Ngāti Hāuā Mahi Trust

The Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust is providing employment opportunities for their people and restoring mauri to their local area. This dual vision has proved a winning combination; healing the land, water and in turn their people, while growing skilled workers in conservation and horticulture.

IN 1976, the Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust (NHMT) was established by Ngāti Hauā kaumātua of the five marae within Ngāti Hauā. Like many iwi they struggled with urban drift as the young moved away for employment. They wanted to find ways to support their people into sustainable employment within their rohe and brought together iwi, community and the local Anglican church.

In 2012, Ngāti Hauā was looking for ways to invigorate the trust. Under the leadership of that time they re-emerged with a vision to be better kaitiaki of their environment and people: “Tiaki manaakitia te tangata, Tiaki manaakitia te Taiao” – ”Looking after our people, Looking after the environment”.

It was a fortuitous time as the Waikato River Authority had funding available for restoring mauri to the Waikato River. Mauri is an energy which binds all things in the physical world. Mauri and mana are inherently combined – without mauri, mana cannot flow.
Guided by their leaders, the NHMT decided to work within their own rohe, on wetland restoration and riparian planting on culturally significant catchments that feed the Waikato River such as Karapiro, Mangaonua and Mangaone.

They looked at different models and settled for training ‘on the job’. Kaimahi (workers) are upskilled with various short courses that cover anything from operating a chainsaw safely to first aid, and they’re given opportunities to undertake different horticultural courses provided onsite by a collaboration between Ngāti Hāuā Iwi Trust and WINTEC.

Many of their kaimahi were people who had fallen outside of mainstream avenues for work, and a number came with a belief they were ‘unemployable’. General Manager, Keri Thompson describes the holistic approach of the Trust, “We know that if you plant a plant, it’s going to contribute environmentally, but to have it growing alongside young people is a whole different level. When you’re in there, there’s the wairua that comes with you, because it’s so peaceful. Putting your hands in the dirt, and growing those plants creates a space where there’s a lot of healing going on. So growing plants, and growing kai, heals not only people, but heals space”.

The re-energised NHMT started with small contracts in 2012, working alongside others to aid in restoration work at Karapiro. Very quickly their passion for the work and ability to ‘get it done’ was rewarded with further and longer-term contracts with their organisation in the leadership role. Longterm contracts are important for the sustainability of work the Trust is providing.

Ā, hoki mai te mauri ki te awa. Ka haere mai te wairua o te oranga I runga I te tangata.
(Returning life force to the river. When life force returns to the river, the spirit of good health returns to the people.) Reverend Haki Wirihana, Kaumatua, Ngāti Hauā Iwi Trust

Initially they brought in their plants from local nurseries. But for the NHMT the whakapapa (genealogy) of their plants was important. Keri says, “It’s a whānau thing”. All native plants have a whakapapa and within their rohe, different trees had significant stories woven in with the stories of their tipuna who had lived, or travelled that way. Kaumatua also still talk about where they sourced their rongoā (medicinal) plants ‘back in the day’.

Starting with a small goal of 50,000 plants they secured funding from the Waikato River Authority and Waikato Regional Council to create a nursery of their own. In 2020 the NHMT nursery has around 140,000 native plants. Plants are grown only for the contracts they have secured.

The trust also contracts for associated work for local organisations and government. This includes site preparations, riparian planting, maintenance and fencing for local landowners to protect riparian areas. Recently kaimahi have been trained by DOC to undertake eel survey work as the monitoring of fish provides vital data on the health of the waterways.

At present there are 10 kaimahi (workers) employed fulltime on a living wage with the NHMT. A number of past kaimahi have gone onto fulltime work in the same area with other employers. Some of the present kaimahi experiencing success include Makoha Nightingale-Pene and Brodie Spearpoint. Brodie began at the Trust 2017. He came from a farming background, having trained through Taratahi. The Trust has supported Brodie to work towards his full driver’s license.

In 2019 the NHMT work eco-sourcing seeds and providing sustainable employment and pathways to employment was recognised at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards. Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust Tiaki Manaakitia te Tangata, Tiaki Manaakitia te Taiao was awarded the Te Puni Kōkiri Māori Award. Also in 2019, the Trust received the New Zealand Plant Conservation Award for their native nursery.

Makoha began at the Trust 2017. Fluent in te reo and a seasoned kapahaka member of Nga Tumanako kapahaka team, Makoha has done summer internships with NIWA and was team lead with the planting on Topehaehae working with a team of volunteers. He has twice won (in 2017 and 2019) Matamata youth award/ Ngāti Hauā Iwi Award for Maori Contribution.

Brodie began at the Trust 2017. He came from a farming background, having trained through Taratahi. The Trust has supported Brodie to work towards his full driver’s license. In 2019 Brodie won the Matamata Youth Awards Fonterra Environmental commitment award.

In 2019 the NHMT work eco-sourcing seeds and providing sustainable employment and pathways to employment was recognised at the New Zealand Biosecurity Awards. Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust Tiaki Manaakitia te Tangata, Tiaki Manaakitia te Taiao was awarded the Te Puni Kōkiri Māori Award. Also in 2019, the Trust received the New Zealand Plant Conservation Award for their native nursery.

Showdown Productions Ltd - Rural Delivery Series 15 2020