We are now well and truly in the phases of summer. The Pōhutukawa are blooming, signaling perhaps, that we are in Matiti muramura, if not further along. Matiti muramura signals the third of seven phases of summer here in Te Tai Tokerau. The warm weather...
Ko Pūtauaki te maungaKo Ōhinemataroa te awaKo Mātaatua te wakaKo Ngāti Awa te iwi|Ko Eilensia tōku ingoa I was born and raised in Whakatāne. Living in Whakatāne, much of my childhood was spent at the beaches and waterholes, such as Braemar and Waimana. Some of the sweetest memories I have...
We've wrapped up the last Māori year having reflected on the journey of Kai Māori Kai Ora up to this point. When I first came into this role, Kai Māori Kai Ora was very much grounded within a Western Nutrition background. We saw an opportunity...
Since Joe McLeod's arrival in the North at Waikarā marae alongside Toi Tangata in 2022, it had been our mission to see him return to share his knowledge across the wider Tai Tokerau region. For over a year we planned and finally, in March and April of 2024,...
Our journey alongside Kaimoana Queens began in July 2023 as we prepared for the first wānanga at Te Whakamaharatanga Marae, Waimamaku. Led by founders Hayley Taotua and Karis Vesey, a group of wāhine Māori from, or living in, the Hokainga prepared for the wānanga: organising kai,...
At the Toi Tangata Hui ā Tau in January held in Otepoti, our Kai Māori Kai Ora Kaiārahi, Haylee Koroi, presented the paper ‘Intergenerational Intimacies: A whakapapa conceptualisation of kai’ co-written by her and lead author, Hana Burgess with visual storytelling by Sonya Milford and...
From the 16th-19th of November, Kaimoana Queens, in collaboration with Toi Tangata and Moana Futures Ltd, hosted their second wānanga, Nāku te Rourou at Ngaiotonga Marae, Whangaruru. The amazing tangata whenua led rōpū, Moana Futures, facilitated an evening session on Thursday night sharing some of their mahi with the group. Thursday...
Our baby is two next month. Some days, kai is scoffed down and other days, thrown on the floor. We are trying to emphasise that kīnaki is not a meal on its own and I am learning to take each moment in my stride. While Western...
The cold of winter is finally fading here in the Hokianga as the sun sets further south along Niniwā. The tulips we planted have blossomed, our seeds have germinated - lettuce, beans, tomato and onions. We spotted a white puawānanga in the Waipoua canopy, and may...
The Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective undertook a nationwide project to explore the ways in which different rohe in Aotearoa can achieve food security within their communities. They examined various tools and mechanisms that facilitate the realisation of this goal in each locality. As part of...