Date/Time
Date(s) - Tue 20 February
12:00 - 13:30
‘He pito mata’ is derived from the whakatauki ‘iti noa, he pito mata’ (a small seed can sustain many). This speaks to kai production and refers to a small uncooked portion of kumara replanted to provide many more. From this whakatauki, we not only draw on the notion of potential from the seed – or kumara, but the interconnected relationship between whenua and people.
In Te Reo Māori the word for placenta is the same as the word for land – whenua, a place of growth and sustenance. People are the land, and the land is the people, as is the symbiotic health that binds land and people together.
With the impacts of climate change and the cost of living having a significant impact on access to heathy and culturally appropriate food produced in ways that align with Te Ao Māori methods and worldview, the importance of tapping into the ‘potential’ within whānau/hapu/iwi to become self-sustaining is vital.
At any one time, Aotearoa New Zealand has one week’s worth of food ready to feed our people. How can we ensure there is food for all, both pre- and post-disasters? Join our 90 min webinar featuring speakers from across food security and resilience research and practice to find out out.
No reira, ē ngā mana, ē ngā reo, ē ngā mātāwaka, areare taringa mai ki tēnei wānanga ipurangi whakahirahira ō tatou, He pito mata.
Webinar Speakers
Jessica Hutchings
Governance Group Member, Resilience to Nature’s Challenges
Dr Jessica Hutchings (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Gujarati) is nationally and internationally recognised as a leader and researcher in Indigenous food systems and Māori food and soil sovereignty, she is a founding Trustee of the Papawhakaritorito Charitable Trust that works to uplift Māori food and soil sovereignty and Hua Parakore (Māori organics) through research, development and community practice. She is the Co-chair Tangata Whenua of RNC NSC and holds a range of governance and leadership roles across the science and Māori sectors. Jessica is also a widely published author, including recent books, Te Mahi Oneone Hua Parakore: A Māori Soil Sovereignty and Wellbeing Handbook (Freerange Press 2020), and Te Mahi Māra Hua Parakore: A Māori Food Sovereignty Handbook (Te Tākupu, 2015). Dr Hutchings has just completed a Marsden funded project, Kai Atua: Food for Hope and Wellbeing and will present key findings from this project at the webinar. She begins work in 2024 on a newly funded Marsden grant: Seeding Hope that explores Indigenous peoples food systems through digital storytelling. She was named as a finalist in 2023 for the New Zealander of the year in the Environment category as well as being named one of New Zealand’s top 50 influential women in food and drink. For further information see: jessicahutchings.org.nz https://www.papawhakaritorito.com/
Tric Malcolm
Pou Ārahi, Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective
No Ingarangi, Kotirana, Tiamini te iwi o ōku tupuna. Na te Tiriti o Waitangi au i tēnei whenua. E noho ana au, me tāku whānau iti, ki Pōneke inaianei. Te Pou Ārahi o Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective te mahi o tāku manawa Ko Tric Malcolm tōku ingoa. I am Tric Malcolm, the Pou Ārahi of Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective. I work amidst a wonderful team of people across a diverse range of sectors connecting and working collaboratively across kai systems, across all systems, so that all our people and our taiao can thrive. I hope to share some of that goodness with you. Kore Hiakai Zero Hunger Collective is made up of people and organisations who are committed to addressing the root cause of food related poverty and working together to create a food secure Aotearoa. We bring together whānau, iwi, hapū, community, farmers, fishers, growers, manufactures, distributors, philanthropy alongside local and centre government. Our goal is to build Te Tiriti grounded, long term, mana centred, sustainable solutions to ensure all people at all times have agency and access to nourishing, affordable, sustainably sourced, culturally appropriate food – to bring about a Food Secure Aotearoa. Food Security is not a response to a lack of resource. Food security is about communities, economic systems, knowledge, the environment and industry being in relationship in ways so all might thrive. We are often told there is a scarcity of things, but when we work together, we know there is an abundance of what we need to thrive.
Joanna Fountain
Associate Professor, Lincoln University
Associate Professor Joanna Fountain is a rural social scientist at Lincoln University with diverse research interests focused on analysis of change and resilience, particularly in rural regions. Much of this research has food – its production, distribution and consumption – at its core. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural hazard events have highlighted acute vulnerabilities in Aotearoa New Zealand’s agri-food supply chain and the significant issues of food insecurity facing many whānau and communities. Jo’s presentation will explore the potential of community food ventures to enhance the ‘soft infrastructure’ of community resilience and food accessibility and availability to ensure better preparedness for future crises and disasters, and discuss the role that local and national decision-makers can have in this process.
Gradon Diprose
Senior Researcher, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research
Gradon Diprose is a Senior Researcher, Environmental Social Science at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. He has a background in geography and planning. His research focuses on how people and communities collectively respond to connected social and environmental concerns. The shift to more food secure communities will require diverse responses and practices in light of climate change and increasing extreme weather events. Gradon will summarise recent research on food rescue in Aotearoa New Zealand, and how rescued food and associated infrastructure forms part of, and contributes to, wider shifts towards improved food security and resilience.