Abstract
The world now operates in uncertain times. Covid-19 has influenced the way in which we live and operate as people. We are also facing weather events that are having an impact. As Māori, our tūpuna (ancestors) held extensive knowledge regarding kai (food) cultivation and kaitiakitanga (customary management) of our resources and had trading systems established within whānau (extended families), hapū (kin communities), and iwi (tribal confederations). Covid-19 highlighted the need for us to return to our own sustainable kai practices, as we could not rely on outside providers or transporters to feed and provide for us when faced with uncertain times, pandemics, and health emergencies. Then, a cyclone struck, cutting us off from outside providers. Therefore, we needed to adapt and build new systems and ways of feeding ourselves. As we built these systems, we also found the need to ensure that, as a people, we teach our future generations how to provide for themselves and return to some of those practices and trading systems that our tūpuna established. There is much to be learned from the methods of our tūpuna and their extensive knowledge of nature and cultivation.
The aim of this research is to learn how our practices of cultivating, collecting, and gathering kai can assist us in building a food-secure, food-resilient, and food-sovereign system for our people in Hokianga. The research begins by looking at our historical accounts of our early beginnings, the journey of our tūpuna from Ra’iātea, and the food resources that came with them. A background of the history of our whenua (ancestral lands and waterways) is also provided. Furthermore, the research includes the building of a framework and set of indicators that can be used to assess the progress of the research and the developments made across the key areas of food security, food resilience, and food sovereignty. Interviews were conducted to capture and amplify the voices of our kuia and kaumātua (female and male elders), our people of today (knowledge holders), and environmental workers from the Hokianga to further share insights into practices of the past and of today. A detailed overview of the actions taken to learn about developing mahinga kai (customary gardens), as well as how to collect and gather kai from ngāhere (native forests) and moana (ocean), is also provided. All of this would not be possible without a range of support systems. These support systems have been explained. In addition to this, there is a section addressing climate change and its impacts on our food resources and food systems. Thereafter, overall results are provided, concerning the sharing of future food systems for our kāinga, and a conclusion that binds together the research and key findings. The main research strategy used in this thesis is collaborative storying, co-constructed between me (the researcher), and a range of local whānau and hapū members who hold in-depth customary knowledge around mahinga kai, kai o te ngāhere (forest foods) and kaimoana (ocean foods). This approach has allowed me to find out valuable information about our Hokianga kai practices, past and present, which has contributed towards the development of future food practices and systems for wider whānau, hapū and iwi use. This work is based on Kaupapa Māori research principles.