It’s been two years in the making and Ngāti Pārau of Waiohiki Marae, Te Whanganui A Orotu, are opening their native plant nursery (Te Wai Mauri nursery). The nursery is on target to have more than 100,000 seedlings for sale next winter which, if successful, will set the nursery up on a viable business pathway.
Te Wai Mauri Limited was incorporated in September 2020. Their 100% shareholder is Te Wai Mauri Charitable Trust which was set up in 2015 – on the back of the aspirations of local whānau who had seen the deterioration of their whenua and awa and commenced working toward improving their environment. Their whole kaupapa was to restore their taiao/ natural environment.
Te Wai Mauri Limited is a hapū-led and owned business, established by Ngāti Pārau to provide employment opportunities involving kaitiakitanga principles, the primary focus of the business is protection of te taiao underpinned by te ao Māori and tikanga practices. On creation of their business, they invited interested whānau to become Kaitiaki Rangers – who have now been trained to provide a number of services to the wider community.
The nursery which is also based out of Waiohiki Marae, was a natural addition to the successful Kaitiaki Ranger programme. So far they have managed to create 10 full-time jobs for hapū members. This is not only a great outcome but a good model for other marae to follow.
Their team of qualified Kaitiaki Rangers are available for environmental contracting work throughout Hawke’s Bay. Trained at EIT, they have qualifications in Growsafe for safe chemical handling, outdoor first-aid, chainsaw, LUV/quad bike licenses, traffic control, fencing, pest management, small engines and also complete day skippers courses. They offer fencing, weed management, planting and pest control. Their nursery team grows native plants, locally sourced and suited to Hawke’s Bay conditions.
