Kai Oranga L3
Kai Oranga (Kaupae Tuatoru)
This level 3 programme will teach you to grow your own health food for your whānau and your marae and pass this knowledge on to others.
With the depletion of Earth's natural resources and growing human populations, there is a need to be concerned with how and what we feed our people and our communities in the future.
With the current situation of our taiao and the added chemicals going into our kai (food), the Kai Oranga programme (within a New Zealand context) aims to rebuild and re-insert knowledge relating to traditional and contemporary food, sustainable practices, food production and management (kaitiakitanga) back into whānau, hapū and iwi settings.
Kai Oranga raises awareness of the relationship between the food that people eat and their overall health. By doing so, it links food with people's wellbeing (Rongoā).
Tauira will learn
- About the principles of Hua Parakore.
- Through participating and contributing to the process of growing food for nutritional purposes, for the wellness and wellbeing of their whānau.
- About the impact of policies regarding kai and food sovereignty and how it has affected people in Aotearoa.
- About the cultural aspects associated with kai, like manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, collective accountability of kai management and distribution, including sharing kai, looking after elders, the whānau and community.
- The technical aspects of growing kai and maara (garden) design.
- Maintaining their safety in and around the maara, ā tinana (physically) and ā wairua (spiritually).
Dates
10 Feb to 16 Nov 2025Duration
40 weeksCommitment
Blended learning including noho, wānanga, online learning and self-directed learningApplications close
10 Mar 2025Locations
Available nationally based on demandRequirements
Min age 16. Be a NZ Citizen or Permanent Resident and have a desire to learn about maara kai and rongoā in a Māori context and to work in health and or horticulture industriesPathway to
Further study and career opportunities in horticultural, environmental and maara kaiFees
Tuition fees free
Show Course Outline
KAI001 Whakapapa O Ngā Kai Atua
Course type: Core
- Description: This course will introduce tauira to elements of ngā ture tikanga and ture tangata principles to grow kai oranga. Tauira will also develop an understanding of the origins, principles and practices of Hua Parakore and Rongoā. By applying this learning within a within a maara kai practice space tauira will be able to seed and cultivate a plant collection.
KAI002 Mauri Maara Kai
Course type: Core
- Description: This course will provide the opportunity for tauira to design, prepare, plant and maintain a maara kai while applying ture tikanga and ture tangata principles. Tauira will be able to identify and maintain appropriate gardening equipment for their maara kai. Tauira will also research a range of growing techniques and usages of Māori medicinal plants. This learning will be applied within maara kai practice.
KAI003 Te Ao Tūroa
Course type: Core
- Description: Tauira will learn about the annual growing cycle in accordance with the maramataka taking into account regional and seasonal variations. Tauira will be able to identify a range of plant pests and diseases. Tauira will also be able to articulate the difference between organics and Hua Parakore. This learning will be applied within maara kai practice.
KAI004 Mana Reo Mana Whenua
Course type: Core
- Description: This course introduces tauira to roles and responsibilities as a kaitiaki within the maara kai. Tauira will work with hau kāinga to identify community needs in relation to their maara kai. Tauira will also be encouraged to practise using te reo o te maara and learn basic phrases and karakia for maara kai. Tauira will develop an understanding of the impact of key policies and events since first contact with Europeans.
KAI005 Oranga Wairua
Course type: Core
- Description: This course introduces tauira to Health and Safety systems related to operating in the maara kai. Tauira will also apply ture tikanga and ture tangata principles in order to keep themselves, others, and their environmental surroundings safe and secure. Tauira will also reflect on their journey of learning and how this could contribute to their future educational or employment pathways.
KAI006 Māramatanga
Course type: Core
- Description: Tauira will analyse the results of the maara that they contributed to planning, planting, maintaining and harvesting. Students will learn to prepare a hākari from the kai that they have harvested from the maara.
Ngā korero a ngā tauira
Student's voice
Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae
Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae engages in our Community Education, Te Pou Hono, Kai Oranga and Te Pōkaitahi Reo Programmes
Pupuaruhe (Toroa) Marae
Pupuaruhe (Toroa) Marae have completed Community Education and Te Pou Hono programmes with Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
Ngatai Whakarongorua Marae
Ngatai Whakarongorua Marae, Tinopai completed marae programmes with Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
Karangahape Marae
Karangahape Marae, Matangirau, Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) have done Iwi Development programmes since 2006
Iwitea Marae
Iwitea has been with Awanuiārangi for nearly 10 years. It has changed everything for us. Our first programme was Community Education and it was about whakapapa.
Tomo mai ki Awanuiārangi
Experience Awanuiārangi
School of Iwi Development
The School of Iwi Development’s goal is to facilitate te whakapakaritanga me te hiki i te mātauranga o te iwi Māori i roto o Aotearoa. Its role is to bring hapū members together to learn about themselves, and to provide a stairway to higher learning.
Wānanga learning style
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi delivers programmes that are distinctive in many ways. We are unique in the tertiary sector of New Zealand, as we are the only wānanga that delivers programmes from foundation through to PhD.
Whakapā mai/Contact us
Waiana Renata
National Programme Coordinator - Kai Oranga
- Phone: 027 204 5677 or Freephone: 0508 92 62 64
- Email: waiana.renata@wananga.ac.nz
Interested? Make an enquiry
We will email you an info pack