Our Stories

Ka taki mai te māuru
When the nor’wester howls

At the inaugural Māori Climate Forum in Wellington in 2003, formal recognition of traditional Māori understandings of weather and climate variability and change was made, with several Māori elders highlighting the importance of giving a greater account of this knowledge of the environment.

Building on these initial efforts, in January 2016 Te Kūwaha-o-Taihoro-Nukurangi was awarded research funding from the Vision Mātauranga government science programme, as part of the Deep South National Science Challenge. This funding enables the team to work closely with knowledge holders from Ngāi Tahu whānui to identify, revitalise, and promote the use of environmental indicators to forecast weather and climate extremes.

Amanda Malu – the past, present and future of Plunket

Amanda Malu is a woman on a mission – several of them. She uses that phrase several times in our conversation as she describes the changes she’s determined to make, both on a personal level and in her capacity as CEO of one of New Zealand’s largest charities.

Te Kāika

When Donna Matahaere-Atariki (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Te Ātiawa) was growing up in rural Southland, she was told she had “ideas above her station in life”.

Donna says that professional assessment was absolutely right. Rather than taking offence at a cultural slap in the face, she has used it as motivation to carve a career path as a powerhouse for social change.

The Cacophony Project

What if we used technology and the power of Moore’s Law, which holds that the efficiency of technology doubles every 18 months while the cost halves? Many people, he reckons, don’t realise how powerful this is. And it is usually applied offshore to consumer goods. Until now, no one had thought to use the power of technology and Moore’s Law for a public good project like this.

Battling it out in court: the litigation phase in the Ngāi Tahu Treaty settlement negotiation

In November 1994, an interim settlement had been offered to Ngāi Tahu. Negotiators took the offer back to the iwi, and it was rejected. The offer proposed that Ngāi Tahu receive freehold title to Rarotoka Island (in Foveaux Strait) but with the imposition of a marginal strip, and also receive title to Tūtaepatu Lagoon near Woodend Beach in Canterbury. Also, $10 million worth of land-banked properties were offered in exchange for a revised land bank system.

Green by name, green by nature

Simon Cooke, who has whakapapa to Ōtākou and Waihao, is the founder of Kakariki Beer Co and a true entrepreneur at heart. Since receiving a start-up grant from Puna Pākihi one year ago, Kakariki Beer Co has gone from strength to strength.

Hei Mahi Māra
Fruit for thought

Winter is a time of rest for both the māra and the gardener. There are, however, still tasks that need to be carried out in preparation for the growth and abundance of spring and summer. The winter vegetables need to be kept an eye on to ensure that the weeds don’t take over.

Reviews
Books

Tātai Whetū: Seven Māori Women Poets in Translation is a bilingual collection of poetry, and a literary delicacy not to be missed.

Aukaha
The Stolen Stars of Matariki

The Stolen Stars of Matariki is a recently released children’s book written by broadcaster and debut author Miriama Kamo and illustrated by Zak Waipara. The story tells of Te Rerehua and Sam (the names of Miriama’s own tamariki) visiting their Grandma and Pōua at Te Mata Hāpuku.

A stranger in a strange land: painful lessons about belonging

There’s a reason I’m exploring identity and belonging and that reason is the fact that I was adopted at birth. This fact has in many ways shaped my life. I grew up in a Pākehā family. My parents, two brothers and their families still live in Christchurch; and for more than 26 years I have lived in Melbourne.