Karioi - A year in Te Māra o Puanga Kairau

WORDS: DIANNE BROWN (NGĀTI POROU), KAIHĀPAI WHENUA ORA

Karioi sits within our kaitiakitanga framework, a commitment to a 20-year transition towards tikanga-led farming practices across our portfolio of businesses, and is part of Whenua Ora, our land and water wellness programme. This commitment reflects our roles and responsibilities within te ao Māori, in relation to the long-term sustainable use and care of land and water, including te taiao, a concept that acknowledges the interconnected relationship between all things. Karioi aims to: reconnect our whānau to our whenua; foster local resilience and food sovereignty in our community; build evidence and knowledge on the impact of our tikanga-led practices on our soils, water and crops. Te Māra o Puanga Kairau was developed to grow ancient crops. The māra was given its name to recognise the significance of the harvest star Puanga to Motueka, and to recognise the whakataukī Puanga kairau; Puanga of abundance.

Tupuranga roopū: Dara Barton, Manaia Rāpata, Jacob Thompson, George De Thierry, Hāmeora Wallace, Shemaiah Barton.

Photo: Virginia Woolf

MĀRA OVERVIEW

We have now had a full cycle of seasons on the māra and can look back on what we have achieved and learnt during our first year.

We began preparing the māra in October 2020, and planting taewa, kamokamo, paukena, kānga and kūmara in November and December. But on Boxing Day 2020, a large hailstorm in the Motueka area flattened the recently planted kūmara tupu. The taewa, kamokamo, paukena and kānga were also very damaged, although they still had some growth standing above ground. The plants proved resilient and after just a few weeks the whole māra had come back to life and recovered well.

Kamokamo was the first of our crops to be harvested, in late January 2021, and we continued to harvest it until late May. The taewa and some of our kūmara were harvested in March. In early May, we harvested the last of our kūmara, and all the kānga and paukena.

Jackie Stephens at the māra.

Photo: Virginia Woolf

COVER CROPS

We planted a range of summer annuals to help improve soil health, encourage rainwater to permeate more deeply, draw carbon from the atmosphere and increase the microbiology in the soil – the more microbes (life), the better it is for the soil, our food and for us. The cover crops included strawberry clover, sweetcorn, sunflowers, chicory, plantain and pumpkins. They were spectacular and a crowd favourite with the kaimahi, the local community and anyone driving past, with many people stopping to take photos of the sunflowers.

Summer annuals also do a great job protecting kūmara and other kai crops from predators. We know this as the many pūkeko that came into the māra preferred the cover plants, and when we harvested our main crops there was no damage from the birds, whereas other growers in the area said they had extensive damage to their kūmara from pūkeko. So this is something we will certainly be planting each summer. After the last harvest, we introduced sheep into the māra to eat down the remaining foliage and speed up our composting processes.

KAUPAPA TUPURANGA

Kaupapa Tupuranga launched in 2019 and is a programme to build leadership, teach practical skills and deepen the connection Wakatū whānau have with the whenua. The Tupuranga roopū have spent hundreds of hours caring for the māra through planting, weeding, watering, monitoring for pests and disease, harvesting, and helping distribute kai. Garry Almond, one of Tupuranga roopū from 2021, said there was a huge sense of achievement seeing an empty field turn into a vibrant kai-producing māra. He said it was also a great feeling to work together as a whānau, growing kai, broadening their knowledge of tikanga and strengthening bonds as a roopū.

Garry Almond with a kamokamo

Photo: Claudia Meister

Over the course of the growing season, the main maintenance task was weeding, and the whānau spent mornings in the māra before it got too hot, particularly early on before the foliage covered most of the ground. As part of our exploration of tikanga-led practices, we have minimised the use of machinery and encourage the use of hand tools. The primary tool used for weeding is a push hoe. It is effective for most weeds as it cuts them just below ground level. We found couch grass was a perennial problem, and breaking up roots and runners just produced more weeds. The roopū tackled this by pulling out as many of the weeds as possible and leaving them to dry out. Weeds growing on the mounds in and around the crops were carefully hand-pulled to minimise disturbance to the crop plants and to avoid potential damage that a hoe could cause.

As part of the Tupuranga programme, the 2021 roopū travelled to Ōakura, Taranaki, and spent the day with Glen Skipper, one of the whānau specialist advisors involved in Karioi, in the Ahu Ahu Road community māra, learning the art of harvesting and grading kūmara. The kai they helped harvest was given to Parihaka, to be used for celebrations throughout the year.

As part of our exploration of tikanga-led practices, we have minimised the use of machinery and encourage the use of hand tools.

Garry Almond reflects: ‘Spending time in the māra with Glen in Taranaki was inspiring because they are a couple of years ahead of us in their journey. It was so great to see the strong community involvement in the harvest, and it gave me an insight into where we are heading. Knowing that the harvested kai was going to Parihaka added an extra dimension to the experience for me.’

The roopū also visited Nick Roskruge in Palmerston North. Roskruge is an associate professor in horticulture at Massey University and chair of Tahuri Whenua, the Māori Vegetable Growers Association, and is one of our whānau sharing his knowledge and expertise with us on our Karioi journey. The roopū spent an afternoon with him learning more about the science and history of growing kūmara and gaining more harvesting experience.

WĀNANGA

An important aspect of Karioi is information sharing and increasing knowledge and skills, particularly relating to traditional cultural practices in the māra. A series of wānanga at the marae and practical learning sessions were held, such as the sessions with Nick Roskruge on plant health, and Glen Skipper on growing kūmara. Erina Wehi- Barton, a tikanga-led taiao practitioner and one of the Wakatū whānau, led a session introducing us to maramataka, the traditional Māori calendar. In the coming year, she will hold more sessions on maramataka, and help us develop a te taiao observation sheet, and eventually our own maramataka for Te Tauihu.

Aroha Healion, Allanya Misiepo, Cumorah-Lee Aiolupotea, Adam Hanita working in the māra.

Photo: Virgina Woolf

INSIGHTS FROM A YEAR ON THE MĀRA

We are learning about the site and how to best utilise it for different crops, based on the soil type and the topography. As the māra is on an old riverbed, it is prone to occasional flooding, which needs to be taken into consideration.

We’re discovering the best times to plant. For example, we found that taewa, if planted late, were susceptible to pests and disease and reduced our overall yield.

We are learning about seed saving and storage and will be refining our techniques this coming year. We are developing tikanga for the māra, and have learnt waiata, ngeri and karakia.

Our experiences are contributing to a working definition of tikanga-led regenerative practices for the māra.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ON THE MĀRA THIS YEAR?

We have moved the planting area so that the same crops aren’t planted in the same places as before.

We planted the taewa earlier, and have covered a couple of taewa rows with insect netting to compare the results with uncovered taewa.

We built tāpapa beds to grow our own kūmara tupu, before planting them in the māra. We have planted taro and hue (gourds) as new crops for this season.

We have planted seeds saved from our first year’s crop, including paukena, kamokamo, kūmara and sunflowers.

KAI DISTRIBUTION

As part of the harvesting cycle and encouraging tikanga-led practices, we enjoyed sharing our first season’s crops, including kamokamo, taewa, kūmara, kānga, paekena and sunflower seeds, with those who had helped on the māra, Te Āwhina and Wakatū marae and local whānau. We also enjoyed eating what we had grown at hākari, to celebrate the end of harvest and to mark Matariki and Puanga.

Renee Thomas who is part of the Karioi roopū and helped coordinate the kai distribution said, ‘It was wonderful to spend time together on the māra. We grew kai as a whānau, and it was so rewarding to eat it together, and be able to share the harvest with whānau whānui. People really appreciated receiving kai that had been cared for by our hands and grown on our own whenua.’