Philosophy and values

Originally, the participants in the project were motivated by, and acting in response to, their faith in Christ.  Today, the project includes participants from different faiths, working together with a mutual philosophy and spiritual guidelines.

The IHH seeks to:

• create a space for mutual contact, awareness and sharing
• offer hospitality without domination
• be based on a model of hospitality and not welfare
• be accountable to the Indigenous community

A task-based community

The IHH is a community that exists not for its own sake, but for a common task: offering hospitality to guests.
This is the primary purpose of the IHH, and forms the basis for all decisions made in the house:  will this affect our ability to offer hospitality?

Peace of the house

Maintaining the ‘peace of the house’ is a key philosophy in determining how the house operates on a day-to-day basis.  People at the house focus on maintaining a commitment to offering hospitality and creating a peaceful atmosphere in communal areas and working out issues of tension and conflict through respectful negotiation.

Sustainability and consistency

The IHH has recognised the need to ensure its sustainability into the future and this often influences the policies adopted by the house (for example, not having guests in school holiday periods).

It has also been recognised that in order to maintain the unity and peace of the house, it is essential that residents act as a team and with consistency to ensure that residents and guests alike are clear about what the IHH offers.