What does Kaitiakitanga (safe guarding our future)
really mean?
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Kaitiakitanga
is a different way of looking at our world; where we know we do not own the earth (or the plot
of land we think we have title to) to exploit as we wish. Instead
we understand that we and all life is created from Papatuanuku (Mother
Earth) and supported by her in a very inter-connected way.
Kaitiakitanga is something that starts from within
ones own self and spreads outwards when we realise that it is the job of our families, communities and all nations
to look after all the richness of our world for future generations;
a role where we are assistants to our Gods and our ancestors. This is not
just about our physical environment, but also includes the language, culture
and wisdom that has been reliably passed down to us over hundreds of generations.
Our job is to pass this on to all in a state better
than we found it -
just
like when we pass the batten in a relay
race, only this time there is much more to lose if we drop it. |
OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD WHO ARE SUPPORTING THIS WAY OF THINKING : Read what our friend Andrèe, a sustainability writer from Quebec
discovered about Kaitiakitanga while in Aotearoa. See it explained for young people on the Outlook For Someday site. Visit the NZ Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's site
View a child speaking to the United Nations. Read about and enter the UN Environmental program Plant a billion trees campaign. Also see The devastation caused by plastic bags
Also read Systems thinking and common ground by Dr John Peet, University of Canterbury, NZ which relates Maori values and processes to multidisciplinary scientific systems thinking. Also a paper by Te Kipa Kepa Brian Morgan, University of Auckland Engineering School - "A Tangata Whenua perspective on Sustainability using the Mauri Model" and also "Traditional Approaches to Forest Management and the Mauri Model"
These relate to "Not just trees in the Ground - The Social and Economic Benefits of Conservation Projects" a WWF (NZ) Publication. Download also from bottom of Local Government Council - Maori Engagement reports
DOWNLOAD VIDEOCLIPS Quest for Kaitiakitanga - Richard Bang's Adventures with purpose US TV Feb 08 (script). Come with us on our trip to see "Kaitiakitanga in Action at Whaingaroa"(20mins-32Mb), "Share with Environmentalist Hunter Lovins in Whirinaki" (27mins-44Mb), and watch Hunter Lovin's dialogue with Kiwi Youth (includes forums on: Nature, Communities, Environment, Agriculture, Business, Cities, Economy, Learning.) See how the Kiwi Youth Voice is growing and their actions, plus some podcasts that support them. See how this fits in with Al Gore's movie "The Inconvenient Truth". View Paul Hawkins on Blessed Unrest - How the largest movement in the world came into being and why no one saw it coming, which relates to Ernesto Sirolli on community growth . Watch the video about the Natural Step Framework (60mins) to see what this all means for science and business.
Watch the Treaty debate with Charles Royal on identity and tinorangatiratanga (also hard copy here) Rose Pere's Conc ious Media Network interview on our relationship with Mother Earth
 We the children at Te Kura
Toitu o Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi are the future Kaitiaki (guardians) of
the Whirinaki Forest. Ngati
Whare Iwi is also an endangered species, so with our network of supporting partners around the world
we are doing some radical things to ensure that the forest, land, our wisdom
and culture are preserved and shared with all future childrens.
See all the projects we have on the go
to do this.
See what we do in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC) , in the Whirinaki Ecological Management Zone (WENZ)
This is us putting up the pole for our new weatherstation and our ongoing sustainable energy (wind, solar energy saving) projects April 2008.
Our Vision of Ora (Wellbeing and much more):
"Our grandchildren will
cherish Whirinaki Forest and the culture of its people; thanking us for
preserving its richness and diversity for them to share with their grandchildren
and all future peoples"
Our program roadmap is a powerpoint
display that shows a network of the many interconnected routes we are taking to help
us get there.
Program Outline:
See our program
history and overview to see how our Kaitiakitanga program started,
and find out about the application
we submitted for Enterprise
Culture and Skills Development funding application in July 2003.
This program is a work-in-progress. We are making new connections, learning new things and growing more ideas for things we could do every day.
See what we learnt on our field
trip to Whaingaroa (Raglan). To manage this flexible
program with so many potential projects, we are using the organic techniques
we pioneered at our school. These are documented as the Tipu
Ake ki te Ora Lifecycle - An Organic Leadership Model for Innovative Organisations.
Our project
list (program of projects) is the main document we use to record all
our project ideas and coordinate all the key things that all
the different groups in our community are doing. It gives a summary of
the status of every project and points to more information (including
an issues list and progress log) about each when required. Everything
is transparent and can be accessed on our web site by anyone, anywhere
in the world.
You can see how we are
trying to get ourselves organised,
who our key partners are, our program
plan, our program progress log
our program sensing / issues register
and our overall budget. You can also
find out how we try to lead and fund
our individual projects.
We have our ups and downs but always remain positive and learn from them.
For some new projects
we have firmly in our sights, see our project descriptions and powerpoint
roadmaps for Community
Concept Plan (Completed),
Whirinaki Centre (information/Enterprise/Museum) *
,
Whirinaki Nursery*, Hall Restoration, Recycling / Waste.
(* was in temp suspension due to toxin
hazard in compound but now clear),
We have been quietly getting on with our housepainting, marae restoration (including plans for the Waikotikoti wharekai replacement), information kiosk, broadband rollout, water supply, species recovery / pest control with DOC in and around the Whirinaki Ecological Management Zone (WEMZ), and Whirinaki Interactive (Digital Strategy). Our Ngati Whare Runanga is deep in the midst of Treaty Settlements with the Crown.
Our community continues
to grow our external network partnerships and working with other rural communities have research projects underway around Mycorestoration (Hokianga) and Affordable Housing (Raglan and Lopez US)
. Past projects include sending delegations to international Indigenous Wisdom (2004), Sustainable Resources (2004) Project Management Global Forum (2004) and Ecoliteracy (2007) conferences, arranging a national tour with Sustainable Development Guru Hunter Lovins (video on web) (2006), offering retreats and hikoi for indigenous visitors, (2005) and sharing our Tipu Ake Organic Leadership Model / Living System Thinking (2004) internationally. We strongly support Youth Leadership Development initiatives.
Thanks to TPK and expected Government agency support for Minginui initiatives we expect to overcome some of the roadblocks of the past and grow as a rich sustainable community - "A town and area in transition"
Join in please:
Please take time
to see what we are doing. We hope it inspires you. If you have any knowledge,
expertise, energy, equipment or excess funds to help us we would appreciate
you offering this as koha to our cause. Just click on the "join in" menu at
the top of each page.
In any case please
note our web site URL http://www.kaitiakitanga.net
, and pass it on to others on your network who may be interested.
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