Kaitiakitanga

Kaitiakitanga Program and Network
Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi children
guard and share Whirinaki,
their culture, language and values

Kaitiakitanga (Safe guarding our future)

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 our responsibility and 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 and all its species, but also includes the values, 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.

We the children at Te Kura Toitu o Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi are the future Kaitiaki (guardians) of the Whirinaki Forest. Our place is a taonga (a priceless treasure) that embraces all our richness and sustains us.  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 values, wisdom and culture are preserved to share with all future childrens. See all the projects we have on the go to do this.

Visit our Whirinaki Rainforest on-line site. Here we work in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC). Read about 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 global warming) project 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. (temporarily suspended).

This program is a work-in-progress. We are making new win-win connections with other communities and partners around the world, 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) and check out "other places" on the menu above.

To manage this complex 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 is the main document we use to document our program. It embraces our vision, records all our project ideas and connects all the key actions that many different groups in our community and beyond 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*, Whirinaki restoration, Hall Restoration, Recycling / Waste, Sanctuary Area interpretation (* 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), Information Kiosk, Mangamate Waterfall Campsite 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 facilitation we are begining to see Government agency support for Minginui initiatives overcoming some of the roadblocks of the past so we can grow as a rich sustainable community. We have been a community in transition since native logging was stopped in 1987, so have linked into the Transition Town Network to share experiences and knowledge)

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.

NOTICES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Our gift to you - download our Free Whirinaki Wall Calendar

What Andree a sustainability writer discovered about Kaitiakitanga

The Maori Youth Hikoi to Bioneers Conference, San Francisco 16 Oct 08
VIDEO "Redesigning our Future" - Youth Forum with Michael Braungart

Check out our school's Energy Monitoring / Weatherstation project
WEMZ - The Whirinaki Ecological Restoration Zone - a project with DOC
DOC partnerships information kiosk, Mangamate, Sanctuary(proposed)

Take a photo tour through our valley see restoration work needed
Ready to start - our Whirinaki Centre, Nursary and Recycling Projects
Blocked - Our project to upgrade our water supply in Minginui Mar 07
Thanks TPK for facilitating Govt support for Minginui initiatives

Celebrate what our friends at Hokianga Harbourcare are doing
Our Network's Mycorestoration Research Project - Fungi and mushroom
Our Lopez friends help Raglan initiate an affordable housing program

Thanks MfE for a big toxin cleanup on our millsites - July 07
Blocked - our Community Digital Strategy - Whirinaki Interactive 12/06
Prince Andrew adopts our Kiwi, Princess Beatrice on Mokoia Is Mar 07
Our network on the Kiwi Youth Voice learning journey to US. Mar 07
Our network at Youth Voice Digital Earth Summit on Sustainbility Aug 06
We welcomed Hunter Lovins 7-9 July 06, VIDEO view NZ tour resources
Thanks Waikato University for help with broadband 05
Thanks Housing Corp, house painting and marae restoration teams
Go Tramping in Whirinaki. See Kaka, Kiwi, Weka, Robin, Blueduck
Report Living Organisation workshops. Tipu Ake presented worldwide 05
Report Hikoi to Indigenous Knowledges Conf , Well, NZ. June 05
Thanks to UNITEC Architecture Students for help with town plans 04
Report on Sustainable Resources Conf, Colorado 04
Report on PMI Global Forum, Los Angeles Tipu Ake paper 04
Report on Sharing Indigenous Wisdom Conf, Wisconsin, June 04
Int and local visitors attend Tipu Ake Retreat March 04 See report
MPs Horomia and Mallard open our new merged area school Jan 04
Trip to Whaingaroa Env Gp Raglan, Jan04 learnings, VIDEO view