Nō te putanga o te mate urutā kua warea katoa ngā whānau ki ngā pūnaha kai me ngā pūnaha e ora ai rātou i ngā wā kāinga. Nā mātou o Te Aho Tū Roa me ōNuku Trust ēnei wānanga e 16 i whakaritea; e whā wānanga ki te taha o ngā whānau e whā kua roa e tohunga ana ki ngā momo mahinga kai, me ngā pūnaha ukiuki e noho mana motuhake ai rātou ki ō rātou whenua, i konei i Te Taitokerau nei. Mai i te whakatupu mahinga kai, uru huarākau, ngāherehere rākau Māori ki te whakarauora whenua, tiaki kararehe, kohi me te tiaki kākano, me ērā atu kaupapa, kapi katoatia ana e ēnei pou tohunga.

Ko te whāinga o ēnei wānanga kia tuari, kia toha, kia whāngai atu ngā mātauranga, ngā mōhiotanga hoki o ngā pou tohunga nei ki ngā whānau e hiakai ana ki ēnei taonga. Mā tēnei pea ka hihiri ake anō te hiahia a te rau tāngata, ki ngā ringaringa me ngā ngākau o ngā whānau- tamariki mai, taipakeke mai- ki te whakatakoto rautaki e noho mana motuhake ai rātou ki o rātou ake kāinga, ki o rātou ake whenua.

“Māori departed their tūrangawaewae, where the right to stand, cultivate land and grow kai was an unquestioned necessity of life. Away from the tight knit wider whānau unit that collectively cultivated gardens, maintained and harvested crops to provide sustenance for themselves and their wider hapū. This new urban way of life was not only isolating, but also made whānau “time poor” as people moved into full time employment in order to maintain the new habits and behaviours of living in “the big smoke”. Less time, less land, less whānau and greater access to wages. Now, a grocery store could conveniently supply a family with everything they could ever need to eat. Over the decades growing our own kai has become redundant.” – Jared Hiakita, tuakana

Ngā wānanga ki Omanaia

Ko Gail rāua ko John Aitkens ngā pou tohunga kei Omanaia e noho ana, ā, mai rā anō rāua e whakatupu ana, e kohi ana, e whakarite kai ana kua tupu parakore nei i tō rāua pāmū. He kaitiaki, he kaiwhakamakuru rāua o ngā tūmomo kākano kai tuku iho maha, ā, ka whakaratohia a Koanga Institute ki ēnei kākano. He kaikōkiri kaupapa tōrangapū whakarauora taiao rāua i te rohe o Hokianga, ā, he ngākaunui rāua ki te whakaako tāngata ki ngā mātauranga me ngā wheako kei a rāua.

“Sharing that matauranga and experience, sharing it for the good of all rather than doing it for yourselves and benefiting yourselves only – this is the opposite” – kaiuru

Ko te kaupapa matua o o rāua wānanga ko te MANAWAROATANGA (resilience) o ngā mea katoa. Nā rāua te whānau kaiuru i ārahi i roto i ngā mahi whakariterite whenua hei mahinga, kai e mōmona ai te tupu a ngā tupu kia tae ki te wā o te koanga; whakatō tupu mai i te kākano; tīpako purapura me te whakatō purapura; me te mātai, te whakapiki hoki i te haumakotanga o te whenua.

Ko ngā hua i puta mō ngā kaiuru, he mōhio ki te whakatupu hua ora e taea ana a rātou kākano kaha te tiaki, hei whakatō a te tau e tū mai nei. He mōhio hoki ki te whakatō i aua kākano, kia matomato, kia mōmona te tupu e whāngaia hākarikarihia te whānau. I te mutunga mai mā ēnei rautaki, waia ai te whakapapa o ēnei kākano, ēnei hua ki ngā āhuaranga o tērā whenua, o tērā kāinga, e pakari ai, e manawaroa ai tāna tupu ā haere ake nei.

“I’m becoming more passionate about my love for the soil and understanding it. I really want to learn more. For the love of soil I want to understand, for rangatiratanga for our people” – kaiuru

Ngā wānanga ki Whirinaki

Ko Patrick rāua ko Marissa ngā pou tohunga o ēnei wānanga, tae atu rā ki o rāua mātua, me te whānau Land whānui e noho papakāinga ana ki tō rātou whenua i Whirinaki. E hia kē nei ngā reanga o tēnei whānau kua noho māori i tēnei kāinga, ā, ko ngā hua me ngā kai nō te whenua kua whāngaihia rātou, tau atu, tau mai. Ko Hōhepa Land, te pāpā o Patrick, tētahi o ngā tino tohunga whakatupu kūmara o Te Taitokerau whānui, i te maha o ngā tūmomo kūmara tuku iho kei a ia, me a rātou tāwara rerekē, ā, kānga mai, rīwai mai anō hoki. Ko ētahi o ngā tukanga tūāpapa o tēnei whānau, o tēnei kāinga whā eka te rahi, i tuarihia ki ngā kaiuru, kia kaua tētahi e whakamahi i ngā taonga hangarau o te ao hurihuri ki te whakatō, whakatupu, whakarite kai. Kahore he tarakihana, kahore he tira rōtari hei keri, kahore he pouaka tio; he taputapu ā ringa, he hōiho Clydesdale, he rautaki, tukanga hoki ki te tiaki kai nahe anō. Kua roa tēnei whānau e noho māori ana i te whenua, reanga mai, reanga atu.

“This is teaching our tamariki the essence and the mauri of kaitiakitanga and this is what it’s all about. From the whenua, how you are feeding it, to the trees, to the animals and to your puku. Awesome, miharo, thank you so much we are just honoured to be here and experience so many shifts in whakaaro” – kaiako

Ko ngā kaupapa hāngai o ēnei wānanga kei te ia o te hiahia o ngā tāngata i tae atu. He whakawhanaunga te mahi tuatahi, ā, nā tēnā, nā tēnā ana ake hiahia, wawata hoki i tuari ki te whānau. I reira ka mōhio ai me aha, me pēhea. He tūhura haere i te whenua te mahi tuarua, i reira toko ake ai ngā pātai, ngā wānanga, ngā akoranga. Mai i te kake kōneke tira whenua, i tōia e ngā hōiho Clydesdale, ki te whakarite mō te whakatōtanga o ngā purapura kānga, tupu kūmara, rīwai hoki. He papamahi tīpako purapura i whakahaerehia, ā, he wānanga hoki i puta mō ngā tūmomo kūmara kei te tāpapa a Hōhepa. Koinei pea te mahi whakamīharo rawa atu i te mea inā kē te nui o ngā tū kūmara; he waiporoporo ko Matakauri te ingoa, he karaka ko Paukena, he mā ko Taputini, he kikorangi ko Hawaian Blue, me ērā atu. Tōnā 15 katoa ngā momo.

“Ēnei momo katoa he mea homai ki ahau i roto i ngā tau – ko ētahi he whakapapa Māori pērā ki te Taputini, ko ētahi he ingoa hanga noa pērā ki te Paukena i te kaha karaka o te kiko” – kaumātua

Ngā wānanga ki Motukauri

Ko Jared Hiakita rāua ko Rangimārie Mules ngā pou tohunga o ēnei wānanga, ā, kua ono ngā whakatupuranga o tōna whānau i nōhia taua kāinga i Motukauri. He whānau ahuwhenua rātou, kua roa e whakatupu kai ana mai noa, mai noa. Ko te painga o tō rātou whenua, kua toru tau a Jared rāua ko Rangimārie e noho ana i tō rāua Tiny Home i kō, me te aha, i te tīmatanga he whenua uku, he kōraha kikuyu te katoa. Iāianei, nā te whakamahi i ngā rautaki ki te whakapiki me te whakahoki horo i te mauri ki te whenua, kua haumako, kua mōmona, kua mauri māpuna tēnei kāinga.

“Toitu te whenua! The integrity of the whenua handed down from our tupuna lives on in ōNuku” – kaiako

 

“He mīharo te kite atu i te kai e tupu matomato ana i ngā wāhi katoa” – taitamariki

Ko ngā kaupapa matua i arongia ko te wānanga i te whakahoahoa, te whakatō, me te tiaki i tētahi Wao Hua (food forest); te hanga i tētahi pūnaha kai ukiuki e tika ana mō te kāinga noa nei; te whakapiki i te mauri o te whenua me te hurihanga o ēnei haumakotanga; te kuhu mai o ngā kararehe ki tēnei pūnaha; te hanga whare ora ki ngā rawa māori e tupu ana; te whakarite me te whakatō mahinga kai e toitū tika ai ā haere ake nei; me te kohi kai māori i taiao.

“Reinforces my thoughts on plant diversity in the ngahere and on the whenua and really opened up my thinking more and more” – kaiuru

Hāunga te whakatupu kai nahe anō, engari ka whakamātautau hoki te whānau i te whakamahinga o ngā momo rau/rākau Māori ki roto i ngā tununga kai, mahi hāngi anō hoki. Ka kuhu atu ki te ngahere, kimi rākau, ā, hoki atu ka hanga rourou i te kōrari, he tākai peka rau ki te rahurahu, kawakawa, matipo, mahoe, me ētahi atu momo, hei pupuri i ngā kai; he mīti, he huawhenua. Kātahi ēnei takanga katoa ka rau atu ki te hāngi- kahore he kirihou, kahore he tākai konumohe, kahore he kete maitai. Katoa i ahu mai tonu i taua takiwā pū!

“The amount of experiences that we have had over these wānanga has changed our whole thinking about what is possible. We came with no knowledge and now we have so much knowledge that we are just putting it into practice in our own maara. We’re not sitting back, we’re just saying yup we know now so let’s do it” – kaiuru

Ngā wānanga ki Motatau

Ko Mōtatau te maunga, ko Mangataraire te kāinga, ko Tania Niha rāua ko tana tama a Wiiwaa Niha ngā kairaranga i te mauri i tēnei whenua taurikura. He rau kūmara, he rau tangata ki te pō; ko ngā uri o Hineamaru e mahi tonu ana i a rātou mahi tūpuna i ngā kōawaawa o ngā pukepuke rau o Ngāti Hine. E kaingākau ana ēnei tokorua ki te tautoko me te hāpai i tō rātou whānau me te iwi hoki i roto i ngā tini kaupapa whakatupu mahinga kai, tae atu rā ki te whakatō i te aroha mō ngā mahi ahuwhenua ki roto i ngā tamariki mokopuna o te kāinga.

Ko ngā kaupapa matua a ngā pou tohunga nei hei aronga mā ngā kaiuru ki ēnei wānanga, he whakamahi i ngā momo kararehe hurirapa i tō rātou pāmū whenua; ki te hanga wairākau; ki te whakawātea kōraha kikuyu; ki te whakarite whenua uku hei whakatōnga mahinga kai. Ka whāngaingia ngā wāhi whakatupu huarākau, whakatupu huawhenua ki ngā otaota pāmū noke, ki te wai nō ngā manga e terengia ana e ngā ika kōura. Ka kohia, ka whakatōngia e rātou ngā kūmara, hue, taro tuku iho nō Aotearoa, ā, ka hanga kīnaki rokiroki anō hoki ētahi o ngā mahi nui.

“Some of the things that I took away from it was to focus first on the soil. Also the wide range of diverse plants put closely together; biomass plants, fruit trees, vegetables, cover crops all at the same time was a new approach for me. But maybe more importantly, it is the korero, sharing and taking action towards living better with Papatūanuku and each other that really inspire me about this Kaupapa” – kaiuru