Ko Te Whare Pora, he tuatahi o tōna momo i Te Matau a Maui, kua whakatuwhera i ōna tatau ki te hapori o Pā Harakeke. He wāhi e taea ai e ngā māmā hapū me a rātou whānau te ako i ngā mahi raranga wahakura, te mārama hoki i ngā tikanga tuku iho mō te mahi raranga.
“The kaupapa of Te Whare Pora is to provide a space for hapū whānau within the community to come in and learn how to make a series of items for hapūtanga from harakeke,” te kī a te kairaranga matua, a Niwa Brightwell.
“Koinei te mea tuatahi. Ko te tāku e tūmanako ana, me tuku atu tēnei ki waahi kē atu, ki Rotorua, ki Taranaki, ki Tauranga, ki South Auckland, ki Northland, ki hea rānei, ki te waahi e noho nei ngā Māori,” te kōrero a Ahorangi David Tipene-Leach.
Ka tīmata ngā whānau ki te ako i ngā tikanga tuatahi, i mua tonu i te ahunga atu ki te hanga i o rātou ake wahakura hei whakahoki ki te kāinga.
“This style of wahakura we’ll be making in the programme it is a wahakura whiri, and it’s slightly different to the waikawa style and it’s got a very strong base. The edges allow it to sit flat and the edges are very strong,” tā Brightwell.
Ka ako hoki te tangata i ngā tikanga raranga tuku iho i ngā mātua tīpuna, pērā i te ipu pito.
“We are trying to revive traditional practice in terms of weaving, but also in terms of caring and looking after a pā harakeke because without the pā harakeke there’s no weaving.”
“This is a place for families to be able to be woven together in terms of their overall well-being so that they can support and look after their babies and mokopuna,” te kī a Lewis Ratapu, Kaiwhakahaere o Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.
He kaupapa tēnei nā te pūtea tautoko a Te Manatū Hauora e whakahaerehia ana e Te Taiwhenua O Heretaunga.