Construction of Tennant Creek’s first Explain Home is nearing completion, marking a major step forward for community-driven, climate-resilient housing in the Northern Territory.
Built using locally made termite-mound mud bricks, the home’s high-thermal-mass walls are designed to stay cool through extreme heat. Solar panels, battery storage and rainwater harvesting are now in place, making sure the family who moves in gets a home that’s reliable, sustainable and built the right way from the ground up.
Culturally safe
The home has been developed alongside the Right Way Housing Guidelines, a document co-designed by Warumungu community members through Wilya Janta. The Guidelines spell out how housing should be planned, designed and delivered within community — setting clear expectations for government and industry about genuine engagement, cultural safety and long-term durability. In short: do it with community, not to community.
With the Federal and NT Governments committing $4 billion to remote housing, the Right Way Housing Guidelines offer a practical blueprint to make sure that investment is community-led, community-approved and actually delivers homes people can thrive in.
Wilya Janta’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr Simon Quilty, said: “Walking through this home, you can feel the difference straight away. It stays cool in the heat, it uses the sun and the rain properly, and it’s built in a way that makes sense for Warumungu families. This is what housing should look like in remote communities.
“Government and industry talk a lot about engagement, but the Right Way Guidelines lay out what real engagement looks like. It’s community-led. It’s respectful. And it results in homes like this one — homes that are culturally safe, climate-ready and built to last.”
Wilya Janta’s Chief Cultural Officer, Jimmy Frank Jupurrurla, said: “We designed these Guidelines so government and industry can work with us properly. Our community has been saying the same thing for decades: don’t just talk to us — listen.
“This isn’t just one house. It’s proof of a better way to build across the Territory. When people follow the Right Way Guidelines, communities get the housing they deserve.”
Tennant Creek specific
The Right Way Housing Guidelines have been created specifically for Tennant Creek, shaped by the knowledge, cultural practices and priorities of Warumungu people. While they’re grounded in local Country, the process used to develop them can be repeated in other remote communities — across the Barkly and Central Desert regions — so every community can build its own version of housing done the right way.