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Kaupapa continues Paula MacEwan says, ‘there has been a shift but the kaupapa prevails!’ She’s talking about her Koha Shed in Cannons Creek which Capital visited in August 2016. It’s now called the Koha Healing Hub and offers rongoā, traditional Māori healing. Paula says the shed was created to alleviate poverty. She hoped that by saving people money she could ease hardship. ‘Over three
and a half years I saw they were just spending more money at the dairy, more money on cigarettes.’ She was also horrified to discover that some of the donated items might have been contaminated by P. She saw children ‘riddled with skin issues’, a result of their living conditions. So she adapted her kaupapa to focus on healing. Paula makes rongoā outdoor fire baths using medicinal herbs and heat to treat both body and soul. She says relaxing in hot water 41
out in the elements is healing on its own, but if she knows in advance what ails you she can customise the healing plants, such as harakeke, kawakawa, rātā or koromiko, to suit. The Koha Healing Hub is also different from the Koha Shed in that the relationship is reciprocal. People could take without giving at the Koha Shed, but the Koha Healing Hub requires a gift. Issue 33, page 19 Photography by Anna Briggs