About KINRA
KINRA is not another remote housing program. It's a community-controlled, net-zero neighbourhood — designed in Derby, by Derby people, with the intention that it gets built elsewhere too.
The project
Derby has been home to displaced First Nations people for generations. Sixteen groups — Warrwa, Bardi, Jawi, Ngarinyin, Nyikina, Bunuba, Walmajarri, Wangkatjunka and others — were concentrated there after being removed from their Country. The housing they inherited reflects that history: overcrowded, under-maintained and increasingly unfit for a warming climate.
KINRA is a response that starts from a different place. The Liyan Foundation has access to a ten-hectare site near the Derby townsite — Crown land under Catholic Church jurisdiction, suitable for up to 100 homes. The project pairs that land opportunity with community authority, climate-adapted design, net-zero energy and an approach to construction that puts local people to work.
The Derby precinct is also the first regional initiative of the KINRA global platform — a framework for replicating Indigenous-led net-zero community development. What works here is designed to travel.
Vision
To develop a sustainable, affordable housing precinct in Derby that provides secure long-term housing and pathways to ownership for Aboriginal households — achieving net zero, governed by and for community, and showing how it can be done elsewhere.
"KINRA is building a global movement — Indigenous communities leading the design of net-zero regenerative neighbourhoods rooted in culture, climate and place."
The organisations
An Aboriginal-led community organisation in the Kimberley focused on cultural revitalisation, economic empowerment and locally driven development. Liyan works across housing, employment, education and arts. Its approach is deliberate and iterative — phased pilots, co-design, feedback loops. The Foundation originated the KINRA concept and holds its community mandate.
An Indigenous-led consulting firm co-founded by Nyikina man Jason Hunter and Frances Barns. Binjabo manages the KINRA project — evaluation, governance, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement. With experience spanning evaluation, international development, Indigenous policy and project management across 12 countries. Tagline: Listening first. Leading change.
The KINRA platform
KINRA is designed to be replicable from day one. The Derby precinct is the proof of concept — the evidence that makes the next one cheaper and faster.
Advancing Indigenous-led net-zero communities worldwide
WA's first Indigenous-led net-zero housing initiative
The flagship. Community-owned, climate-resilient housing in the West Kimberley.
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