Inspiring and educating about kai in Aotearoa
Whakatipu Mana Kai started to take shape in 2023, as an idea to be more connected to our food systems, to eat well, and to practice food sovereignty.
In December 2023, we were inspired to try eating only food from our garden, the bush, and the sea for one week, which we nudged up to one month. We set to preparing, preserving, and freezing our produce to begin our first ‘wero kai’ in May 2024. With the wero kai idea taking form, and conscious of how social food can be, we didn’t want to remove ourselves from our communities. From this, the idea of bringing a group together around the kai kaupapa emerged, which brought forward the idea of a ‘season’ of wānanga about kai.
Throughout 2024, we hosted multiple seasons of wānanga, and we found we had a growing list of attendees. We began sharing content online as a way to share knowledge in another space and with a wider audience.
Our mahi hosting wānanga has expanded to now be delivering them for other communities, with such demand and interest around the motu in kai production, gathering, preserving, and cooking. The wero kai has gone on to become an annual challenge, and we are now preparing for a three-month wero kai for 2025.
We operate as a company and are registered as Whakatipu Mana Kai Ltd.
Whakatipu Mana Kai has been co-founded by Tai Wright and Christina van der Velde.
We are a couple living on the west coast of Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. We have a shared love of kai, and together are the kaitiaki of Whakatipu Mana Kai.
Tai’s background is in studying Māori food sovereignty and reconnecting with ancestral kai practices and landscapes. He began his university education with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Anthropology at Waipapa Taumata Rau/ The University of Auckland.
His deep interest in food led to postgraduate study, with his BA (Hons) dissertation exploring Alternative Food Initiatives and their relationship to food sovereignty. This rangahau progressed further into a Master’s thesis, exploring the meaning of Māori food sovereignty in Aotearoa. Beyond his study and research, Tai loves preparing meals for whānau and friends, trying his luck fishing on the west coast, and spending time working in the māra.
Read Tai Wright's Master's thesis
This thesis explores the concept of Māori food sovereignty, and how it intertwines with broader efforts toward Indigenous self-determination. Through interviews and focus groups, the study explores the unique perspectives of Māori on food sovereignty, with Participants highlighting the intimate connection between kai (food) and whenua (land) and te taiao (environment), emphasising the importance of reconnecting with the food-producing environment. The research also identifies challenges and proposes pathways for increasing Māori food sovereignty, advocating for Māori to undertake tikanga based resource management. Ultimately, the study underscores that the pursuit of food sovereignty is part of a larger call for (re)indigenisation and self-determination.
Christina’s background is in social enterprise as well as community and environmental sustainability. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Waipapa Taumata Rau/ The University of Auckland, where her interest in sustainability drew her to social enterprise and the potential for organisations to create a positive impact, given all the pressures on our people and planet.
Following her studies, she worked for a charitable trust focused on ecological and social (training and advocacy) outcomes. After her time there, she went on to work for a corporate sustainability consultancy and learned a lot, but after a few years in that sector, she was ready to move away from the corporate world and get to work in the māra. Beyond her study and mahi, Christina is a keen bread maker, is often found working in the māra, and enjoys making the most of seasonal crops by making jars of preserves to share with loved ones.