Maui Studios

Oct 15, 2019

Tēnā tātou e te whānau
We are continuing to grow the kumara vine to promote our whānau businesses. Bouncing the dollar forward is our mission to encourage as many whānau to register their business on our directory.

We have been working diligently to share with you our second story of blog series one that profiles whānau businesses. This week we’re sharing a fabulous story connecting Māui Studios and whanaunga, Caleb Ward, the man of many trades.

Me: Ko wai koe? Who are you?
Caleb: Kia ora koutou, Ko Caleb Ward ahau, he uri ahau no Ngāi Tahu me Muaupoko.

My mahi that I am most passionate about is film and media, which is my role as content creator at Māui Studios.

I was born in Palmerston North and raised right here in Ōtautahi. I’m a blessed husband, proud father, aspiring Influencer and Forward-thinker at Māui Studios.

What drives me to leave my bed every morning is the hope to inspire others by being aware of our ‘sense of belonging’ our human thirst for community and in turn harnessing the energy of innovation. In short…I’m a creative disruptor!

Me: Who are Māui Studios Aotearoa?
Caleb: Māui Studios Aotearoa is a creative agency sitting on a solid foundation of creative disciplines and sustainable business practice serving the taniwha economies of Australasia.

The founders originally created this organisation purely to feed our obsessions for digital creation, talent discovery, tech exploration, ideation, and problem-solving.

We are always aiming to create thriving realms that connect people with each other through the enormous power of innovation. Taking the opportunity to work with my Māui whānau has been one of the greatest creative decisions of my creative hīkoi. As the newest addition to the team I am humbled to be able to work alongside those on this waka of self-discovery.

Me: What is your connection to Ngāi Tahu?
Caleb: As an individual I have found connection by working on projects alongside the iwi. It is one of my aspirations to understand who I am further by building a solid foundation that enables me to understand my whakapapa through these opportunities. I feel like I’m on the right path towards understanding identity, my roots in what it means to be Ngāi Tahu and how I can instill these values in my whānau.

I was originally approached by another Tahu whanaunga (Madison Henry-Ryan) to start working alongside Māui in this space and since then I have had the opportunity to work on projects for the likes of Te Pūtahitanga, Te Aka Haumi o Tahu, Te Ara Whakatipu and many other inspiring kaupapa.

Me: What is Te Aka Haumi o Tahu?
Caleb: I view Te Aka Haumi o Tahu as an awesome opportunity for us as Māori to tautoko the various Ngāi Tahu businesses and initiatives towards further wholesome success. It ultimately helps support businesses with a similar worldview and set of values.

Simply put…’Information is power’.”

Me: How do you see the directory working?
Caleb: Simply put…”information is power”. In knowledge of this premise I understand that this directory is a prime opportunity for us as Ngāi Tahu to connect and empower one another through the knowledge of what is available.

Practically I envision a digital sphere that helps connect people in the real world to conduct business and as a result be the recipient of goods and services.

Me: What message would you like to leave whānau with to think about?
Caleb: For us as Māori it has been difficult to navigate the ocean of history, principally the past 150 years. As challenging as this has proven to be, we must not get bogged down by what has eventuated, but instead to dream of what we can build for our Mokopuna.

I see Te aka Haumi o Tahu as another avenue to help us realise these dreams, thus creating more opportunities for our rangatahi and building a more vibrant tomorrow…. let’s not waste this opportunity Whānau!

Come see Te Aka Haumi o Tahu at tahu.biz – let us know what you think. Our official launch date is 23 November 2019, at Hui-ā-Iwi.