Te Ngae’e o Rau ‘īnau - Pukehīnau kai growing hub in Wellington City
The Pukehīnau Kai Growing Hub is located at Pukehinau Flats, corner of Ohiro Rd and Aro St, Aro Valley, Whanganui a Tara (Wellington), Aotearoa.
Since Matariki 2023, Kaicycle have been working alongside local community housing provider Te Toi Mahana, their residents, and the wider community to set up an outdoor learning space, including a kōhanga tipu (seedling nursery) and productive māra kai (food garden) at the base of the Brooklyn hill.
A Kaicycle kaimahi māra (Tina Walker-Ferguson - Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou) has been coordinating the project closely with Te Toi Mahana Community Development Facilitator, Alex Hunter. Recently, two Te Toi Mahana residents, Marama Te Kira and Richard Cammock, have been employed as apprentices to learn more about cultivating kai urban spaces. Both apprentices have plenty of horticulture and teaching skills to share with their community, helping the hub to thrive.
Te Ao Māori and Mana Whenua wisdom enriches this project for all
The hub sits on land where kai was traditionally cultivated, alongside the Waimapihi awa and other natural waterways that are now concealed under concrete. A central focus of this project is to honour mana whenua and te mana o te whenua.
The kai growing hub was gifted the name Te Ngae’e o Rau ‘īnau from Taranaki whanui, Mana Whenua and Ahi Karoa of Whanganui a Tara. The name refers to “the rustling leaves of the Hīnau tree”, a sign of abundance and acknowledgement of the traditional landscape. Te Ngae’e o Rau ‘īnau has the “h” dropped (replaced with ‘) to reflect Taranaki Whānui dialect, where the h is silent.
Many of Te Toi Mahana community housing tenants are full of ancestral food cultivation knowledge, from Taranaki to Thailand and lands beyond. With whanaungatanga and other Ao Māori values at our centre, migrants, former refugees, tangata whenua and tauiwi alike feel safe to connect and share through kai.
We follow Hua Parakore Māori growing principles with support from Papawhakaritorito Trust and Te Waka Kai Ora.
If you are interested in learning more about the changes of Pōneke landscape and waterways due to colonial actions, architectural historian Robin Skinner speaks about this here. We encourage you to look into your own whakapapa and family history in Aotearoa in relation to changed landscapes of Aotearoa.
Some other intentions of this community project:
Feed residents and local communities who experience food insecurity, with locally grown nutritious food.
Provide pathways to sustainable, ongoing kai production and meaningful employment.
Grow and share skills e.g. woodworking, seed-raising, planting, harvesting, cooking, event facilitation.
Re-indigenous spaces and practices.
Demonstrate positive use of under-utilised green space in high-density, urban housing.
Establish a sustainable seed selling social enterprise.
Provide a safe, inclusive learning hub for Te Toi Mahana residents and wider Pōneke communities.
What’s next?
Our vision is to grow quality, organic seedlings in our new tunnel house to give to Te Toi Mahana tenant community gardens across the city and to sell so we can continue this mahi - our initial setup funding runs out in June 2024.
The long-term goal is to help establish other community-led kai growing hubs across the city so that more people can connect, heal and learn to grow seasonal, nutritious, culturally appropriate kai. Emissions reduction and community climate resilience are bonus outcomes of this mahi!
How you can support
Come get your hands on the soil - If you’d like to help out in Te Ngae’e o Rau ‘īnau māra kai and kai hub - we’re there every Wednesday from 2.30 - 5.30pm, nau mai haere mai - join us.
Buy seedlings from us - register interest in buying winter and spring seedlings by emailing Tina Walker-Ferguson at pukehinau@kaicycle.org.nz
Get in touch with potential funding and collaboration ideas - by emailing Tina Walker-Ferguson at pukehinau@kaicycle.org.nz
Mihi - big thanks to many
A huge mihi to everyone who has contributed to Te Ngae’e o Rau ‘īnau - from building beds, collecting compost, mulching māra and so many other things. Thank you to Te Toi Mahana residents and other people of the community who have volunteered time and energy to bring this to life.
E mihi ana Taranaki Whanui and Mana Whenua of Te Upoko o te Ika - thank you for allowing us to cultivate and live on your whenua and for all of your ancestral wisdom.
Thanks to local organisations and businesses for your support, including Seeds to Feed, Benchspace, Arobake, Kaibosh, Haines Pallets, Bunnings, Wellington Timebank, Ōtari Wilton’s Bush and anyone else who has contributed. Thanks to Papawhakaritorito Trust and Te Waka Kai Ora for your awhi along the Hua Parakore haerenga. Thanks to the Ministry of Social Development for initial set up funding.
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