Tēnā koutou,
What a relief to finally get some rain after two months! The region has been tinder dry due to the high temperatures and although it wasn’t much rain it certainly helped.
I would like to encourage those who are interested in the maara kai at Tuamātene to come along to the Kanohi ki te Kanohi meeting at 6pm tomorrow, (Thursday, 28 February) at Ūkaipō. Our guest speaker, Richard Hunter, will be there to discuss where we are at with the gardens and how we can keep the maara kai functioning. Richard will also give a kōrero on the regions soils and the project to preserve Nau (Cooks Scurvy Grass or Lepidium olearaceum). I will also give a quick update on operations. There will be a working bee at the maara kai in March, as soon as a date is confirmed I will let you know.
Last September we launched Tangata Rau Reo Kotahi, our language and cultural strategy. The first step is to identify what support our iwi require in terms of learning te reo Māori. In December we had a focus group hui with kaumātua and in March we will be holding two more.
The Whānau focus group hui will be held in the boardroom at Ūkaipō on Monday, 11 March from 6pm-7pm, followed by dinner. Our programmes will be shaped by responses, so it’s important to get iwi members views. Whānau will be asked to complete a survey at the hui and a $20 gift card will be given out for each completed survey. We will keep tamariki entertained with a movie and popcorn in the main hall, so bring the whole whānau along.
The third focus group hui will be for rangatahi (aged 12-20yrs) at 4pm on Friday, 15 March (venue to be confirmed). Keep an eye out on our facebook page for the hui advertisements.
Horton St is progressing well with levelling and earthworks near completion, and construction of the new building will be starting soon. We will keep you updated with photos as work at the site continues.
Noho ora mai
Nick