In Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Aho Tū Roa Poutautoko Pania Newton has been supporting Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Raki Paewhenua with the Taapapa to Rua initiative to explore Kūmara.
Harvest time saw a return to Raki Paewhenua after our previous visit to plant the taapapa for tupu for the maara. The Kūmara from Taapapa to Rua initiative was a collaboration with funding from the Mana Ora project, allowing us to get the necessary tools and two high-quality compost bins for green and kai waste from their kura kitchen. This event was highly enjoyable and marked another successful step in our ongoing collaboration.
“Rawe ki ahau enei mahi, ko ahau tetahi o nga kaitiaki mot e maara, pirangi ahau kite whakaako ki aku teina tenei mahi te hauhake kumara.” – Aneurin Brockbank
“Took my scales in this morning and we harvested 135kg of kūmara from our 12 purapura. The count was around 800-900. So cool seeing the kids so excited about it inanahi. The kūmara are going home with the tamariki and kaimahi today, about a kilo per person, and we have our purapura for the end of the year, so have closed that circle which is awesome. Will be back in the māra on Friday from 9am to finish things off. Ngā mihi ki a kōrua, koutou ko te kaunihera hoki.” – Rangimaria Abraham
