Green trading helps trust breathe new life into former forestry block that had lain idle.
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See below for English translation
Kāore i ārikarika ngā tau ngerongero a Paengaroa South 3 e noho pāeko ana kua tū te atarau ki runga ki a ia e pūhakehake anō ai ngā whenua tūpuna hai whenua matomato e rangatira anō ai te iwi, e ai ki te tiamana taratī ki a Michele Hawe. He whakamihi nānā ki Te Puni Kōkiri Whenua Māori Fund nā rātau te pūtea tautoko e hīhiri anō ai te mauri ora o te whenua.
“He waerenga tēnei nā Rangitihi. Wheoi anō heke iho tātau katoa i tētehi kuia kaha nō Tainui i moe Te Arawa ai. Kai kōnei ngā tātai kōrero kai tēnei whenua rangatira.”
E ai hoki ki tētehi o ngā mema taratī o tēnei whenua ki a Jimi McLean, kai te toru tekau mēneti te tawhiti o tēnei whenua i Tauranga.
Kua rua tekau o ngā tau tēnei whenua e noho puku ana. “He pāmu tēnei pōraka nā wai rā ka whakahuri hai whenua whakatupu rākau paina. “Ko te tino rākau i whakatupuria e rātau ko te eucalyptus, nā wai rā ka tupu ururuangia te whenua ki te pereki pere, nā wai rā ka kore te kamupene e utu i tana reti, kātahi ka pēkerapu atu, whaihoki ka puta ia i te whenua. Kāore i hoki mai. Nā reira i whati ai te tāhūhū o te whenua.”
Nō te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā whitu i whakauru mai a Jim ki tēnei ohu hai taratī.
Ko te mahi tuatahi māna me āna hoa taratī ko te utu i ngā nama kaunihera, ngā reti ko te nama whakahaere a Te Tumu Paeroa, ka oti ana he whakatakoto rautaki kia parea atu ngā tarutaru.
“Ko tētehi nama e iwa tekau mano tāra ko te tikanga o tēnei nama hai tārake rākau he ahakoa taua nama, he kotahi tekau mā toru mano anake ki te pēke pūtea. Nā reira ka rere te tono ki te hāpori, kātahi ka puta mai tētehi tangata mahi wāhie ā ngā mutunga wiki me tētehi tangata pāmu.
“Ko te painga he kau āna – ko tā mātau he tuku i te mahi whenua ki ngā kau mā rātau ngā pereke pere e tāmoe. Ko te kaupapa tuarua, he titiro ki ngā pukapuka, tino ora nei mātau i Western Bay Council ka whakaengia e rātau ki te muku i ngā rēti tawhito.”
Kai te arahina rātau e te pou matua whakahaere mā Te Puni Kōkiri ko Margaret (Marg) Courtney.
Te whenua ki Paengaroa South 3.
Hai tā Michele: “Nā Te Puni Kōkiri e whakamātau ai ō kanohi ki ngā hua e takoto noa ana i raro i ngā weta tawhito. Nā Marg me te pūtea tautoko i whakapūare ai te whatitoka ki a Glenn Hawkins & Associates, nā rātau i ako mātau ki te whakatū wānanga whakapakari pūkenga e tika ana ki te whakahaere whenua.
“Nā rātau hoki ētehi puna awhina. Ko tētehi o aua puna he māhere mahi. E whakahīhī nei mātau, ā, taihoa e tae ki te pōari kIa kitea e rātau ngā mahi kua oti nei i a mātau te wānanga, nā ko ētehi he kaupapa rākau Māori, he tupu pere, he tupu hua kiwi , tērā pea hoki ko te whakatū kāinga.
“Ko te mea kē e whati kō nei mātau ki a rangatira te whenua hai whenua ora mō ā tātau tamariki me ngā mokopuna, ā, tāria te wā tika ka tukuna te rākau whakahaere ki a rātau.”
— Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
English Translation
After decades sitting idle, the future is looking bright for Paengaroa South 3.
Trust chair, Michele Hawe, said the whenua was once a place of abundance and they hope to return that legacy for future generations.
Thanks to funding from Te Puni Kōkiri Whenua Māori Fund, Paengaroa South 3 can finally look to restore the mauri to their whenua.
“This block was once a maara kai for Rangitihi tipuna. We are all descended from the kuia who came from Tainui and married into Te Arawa. The land has a lot of history,” said Michele.
Trustee Jimi McLean says the whenua, located 40 minutes from Rotorua, had been sitting idle for 20 years.
“The whenua was once good pastureland before this forestry company came along,” said Jimi.
“They planted eucalyptus trees which didn’t take, then ten-foot-high blackberries started taking over. The company stopped paying rent, filed for bankruptcy, and effectively walked off the land with a lot of damage done,” he added.
Jimi joined the trust in 2017 and along with the other trustees set about sorting back-dated council rates, Te Tumu Paeroa administration fees and work out a plan to clear the now ‘diseased’ plantation.
“We had a quote of $90k to clear the trees but had $13k in the bank. So, we found a forestry contractor who does firewood on the weekend and a young farmer whose cows will keep the berries down, it’s all about green trading.
Paengaroa South 3 has been given a new lease on life so future generations can inherit a fertile legacy. Photo / Supplied
“We then looked at the books and thankfully, Western Bay Council agreed to write off the back-dated rates,” Jimi said.
Te Puni Kōkiri Senior Advisor Margaret (Marg) Courtney has been working alongside the Trust to support their whenua aspirations.
Said Michele: “TPK has helped us see the potential under the paru.
“Thanks to Marg and the funding, we were able to engage Glenn Hawkins & Associates, who helped us run whānau workshops and training. “They also provided recommendations and a business plan.
“We’re excited to present these options to the Board. These are native trees, berries or kiwifruit enterprises and potentially even housing.
