A Place of Deep Knowing
Kauaetangohia Marae is a place that holds mana and memory. The whenua itself speaks — and for many in the rōpū, it felt like being invited into a living whakapapa. The hapū here have retained 94% of their land, which is rare in Aotearoa. This connection to place shaped every part of the experience.
There were no PowerPoints. No folders. Just people, kōrero, and presence. The warmth and generosity shown by the Waititi whānau and their wider hapū was quietly transformative — the kind of manaakitanga that doesn’t ask for recognition, only shared commitment.
Carrying It Forward
This wānanga reminded us that true learning is relational. It’s slow. It requires humility. It’s about listening deeply and being willing to be changed. As a Trust, we want to honour that by taking action — not performatively, but meaningfully.
The wānanga has already begun to influence how we think about our mahi, and how we hold ourselves accountable to Te Tiriti and to the communities we serve. Since returning, we’ve made small but meaningful changes — including updating how Te Tiriti o Waitangi is reflected in our public documents — and we’re beginning conversations about how to embed this learning more deeply across our board and team. There’s interest in making participation in Ki te Hoe a shared part of the journey for future trustees and staff, and in sharing our experience in a way that might support others who are considering stepping into this kaupapa.
The learning is not something we want to keep to ourselves — it’s something we hope to live out, quietly and consistently, in the way we work and walk forward together.
We are grateful to the team at Tūmanako Consultants, to the Waititi whānau, and to Te Whānau-a-Apanui for their incredible generosity. The learning will stay with us — not as a moment, but as a movement. We hope to honour it in how we work, how we show up, and how we serve.
