Categories
food maori

Food sovereignty

Toi Kai Rākau Iti is of TÅ«hoe, Waikato and Te Arawa decent. An actor and documentary maker, he is back home in TÅ«hoe working with his community, Hāpu and Iwi. We talk about food sovereignty – agroecological regenerative systems which intersect western horticultural science with traditional TÅ«hoe ecological knowledge and practice.

Talking points

Transitioning to a place of wellbeing

Te Reo – the magic of nature, codified in language

We talk about the importance of mana motuhake, of sovereignty – the right to life as you see fit – yet we are dependent on industrialised food systems

I come from a tradition of exposing the theatre of power, recoginising the power of spectacle, now we are developing a theatre of community

Food sovereignty is climate change

Gardening as performance art – this is a show garden, a manifestation of energy.

We see intergenerational dysfunction, we say karakia to the land, but then sit down to industrialised sausages.

The layers of colonisation are subtle, deep and thick.

In growing stuff – not just food – you can see the energy

Questions to end (short answers)

Definition: It goes on

Success: Moving home

Superhero: Bringing value

Activist: Yes. Do stuff. Subversive

Motivation: Doing stuff for people

Challenge: Creating space for healing

Miracle: An awakening.

Categories
participation regeneration

Aiming for potential

Dr Dominique Hes is a Senior Lecturer  Melbourne School of Design, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning.  She is director of the Thrive Research Hub and co-author of Designing for Hope: pathways to Regenerative sustainability.   We talk about enriching relationships and designing for possibility.


Talking points

Happiness not wealth

We’re not trained to think of ourselves as nature

Enriching relationships

Designing for possibility

Aim for potential – not just solving a problem

The machine doesn’t know how to break the rules

We’re just aiming for sustaining when we need to be aiming for thriving

Identifying the irresistible narrative – the capacity to develop with positive ripples.

Sustainable: Sustainability is a part of the mechanistic worldview of us saying “how can we manage the system better?” I am critical about the definition of Sustainability, I align much closer to the definition for regenerative development which is to work on projects which increase the vitality, the viability to constructively adapt to change.

Success: Seeing the lights go on in my students eyes, seeing them change from passive consumers to active participants.

Superpower: My superpower is networking, remembering who I have met so that I can connect to them.

Activist: No, to be an activist it means if you don’t agree with me I’ve failed, instead I’m a educator. It’s up to you whether this story fits within your life, your narrative and your way of thinking, I’m not going to enforce it upon you.

Motivation: Curiosity, I’m curious about everything and its potential.

Challenges: I’m looking forward to learning how to slow down, as much as I am taking a time cut instead of a payrise, I still don’t really feel like I have the time to really read or reflect. So, I’ll be going back to two days a week as soon as I can to create that time.

Miracle: That people saw their potential in creating a thriving future, that people switched from passive consumption to active participation, being alert and present with the issues at hand.

Advice: Slow down, It’s as much about finding how you can thrive in the system as how you can help the system thrive!

This conversation was supported by Wintec‘s Centre for Transdisciplinary Research and Innovation.