Rob Wara Thomson
Where are you from? I was born in Auckland and have since returned to the place of my family roots in Te Araroa.
What do you do for a living? I have just finished a Bachelors Degree in Advanced Maori Environmental Studies. My final assignment was to complete a project where the community participated in a kaupapa (programme) that would benefit the whanau affiliated to the marae and hapu.
What cause are you passionate about? I am passionate about sustainable living and bringing our whanau back to the marae. Mokopuna, tamariki, pangatahi, pakeke learning and sharing together, breathing life back into Te Paerauta.
What project are you involved with that makes the world a better place? I’m involved with establishing a natural remedies tree cultivation court (Rongoa Maori Rakau Marae Maara) at our marae. A place to learn how to identify medicinal plants, shrubs and trees where we will collect our natural rongoa medicines, maintaining and harvesting taonga (goods) to make creams, balms and other healing rongoa for our whanau.
Rongoa Maori and like minded people are welcomed to our marae to teach and take us deeper into the learnings of our natural medicines.
What effect has this project had to date? Marae gardens and orchard are already underway, growing traditional vegetables and providing fresh fruit for whanau living around the marae, with an opportunity for education in tree pruning, grafting, thinning and propagating. We also plan to add beehives, teaching whanau how to maintain the hives and become beekeepers.
We have many native trees planted, and the gardens are thriving. We’ve made Te Paerauta Marae a place of learning how to be self sufficient and sustainable by using these areas that we have established. Whanau are learning to combine new ways and old ways of growing healthy fresh kai.
How could this activity be developed in order to benefit more people? By sharing information between other maraes and groups. Our solar panel goal actually comes from an example that Omaio Marae have done.
What do you love most about New Zealand? The land, the bush and the sea. You can always find your kai from the sea.
---
Photographer: Jacki Key