Climate-smart, culturally safe home nears completion in Tennant Creek

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.

Wilya Janta’s first “Explain Home”, built for Wilya Janta co-founder Norm Frank Jupurrurla, on Warumungu Country just north of Tennant Creek.

“Walking through this home, you can feel the difference straight away,” Wilya Janta’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr Simon Quilty, said.

“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.

“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.”

Norm Frank Jupurrurla is welcomed to his new home by Wilya Janta co-founder Simon Quilty.

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.