About Kōanga Kai

Kōanga Kai is an initiative that encourages whānau rangatiratanga by building healthy and sustainable kai production practices, influenced by the traditions and mātauranga of our tīpuna. We support entities throughout Te Waipounamu to deliver Kōanga Kai programmes within their communities. By providing physical resources and coaching, whānau are empowered to participate in communal gardens or create māra kai in their homes, and engage in planting, hunting, gathering, foraging, producing, preserving and preparing kai.

Kōanga Kai is about self-determination and sustainability – kai production that puts whānau in charge of creating healthy lifestyles, and that is environmentally and economically sustainable. Below you will find a list of the entities that are currently delivering Kōanga Kai initiatives throughout Te Waipounamu and Wharekauri/Rēkohu.

“Kōanga Kai represents the energy of spring, new shoots of life and the excitement of possibility. It also links us to the legacy of Rākaihautū, who travelled throughout Te Waipounamu and carved out its lakes and rivers using his kō, or digging stick.”

Kōanga Kai Stories

Kōanga Kai – Uruuruwhenua

For Alva Bennett of Uruuruwhenua Health in Alexandra, the Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu Kōanga Kai initiative has provided the opportunity to watch whānau grow with their gardens.
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Kōanga Kai – Waikawa Marae

Working around COVID-19 pandemic restrictions proved to be a challenge for Waikawa Marae in 2021, but now with “the fundamentals in place,” the benefits from the Kōanga Kai initiative can be seen through the expansion of their existing māra kai.
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Kōanga Kai – Te Hā o Kawatiri

Westport is no stranger to natural disasters and if recent major flooding has highlighted anything, it is the need for people to become resilient and self-sufficient.
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