Rongoa Research:
Pereri King, Tyne-Marie Nelson and myself were given the opportunity to spend a week in our takiwā as part of a mapping exercise. What was supposed to be work ended up being so much more; it became a journey of reconnection. Feeling our Atua, our tīpuna and our whenua running through our veins. Maungaharuru and the various manu presenting us with a whakatau. Our waters reminding us of our blood connection and the importance of unity. Our ngahere showing us how beautiful it is to exist as a collective, thriving through communal living; a reminder of the ways of old. It felt natural to talk to our whenua, our manu, our wai, our ngahere and our tīpuna. The want to karakia became an organic process. Singing, a way of expressing ones pure and unconditional love and appreciation for the space that we were in – a pause in time where whakapapa was aligned and we became our tīpuna.
A big mihi to Jarrod Wilkinson-Smith the Hapū Development Manager for providing us the opportunity to work with our whenua.
A mihi also to Pereri King and Tyne for bringing forward your expertise. It reminded me that in some cases you are the teacher and at other times you become the student. At this point in time, he tauira kē ahau.
Tūtira Project:
As part of the Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi project to revitalise Lake Tūtira a record total of 34,000 native plants were planted around the riparian margin of the Lake; a gift of manaakitanga from our hapū, the Tūtira community, Hukarere, Te Rau Oranga o Ngāti Kahungunu Waka Ama Club, Fish & Game & NZ Corrections. A huge mihi to all our volunteer groups and especially to our hapū for taking some important steps towards healing our taonga, Lake Tūtira; “Te Waiū a ō tātau tīpuna”
Mauri ora!