Seed Library: Mahi Māra

Jessica Hutchings (hua parakore gardener, activist, academic and certified Te Waka Kai Ora grower) explains the political implications of the decisions that we make about growing and eating kai. She encourages us to take control over the food security of our whānau, providing practical advice on how to grow kai in accordance with the kaupapa of hua parakore, inspiring us with stories of hua parakore heroes and reassuring us that becoming a hua parakore gardener is a journey that anyone can embark on.

Soil health and security are key components of our wellbeing. Even so, soil is faced with many environmental challenges under the current iteration of capitalism. A paradigm shift is needed to encourage care for this resource. In te ao Māori, soil is taonga. It is also whanaunga - it holds ancestral connections and is the root of tūrangawaewae and whakapapa. It is the source of shelter, kai and manaakitanga.Te Mahi Oneone Hua Parakore: A Māori Soil Sovereignty and Wellbeing Handbook shines a light on Māori relationships with soil, as well as the connections between soil and food security, and frames these links within the wider discourse of tino rangatiratanga from a variety of Māori perspectives. Through a range of essays, profiles and recipes, it seeks to promote wellbeing and elevate the mana of the soil by drawing on the hua parakore Māori organics framework as a means for understanding these wide-ranging, diverse and interwoven relationships with soil.

Describes ancient Māori agricultural techniques, plant species and significant rituals.

Introductory remarks -- General remarks on Maori agriculture -- Agricultural implements -- The sweet potato and its cultivation -- The yam -- The taro (Colocasia antiquorum) -- The gourd -- Cordyline terminalis, and other species -- Miscellaneous note.

Soil forms the literal foundation of the agricultural industry. As a bio-physical property as well as social construct, soil quality can be approached, analysed and understood from multiple directions. This study investigates soil quality, how it is described, which key indicators are used, monitoring methods and ways in which soil knowledge is gained through the experiences of 8 Maori pastoral farmers located in the southern South Island of New Zealand.

"The Polynesian ancestors of the Maori, when they settled in aotearoa New Zealand brought with them long-established traditions and techniques for gorwing staple food crops. Within the New Zealand landscape, there is ample evidence of the continuation of those gardening practices, and of the changes and adaptations that were made over time to accommodate local circumstances and environmental conditions. This report describes the nature and location of that garden evidence at a broad regional level. The discussion about different types of Maori garden sites draws on archaeological excavations and research"--P.6.

This thesis produces a distinctive model for the sustainable horticultural development of M ori resources, primarily land. It is inclusive of M ori and indigenous production systems based on their unique body of cultural knowledge. The integration of this knowledge with western science is argued and applied through the model itself. The hypothesis applied is that M ori knowledge relevant to horticulture and pedology or soils can inform and add value to the future development of M ori land resources. The model is built on a unique set of contributing knowledge bases aligned to soils and horticultural management supported by three case studies. The indigenous element, including M ori knowledge, is incorporated into the model using a triadic kosmos/corpus/praxis approach. The ability to apply a cultural approach to land assessment is the key point of difference and the model is discussed from the perspective of its beneficial role for future use by M ori as an indigenous culture. Ultimately the major benefit of this approach will be its' tranferability across cultures and landforms and its' ability to respond to dynamic factors as appropriate."

Māuranga Māori [Māori knowledge] Before the arrival of the European settlers, Māori society was governed by a system of principles, laws, and customs known as tikanga Māori. The terminology, tikanga, is derived from the word tika that means to be righteous, honest, and just. At the heart of mātauranga Māori is tikanga and both principles conceptualise whakawhanaungatanga (making good kin relationships) and whakapapa (shared ancestry). Through whanaungatanga (kin relations), a Māori world, both visible and invisible, is conceptualised and apprehended as palpable. Conceptually, whakapapa can be understood as the interminable connections from the Atua (Māori gods) to earth to the people. Whakapapa binds Māori people together in a sacred relationship and responsibility to care for each other, the soil, air, and water. Prior to colonisation, mātauranga Māori that included the principles of tika, tikanga Māori, whakawhanaungatanga, whanaungatanga, and whakapapa enabled Māori to live a tika (good, just, decent) life.

Since the beginning of colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand, by the British, kāinga have been damaged by the scientific, calculative, logical discourse. Through the dominant English language and culture, the Māori people have been pressured to obey linguistic conventions which are distinctly Western. In the Whenua Whāma project, the research team has begun to talk deeply of a cultural interface that draws attention to Māori beliefs, interaction, and self-development in the areas of organic and regenerative agriculture across Te Tai Tokerau, Aotearoa.

Current narrow views of what constitutes evidence have left blind spots in food system decision-making. Yet, alternative ways of facilitating the production and exchange of transdisciplinary knowledge enable key lessons for more equitable and informed policy processes.

Maori horticulture is framed by the introduction of tropical crops to the temperate climes of the base of the Polynesian triangle. So-called traditional plants such as kumara (sweet potato), kamo kamo (squash), karenga (corn) and taewa or riwai (potato) once formed a significant component of the Maori diet. While modern varieties are now repackaged as highly processed ‘fast’ foods, the old heritage varieties are still grown by Maori on small, isolated gardens, often tended by our old people, and valued as flavoursome ‘slow’ foods cloaked in stories. These gardens now feature in both scientific and community development programmes as researchers and Maori landowners seek to expand the options for sustainable land-use and satisfy an array of economic, environmental, social and cultural criteria.

This paper outlines the history of what has been termed ‘ecological imperialism’ as colonial strategies explicitly sought to recast the landscapes of Indigenous peoples. In Aotearoa/New Zealand’s, traditional Maori knowledge is routinely tapped for contemporary insights, sometimes in superficial branding exercises but also with the hope and expectations of greater Maori participation in modern science and technology arenas. The story of Tahuri Whenua (the National Maori Vegetable Growers’ Collective) is presented as a grassroots movement supported by university-based studies that provides the necessary research space for the reassertion of place-based Maori identity.