Ngāti Tahu and Contact Energy have been recognised after helping the semi-nomadic Masaai people of Kenya establish a sustainable partnership for their geothermal resources.
The pair won the 2018 US Energy Association Corporate Volunteer Award in Washington DC after helping the Masaai partner with one of Kenya's largest power producing companies.
Olkaria, a geothermally active area situated in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya is the spiritual home of the Maasai community who make up over half a million people.
After tensions and disagreements between a local power company and the Maasai over the development of a geothermal power plant, the United States Energy Association approached Ngāti Tahu for best practice models on indigenous engagement.
Aroha Campbell, who has worked extensively within her iwi on geothermal development says, "They have the same value-base as we do in terms of how important the land is to them, which is the same for us".
The exchange, which took place over a year, involved close working relationships between Ngāti Tahu and the Maasai as well as Contact Energy and KenGen.
Ngāti Tahu and Contact say they were able to draw from their own experiences with past conflicts surrounding the Ohaaki power plant station in Ngāti Tahu, as well as strengthening their own relationship.
"More importantly [it] was about how do we talk to each other, how do we interact with each other, how do we move forward as a collective with Contact Energy?” says Campbell.
Contact’s Head of Sustainability Kaapua Smith says, "Our approach was to say 'look we have a story to tell, we've made some learnings, we've made some mistakes, we're not perfect but we think we've got something to share with you. But ultimately the solutions need to come from yourselves'".
The two worked in partnership in establishing a co-management system for Maasai and KenGen over the 500 mega-watt power plant station in Olkaria.
Smith says, "If the company wanted to engage in a meaningful way then there needed to be investment into the capability and capacity of the community".
Campbell and Smith say although relationships continue to be a work in progress they hope the project stands as an example for business and indigenous community partnerships worldwide.