Nau mai, haere mai Holly Wharewera
He Oranga Whānau Te Tairāwhiti otirā te whānau o Te Ao Hou Trust are excited to welcome our new kaimahi Holly Wharewera. She joins us as a Kairuruku Pūnaha or Systems Innovator.
Holly comes into the team with a wealth of mātauranga. She's had experience in tourism, hospitality, business consulting, and holistic hauora.
Becoming a māmā at a young age has shaped her leadership. Implementing behaviour changes in the home and leading her whānau’s language and cultural reclamation journey. "I've learnt by doing. In a big whānau you naturally fall into certain roles, and you carry those with you," says Holly. Since 2023 Holly has focused on raising her “free range, organic” tamariki, while delivering health kaupapa in kura and sharing practical tools around wellbeing through Rongoa Māori with her community.
Although Holly spent much of her childhood in Rotorua, her and her beautiful whānau are now based in Te Kaha. They have spent the past 6 years reconnecting with their whakapapa, hapū and wider community across ngā hapu maha o Te Whānau a Apanui.
She and her husband run a successful coffee cart in Te Kaha called Bhanga. The coffee cart has become a community connector and positive space to gather and wānanga together over great locally made food and organic coffee. It also supports other small enterprise by on-selling local products, and seasonal organic produce. The cart has morphed into building relationships and exchange rather than transactional coffee on the go.
Holly looks at problems through a wider lens and what's sitting around them. "I think not being formally trained is probably my superpower. I'm not limited to one way of thinking, so I notice gaps and connections that other people might not."
Holly is a tuawahine in her own right! Her life experience has given her the mātauranga to move and adapt in different spaces. She brings curiosity, practical thinking and a strong connection to her hapori. We're excited to have her as part of the Healthy Families East Cape team and can't wait to see where her whakaaro help take our kaupapa next.