Our māra kai is part of the fully philanthropically funded Health and Wellbeing Programme, if you would like to contribute to our mahi, you can do so here
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori was an appropriate time for the highly anticipated re-opening of Dingwall’s Māra Kai – our new red-brick community garden beds.
Earlier this year a project began to replace the deteriorating wooden beds with more permanent brick ones. The red bricks also mirror surrounding buildings.
But Covid, wet weather and injuries to bricklayers meant the work took longer than hoped. A massive effort by the programmes team and tamariki recently got the project over the line.
When the big day finally arrived, Dingwall Kaiārahi Rau Rountree led tamariki and kaimahi (staff) in a special karakia.
It was a day to celebrate weeks of effort and all Dingwall tangata were invited to feel belonging to the māra kai. Rau and Programmes Lead Miranda Palmer also honoured the mahi of former Dingwall kaimahi, such as Daniela Unkovich and Victoria Carson.
But the main focus was on tamariki and rangatahi and their opportunity to connect with Paptūānuku. They did this by planting seedlings and learning te reo names for common māra items
Along with strawberries and herbs, tamariki will cultivate traditional crops such as kumara, taro and gourd. We hope these crops can be harvested in time for a feast to celebrate Matariki 2023.
Appropriately the day ended with beautiful kai, shared and enjoyed by all.
A huge thank you to tamariki, rangatahi, Miranda, Rau and Nutrition Lead Madi Rich for their hard work to finish the gardens. Also for all the fun games and delicious food.
Thanks too to our many māra supporters over the years including L’Oréal NZ, Garden to Table, Danone, Organic Initiative, Sweet Azzz, OKE Charity and the Dingwall Former Residents Association.
