Tū Te Ngana Hau – Breath of Endeavour
Status
Completed: 1 February 2022
Project Details
Tū Te Ngana Hau (The Breath of Endeavour) is a concept that embraces the life force of a remote community, providing a bespoke foundational programme to create pathways that will lead to further education and training. Best described as an action research project, the setting of this pilot is the Whanganui awa (river) community. As a two-year project funded by Ako Aotearoa in 2017, this work focussed on a community-driven project that will lead to further education and training for tribal members of the iwi/tribe of Te Ati Haunui a Pāpārangi from the marae villages on the Whanganui river.
The vision of this project was to grow the capacity and capability of local people to drive this kaupapa for themselves and create meaningful education pathways to find or create employment opportunities. Kaupapa Māori principles underpinned the project and was guided by Māori values of whanaungatanga (relationship integrity), manaakitanga (empowerment of communities) and mana motuhake (respecting the context of each village).
Project vision
The aim of the Tū Te Ngana Hau (The Breath of Endeavour) project team was to action some training and employment pathways within the tribal setting of Te Ati Haunui-ā-Pāpārangi iwi, located along the Whanganui River, Aotearoa NZ. The vision for this research was to align to, and complement– “the wider Whanganui iwi vision and goals with meaningful education and training pathways for tribal members”.
The following research questions were:
- How can we grow the capacity and capability of tribal people to drive this kaupapa for themselves?
- How to create meaningful education pathways to find or create employment opportunities?
Methodology
The ‘Tū Te Ngana Hau’ project is informed by Kaupapa Māori research with Māori Worldviews and tribal ‘ways of Knowing, Being and Doing’ guiding the overall research approach and methodology. This Indigenous approach is responsive to the changing nuances of Māori realities and experiences, especially those in rural and remote communities like the Whanganui River marae villages.
Kaupapa Māori is about recognising the strengths and aspirations of Māori along with Māori rights to self-determination. It is not a prescribed set of methods but rather about how research should be framed and undertaken. The kaupapa, or purpose, is about generating solutions and aspirations from within Māori realities in a systematised research process.
As a methodology, this research contains the notion of action and commitment to change, and to tribal development for Māori. Because of the desire for positive change, this research approach therefore is framed in following “decolonising” ways:
- ‘Focuses on ways to strengthen’ themselves’
- ‘Includes collaboration and partnerships’
- ‘Involves mentorship, guidance and support’
- ‘Gathers evidence in ways that is responsive and culturally appropriate’.
Team
Matiu Julian
Project Leader
Primary ITO
Marianne Farrell
Project Leader
Primary ITOTiara Ranginui
Project Community Coordinator
Te Atihaunui-ā-PāpārangiStatus
Funding
$300,000.00 (excl GST)
Key Findings
Key Recommendations
Video introduction to a two-year community-driven project that focused on building skills for Māori to complete education and transition into the workplace.
- 6 December 2021
Project video from a two-year community-driven project that focused on building skills for Māori to complete education and transition into the workplace.
- 6 December 2021
Full report
Tū Te Ngana Hau – Project report
Final report from a two-year community-driven project that focused on building skills for Māori to complete education and transition into the workplace.
- 1 February 2022