Te Manawhenua Challenge

 Enter a team of youth in your area into a garden project competition and claim the title for the best garden in Taitokerau.

 1.  Youth inactivity and health

 2.  Development of maori land

 3.  Enthusiasm for whenua maori 

Tama noho tama mate: Youth inactivity and health: 

There are concerns for many different reasons , about the future of the taitamariki o Taitokerau today. External influences are creating a new generation of youth with different values and principles in life from those valued and esteemed by our tupuna tikanga maori mairano.  The gangsta culture, drug and alcohol abuse, lack of maori knowledge or pride and respect of things precious to maori are issues that all communities are facing today. 

The health and activity levels of our tamariki are decreasing, and diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity are no longer an old persons issues. Ideas are being put forward to stem this problem.  Challenges for the youth must be created by maori to bring our new generation of maori back to a state of excellent health of mind and body.

Working on the whenua and creating positive development is the main objective for this project.  Doing it in a community environment with whanau support is vital.  Instigating this process as a challenge with a reward at completion is the method.

Ahuwhenua: Development of the land

A garden challenge for the youth is proposed to create an activity that encompasses many principles of our tupuna that are relevant to today. The issue of feeding the whanau, providing for hui, pride in a full pataka and the abundance of garden in a community is a way to get the youth back outside and learning about constructive activities that will give them a sense of pride. An ahuwhenua challenge captures a wide range of issues in a positive light. The development of whenua by rangatahi in their areas can create a sense of unity amongst the community with kaumatua and rangatahi working along side each other to create the best garden project in Taitokerau.

Also we again see an abundance of food brought back into the community with their own skills and talents coming to the fore to accomplish their objective.

The knowledge that the youth will gain from this experience will be priceless in the adult years when it is time to create their own source of income for the whanau. This will be a stepping stone towards the rejuvenation of agricultural and horticultural development of maori lands sitting dormant with nothing on them.

Toitu te whenua, whatungarongaro te tangata

 Pride in working the whenua again is a major objective for this exercise. The relation that a person builds by working the whenua with his own efforts has been sadly lost as have the links of aroha to the whenua, whanau and whakapapa. The whenua is the foundation on which to build a whanau, without it the next generation will struggle to build the next link in Te Ao maori. The importance of healthy land, healthy people must be promoted amongst the rangatahi to ensure that the links are nurtured and eventually returned to their once strong state. The whenua cannot be ignored as a resource of great importance to the development and prosperity of the maori people.

To be honoured for sport and academic achievements is to be encouraged but so too is the honour of being able to provide for your whanau.

Pride and enthusiasm must be a part of the challenge with positive rewards heaped upon them for their efforts.

 Whakaaro: 

To organize an annual regional challenge for taitamariki in Taitokerau for the group of maori youth who develop the best garden in one season.

The challenge will be sponsored by interested groups contributing taonga for allocation to appropriate achievers.

There will be judges  who will study the garden research, diaries and progress of the gardens through written or recorded documents.

The gardens will be judged depending on:

size of garden

amount of youth involved in project

assistance from adults

style of gardening

economic budget detail

quality of kai.

 
The best group competition spirit

This will be determined by the groups themselves as well as judge observations:

The group who had minimal help or resources but persevered

The group who had the best wairua throughout the challenge

The group who best represents the ahua of the challenge

Best wairua awhi me manaakitanga

The best individual participant of the challenge

This will be judged on:

Participation

Competitorship

Tikanga mahinga kai

The best garden group overall

This will be judged on all points accumulated for:

garden quality

 group challenge success

 individual representative

challenge spirit

The overall winner will win taonga plus trophy for 1 year, to be returned for the next years challenge