Horoia ngā rīhi - do the dishes.
Para Kore e-pānui.
Nau mai e ngā hua o Hineraumati
Pēpi in the maara kai
Tēnā koutou e ngā kaipānui o tēnei reta
Nau mai e ngā hua o Hineraumati. Ko ngā paramu, ngā pītiti, ngā hūkini, ngā aha atu, ngā aha atu e hua mai ana i tēnei wā. Ko te tūmanako e ora pai ana koutou me ō koutou whānau ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke o te wā.
Para Kore hopes you have had a restful and joyous raumati with your friends, whānau and loved ones.
This holiday season has been aptly coined the ‘summer of submissions’. It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by the intentional unwinding of decades of progress for Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori development, te reo Māori and our taiao - all of which are inextricably linked.
In times like these, it is imperative that we remember that our resistance to this capitalist, consumerist world must be deeply rooted in joy. So, if you can, in between the petition signing, hīkoi marching, and submission writing, take time for yourself. Dig your toes into the sand, put your hands in the soil of the earth, bask in the sunlight of Tamanuiterā, and allow yourself to feel the joy that radiates from Papatūānuku, Ranginui, and our whānau atua.
As we reach the milestone of 185 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, let us hold tight to the vision of our tūpuna who signed our founding document, with a vision for an inclusive Aotearoa, which affirms the tino rangatiratanga of hapū over their lands, water and taonga. Governments come and go, Te Tiriti is forever.
Toitū te Tiriti.
Nā Jacqui Forbes,
Kaihautū Matua o Para Kore
Horoia ngā rīhi - Do the dishes
They say the pathway to leadership is through service, and that’s why there is no greater tanga than tea-towel-tanga. With disposable single-use plastic plates and cutlery featuring more and more on the tables of our homes and wharekai, Para Kore thought it was time for an overdue reminder about the importance of doing the dishes.
Growing up, doing the dishes is a rite of passage, whether in the wharekai during a tangihanga, at home after a huge Christmas hākari or away on school camp - there’s something to be cherished in those minutes (sometimes hours) shared with siblings, cousins, friends and classmates; singing waiata and arguing over who is washing, who is drying and who gets arguably the best job of all, putting the dishes away.
There’s no better teacher than a scrubbing brush, and many lessons are learned in the kitchen. If those kitchen walls could talk, they would tell you of the sharing, gossip, laughter, debriefing, and occasional tears - all from the humble yet critical mahi that leads to a clean and tidy kitchen.
If you sit back and reminisce about some of your special memories, you may find that some of them were created around a stainless steel sink. Reusable real crockery dishes build whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and responsibility!
However, now more and more, there’s a thief called ‘convenience’ who is stealing this from us. Convenience has sucked us in and is selling us single-use, disposable plates and cutlery.
Making single-use disposables that you will only use once is pōrangi. That’s because single-use plates and cutlery take massive amounts of energy, pollution, and waste to extract the trees, produce the plates, and distribute the plates for sale. The plate is only used for ten minutes or so before it’s thrown out. Once again, those single-use disposables hit the road, first into a black bag and then onto a rubbish truck, often travelling hundreds of kilometres to be dumped into a landfill - usually owned by an international company that makes big money off our wasteful ways.
Doing the right thing by the taiao is often about doing things in the old ways, such as washing and drying dishes. Doing the right thing by the taiao doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive, nor should it be about using fancy eco-stuff, driving an EV or drinking from expensive water bottles. Being conscious of our consumption (means all the stuff we buy and use) is about using what we already have: making do, teaching our tamariki and rangatahi the ways of the kitchen, and using the plates in our cupboards, washing and drying them and putting them back to be used again - that is a circular system - that’s how our atua roll, everything is a circular system of life. E te whānau, save money and leave those eco-friendly compostable plates where they belong - on the supermarket shelf.
Next time your whānau is preparing for a birthday, reunion or tangihanga, crack out the crockery plates, the silverware or the stainless steel cutlery and a tea towel. You’ll save money, honour Papatūānuku, strengthen whanaungatanga and reinforce mātāpono like humility, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga in your whare.
Don’t get sucked into single-use.
Horoia ngā rīhi e te whānau, do the dishes.
Ngā wānanga e haere ake nei - Upcoming events
Waikato Awa (Picture from the Waikato District Council website)
Are you in the Kirikiriroa, Hamilton City Council, the Waikato, Waipa or Matamata Piako district?
If you are, one of our most popular waananga ‘Mai i Kurawaka| Reindigenising Ikura’ is available now in January, February and March.
It’s free for individuals, whaanau, hapuu, iwi, haapori Maaori and community organisations.
At this waananga, you will learn more about our te ao Maaori worldview on Ikura (menstruation), including whakapapa, as well as the pros and cons of both reusable and single-use period products. This wānanga enables a safe place to talk about ikura and zero waste products.
You will also receive free reusable Ikura products!
If you would like to attend or for us to deliver this waananga to your kaimahi or your community please click and fill out the Mai I Kurawaka Wānanga registered interest form.
Ka nui te mihi ki Hamilton City Council, Waikato District Council, Waipa District Council, me Matamata Piako District Council mō te tautoko.
Wairarapa … he wānanga kei te haere
When: 14-16 Feb, 2025 🗓️
Where: Hurunui o Rangi Marae - Gladstone📍
Join us for this unique opportunity to learn and practice the art of kai collection and preparation with renowned Chef Joe (Hamuera Orupe McLeod) 👨🏽🍳
“My passion and research in the culinary Maori cuisine philosophy has been with me since 1964 learned to my generation by our grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins and fellow villagers with favourite uncle Te Karo Titoko who was adamant we worked and learned together the arts and crafts of the forests …” Chef Joe
This kaupapa is about reconnecting our culinary cultural heritage to our marae across the country. Our aim is to give marae the opportunity if they wish, to reverse engineer mainstream cooking to pre-european, Māori food culture. 🍠
Day 1 - Process
Foraging, Sorting & Naming Rongoa, weaving and whakawhanungatanga. ✨
Day 2
Food preparation, connecting rongoā to the food with whakapapa, tikanga and kawa & placing food into the rourou. Preparing the hangi sites and explaining the methodology.💚
Day 3
Cooking the food, presenting and connecting the ngahere to the kai, kai to the rongoa, rongoa to the whenua, whenua to the table and table to the marangai.
Hākari whakamutunga 🥘
Para Kore update:
Para Kore has said goodbye to ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter)
Due to conflicting interests and values, we have said goodbye to X. We are having ongoing conversations internally about our relationship with META platforms such as Instagram and Facebook and will have more of an update on this after our board meeting mid-February.
Para Kore is currently exploring our options. In the meantime, continue to stay connected via our Substack.
Sign the open letter calling for a Deposit Return Scheme in NZ
Zero Waste Network are inviting organisations, councils and businesses to add their signatures to our open letter calling on the Government to implement an effective, high-performing Deposit Return Scheme (DRS, also known as CRS) for drink containers in New Zealand.
We support an effective model for New Zealand that would lead to recovery rates of 90% for recycling and reuse, in line with international best practice.
If your organisation would like to become a signatory to the letter, please add your name here.
Para Kore at the Waikato Tainui Tainui Games ki Whaingaroa, Surfing, Manu Bay,
Volunteers needed
Kei te pirangi koe ki te tuu hei toa Para Kore i Nga Keemu o Tainui 2025? Do you want to volunteer as a Para Kore champion at the Tainui Games? 👏🏾
When: 15th-16th February
Where: Hopuhopu Sports Grounds
This is your opportunity to mahi tahi, to tautoko ‘He Kohikohinga’ initiatives to reduce waste at the bi-annual Tainui Games held at the Hopuhopu Sports Grounds on the 15th and 16th of February 2025.
Para Kore is calling for volunteers to help with pre-event setup, manning or womaning the Para Kore Stations across the duration of the weekend and a pack down crew after all the fun is done.
This mahi spans four days. All good if you can spare two hours or two days. Please click the link here to register your availability.
Plastic is NOT fantastic, reusables are the way to go. There will be wai maaori stations across the event grounds so pack the chilly bin, ditch the plastic packaging, put your kai in containers, and bring your cup/drink bottle, kaiware & utensils.
Toituu te maarae o Taane
Toituu te maarae o Tangaroa
Toituu te tupuna awa a Waikato
Toituu te iwi!
Do you compost? If so, we want to hear from you!
Fill in this quick survey to help us gather valuable insights into current composting practices.
These insights will help our ‘Whakahaumanu a Hineahuone’ programme - Building a sustainable future for Aotearoa through composting.
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Please continue to follow us on social media, subscribe to our mailing list, and if you’d like to reach in; connect with us via our website.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Arohanui West me te whānau whanui o Para Kore