Kia ora e te whānau,

Happy March! This year is going super fast, and so are our many kaupapa, so we are excited to catch up and share the news about what we’ve been up to.

We are also excited to announce that in about 2 weeks from now we will be travelling to Gisborne for an encore of our ‘Undiscovered’ production!

So grab a kaputī, get comfortable, and join us as we reflect on Maehe.

Mauri ora,
The Pakaru Pānui Team

At the beginning of the month, our MokoBoys team had the opportunity to travel down to Te Whanganui a Tara for an exchange with Taitā College’s ‘Te Ahi Kā’ class.

Te Ahi Kā is a Māori Environmental Science course that integrates environmental science and tikanga Māori. Students (Years 10-13) learn about native species and fauna, Māori concepts of time, values, and lore, environmental management of exotic species, community resilience and sustainability, and Te Reo Māori. And this is all done in the school’s own backyard! Over the past few years, the class have regenerated the school's swampland and native bush. They have also planted their own māra kai and begun schoolwide composting!

This exchange was an opportunity for our MokoBoys to share knowledge and learn alongside the Te Ahi Kā class. The programme included leadership activities, wānanga, and whakawhanaungatanga with other Māori youth passionate about similar kaupapa. 

Some of the bush work involved identifying natives and invasives, tending to māra kai, transplanting natives, pest control, rongoā Māori and composting.

The MokoBoys were blown away by the school’s forward-thinking in incorporating this type of mahi into their curriculum.

“I wish we had a class like Te Ahi Kā back home in Napier. I’m grateful that we get to learn and grow these skills through MokoBoys. The Te Ahi Kā class were so knowledgeable about te taiao. We have a lot more to share and learn from one another.” - Materita, MokoBoy.

During the MokoBoys & Te Ahi Kā Exchange, we soft launched our new product, Rongo, which is now available from our social enterprise, Māku Organics!

Rongo is the name of our bokashi compost starter, inspired by Rongomātāne, the atua of cultivated foods, and the essence of rongoā – "to heal."

Bokashi is an ancient Japanese fermentation method for composting food waste. With just a starter and a bucket, Bokashi safely stores all kai waste, without nasty smells or pests. Bokashi or fermented food waste also breaks down quickly in the soil while creating a nutrient-rich, healing resource for our whenua.

Rongo reflects our commitment to restoring the whenua in Hawke’s Bay after recent natural disasters and improving the quality of the kai we grow.

Developed with the support of Pickled Compost, who crafts and supplies our starter, Rongo shares the same mission—to transform all uneaten kai into nourishment for the earth.

By using Rongo, you’re not just reducing food waste; you’re restoring the mauri of the land, returning valuable nutrients to the whenua, and strengthening the cycle of abundance that sustains us all.

If you would like to make a purchase and look at our other products please click the link below.

Shop - Māku Organics

We have also held wānanga this month in preparation for our upcoming show! During the wānanga, we did a number of different activities that included getting our show items ready and a ‘fish bowl’ or mental health workshop. Many people don’t know our whakapapa as Toi Matarua, we used to be a performing arts company called 2Face DRAMA that addressed youth suicide. We still do our shows today and talk about many heavy kaupapa that affect us as youth. So the purpose of this ‘fish bowl’ is to help our young people connect more with the show and give us the tools we need to discuss the show with our whānau and friends. This way, we can utilise the tools showcased in the production in real-life situations.

This experience was also bonding time for our crew, all our rangatahi had the opportunity to connect with their peers on a more personal level. Our rangatahi know they have the support from all their friends and kaimahi as well as the people surrounding them.

“During this time I found that I’ve connected with people I never seen myself opening up to. We have created lifetime friendships.” - Rangatahi participant.

We are a couple of weeks away from our Gisborne show! We would LOVE to see you there. All info is on the poster 👆

Over the weekend, our social enterprise, Māku Organics, had a stall at the Napier Home & Living Show. Our MokoBoys manned the stall and got to share our kaupapa with those who had travelled near and far to attend the show. We made lots of sales, all profits go directly toward employing us rangatahi and keeping the MokoBoys service free for our kaumātua who need it the most!

If you or your organisation would like to make a donation to the MokoBoys please click the link below:

Donate

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Hawkes Bay Clean Up ‘25

The MokoBoys had a busy weekend, also attending the annual Hawkes Bay Clean Up for the second year in a row. This was an awesome opportunity for professional development. The Centurion Motorcycle Club taught our team how to use chainsaws, took them for a ride on their motorcycles and heaps of mahi was smashed out!

This month we are happy to announce and welcome our newest MokoBoy, Elaijahr from Ngāti Porou & Ngāti Kahungunu!!!

Elaijahr is 14 years old and is an up-and-coming sportsman. His interests are Muay Thai and Boxing.

“This job is supporting me to go to Thailand for my Muay Thai competition!” - Elaijahr, MokoBoy

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Have you heard? 👀

This is a section where we share some of the cool kaupapa going on around us.

Have you heard about ‘Shamrock Boxing’?

Shamrock Boxing is a boxing gym in Maraenui, Napier. The kaupapa behind Shamrock Boxing is utilising boxing as a tool for suicide prevention and mental wellbeing. The gym has over 60 rangatahi regularly attending trainings. Founder, Taka, encourages rangatahi that the gym is not just a space for training but also a place to learn valuable life skills like speaking up when you are struggling and that it's okay to share your feelings.

Are you feeling stressed or just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, 1737 are here. Free call or free text 1737 any time, 24 hours a day. You’ll get to talk to (or text with) a trained counsellor or talk to a peer support worker. The service is completely free.

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Whakataukī of the Month

Well e te whānau that is us for Māehe! Don’t forget that we also have a monthly piece in the Tihei Kahungunu and Hawkes Bay Today. Follow the link to stay updated, otherwise…

Catch yous next month - DOITZ!

Proudly made in Kahungunu, our specialty organics not only offer natural care but also support our community. All proceeds from your purchase goes directly towards MokoBoys, a community initiative run by Toi Matarua that employs local youth in the Hawkes Bay region to provide free home care services to our elderly. Driven by community needs and entirely self-funded, the employment of these rangatahi is made possible by the sales of our Kawakawa balms through our social enterprise arm - ‘Māku’.