable community support.
Our Work
Our Trusts provide a wide range of initiatives, including:
- No One Dies Alone volunteer programme
- Affordable funeral hui and wānanga
- Advance Care Planning support
- Provision of cooling alternatives to embalming
- Natural body care wānanga / workshops
- Natural burial advocacy
- Harakeke shroud making workshops
- Compassionate Communities network development
Each of these strengthens whānau / family and community preparedness for death, loss, and grief.
Our Partnerships
We work closely with iwi, marae, and community networks to ensure whānau have access to dignified, culturally aligned options.
As natural burial sites grow across Aotearoa, Cooling Platforms will become a cornerstone of affordable and sustainable deathcare.
