Wānanga Kai, SH35
Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi - With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.
As part of the Healthy Families NZ movement, Healthy Families East Cape have prioritised working in the food system as food plays an essential role in our health and wellbeing. We have worked in collaboration with our kai community and community champions to support the aspirations of our community so that they are able to access affordable and nourishing kai.
Alongside these Kaupapa partners, we envisage a future with local, sovereign food systems that are regenerative and protect our natural resources for generations to come.
This month, we were incredibly humbled once again to welcome the Māori-led research rōpū from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka (Otago University) who are conducting research on the impacts of climate change on kai sovereignty and mental health in kai growers, gatherers and hunters in Te Tairāwhiti.
The collective wānanga kai, held in the heart of Ruatoria, brought together hau kāinga to explore the local food system through a systems-thinking lens. The wānanga also created space to elevate community voice, emphasising the deep interconnections between kai, whenua, wellbeing, and tino rangatiratanga.
A highlight for the Healthy Families East Cape team and other participants was at the beginning of the wānanga with a systems mapping workshop. Participants were able to identify the many ways kai flows through their lives, from traditional food sources like kaimoana and maara, to preserving practices, whānau exchanges, education settings, and local shops. This activity revealed not only the complexity of Ruatoria’s food ecosystem, but the strength and innovation already present within it.
Just as important as mapping the complex food system we are consumers of, is sharing the lived experiences of whānau. two local champions shared their personal journeys of growing maara kai and microgreens. Their kōrero reflected resilience, adaptation, and a deep commitment to restoring mana motuhake through kai. These lived experiences offered rich insights into the practical, cultural, and economic impacts of community-led kai initiatives. As we continue to engage with communities, our team hear how our current food system is leaving many people behind. A rapidly growing number of people are experiencing severe food insecurity, which means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from or if it will be nutritious enough to lead a healthy and active life.
Through reflective thought and team sharing, what we know to be true is this: our communities know that kai is more than just sustenance.
The wānanga reinforced Indigenous-led systems change where kai is not just nourishment, but a connector to whakapapa, whenua, and future wellbeing. We were also able to wānanga on the fact that on the East Coast we have recently been susceptible to major weather events and this is contributing to many whānau finding themselves disconnected from growing and harvesting kai, relying instead on expensive and often less nourishing options – many of these experiences and insights shared throughout the duration of the wānanga kai, with our rural whānau being the most prepared for events such as cyclones/covid where they were still able to feed themselves when they might not have access to supermarkets/ kai shops.
This kaupapa continues to contribute to our wider pou of mahinga kai, and the prevention of chronic illness, reminding us that in isolated rural communities like Ruatoria, collective impact is already thriving led by those closest to the whenua.
Healthy Families East Cape have been privileged to spend this time together with whānau, community, and our whanaunga from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, and reconnecting back to our whenua, our mātauranga, and our stories. We are excited as we head into Matariki season, engaging with the many experts and community voices throughout our rohe so that we can contribute to the resurgence of kai sovereignty.
Healthy Families East Cape once again, thanks Ken and Christina from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, and the rest of the team for creating opportunities in our spaces and in our community for these important conversations to take place. And a special mihi must go to Dr Teah Anna Lee Carlson (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), whose leadership was foundational to this kaupapa. Teah introduced us to this work and guided us through an innovative systems mapping approach that we now carry forward and adapt to fit different spaces and kaupapa across Te Tairāwhiti. Her facilitation wove together mātauranga Māori, community voice, and systems thinking, helping us see the complexity, strength, and possibilities within our own kai systems. E te tuahine, ka nui te mihi.