This paper examines community development projects in Moerewa, a small town in Te Tai Tokerau (central Northland) decimated by industrial decline in the late 1980s. It builds on a series of conversations with Ngahau Davis of He Iwi Kotahi Tatou Trust, which has sought to revitalise Moerewa by challenging conventional understandings of development. The paper is part of an on‐going engagement with the Trust, which includes involving it with a second year undergraduate field course. In the paper, we argue for the political and theoretical potential of post‐development inquiry and practice in communities like Moerewa.