Ngāti Kea/Ngāti Tuarā recently built a micro-hydro plant at their marae, Kearoa, and this generates more electricity than the marae can use. The hapū Māori Land Trust is keen to use the electricity as part of a strategy to move away from simply managing stock to also growing vegetables in a temperature controlled glasshouse. This project involves market research into horticulture in the New Zealand and Māori economies. Based in Wellington and with a site visit to Kearoa marae, Rotorua, the intern will meet with Te Paiaka Trust trustees and review the current situation of the Trust and the hapū. A literature review will be completed of horticulture in relation to the New Zealand and Māori economies and they will then draft a feasibility study with specific recommendations about which crops best suit the location, the amount of available electricity and hapū aspirations. The study will be presented to the Trust and the hapū Rūnanga. The process the hapū has followed and the study will be written in to a journal article for publication in an academic journal.
Project commenced: