Aokimi

04/09/2025

Come on down to Uru Today for some Mahi Rāranga 🌿 Let the harakeke show you how she helps you heal with your hands 🙏🏾 Then sit in the satistfaction after you make your own tāonga 🤎

01/09/2025

✨ Kia ora whānau ✨

So proud of our tauira today! 💛 They’ve been working hard on their unit standard to present an aspect of te ao haka and what better way than with poi ❤️

They have created their own practice poi, which they’ll use to get their rhythm, coordination, and confidence flowing before we move on to weaving the real deal from natural resources 🌿

It’s so inspiring to watch them embrace this taonga tuku iho, keeping alive the traditions that connect us to our tūpuna while building new skills for the future!

He mihi nui ki ngā tauira 🥹 ka mau te wehi! 🔥

31/08/2025

Niho Taniwha 🌿 Kete whakairo 🤎

29/08/2025

🌿 Te Hurihanga 🌀
📍 Uruuruwhenua Hauora Kaupapa

Today we wove the humble rourou, one of the simplest and most important forms in rāranga. Though small, the rourou carries deep meaning in te ao Māori. Traditionally used to hold kai, it represents manaakitanga the act of caring, sharing, and nourishing one another. There is a well-known whakataukī that i love..
“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi”,
with your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive ✨️

Just like kai sustains the tinana, weaving a rourou reminds us that little acts of care sustain the hinengaro. In the same way each strip of harakeke is folded and tucked to hold together, so too do our small contributions.. kōrero, awhi & aroha create strength and safety for ourselves and our whānau. The rourou teaches us that even the smallest weave, the simplest act, can carry immense mana, helping to feed not just the body but the wairua and the mind.

🌿 HARAKEKE HAUORA 🤎

29/08/2025

Kia ora e te whānau,

At Uru we’re beginning a new kaupapa called Te Hurihanga 🌿 a weaving space created to support hinengaro hauora ✨️ mental health & wellbeing.

From a Te ao Māori perspective, raranga is more than a craft.. it is medicine. When our hands are busy with harakeke, our mind slows down. The rhythmic movement of preparing and weaving the whenu becomes like a karakia, guiding us into presence. It teaches us patience, focus, and acceptance of mistakes as part of the design, much like life itself.

🌱 Healing through connection

To the whenua 🌿 Every weave begins with karakia & harvesting. We reconnect with Papatūānuku, remembering we are part of her.

To the tīpuna 🌊 Raranga is an artform passed down from our ancestors. Each strand we weave strengthens the aho back to those before us.

To each other 🤎 Weaving together creates space for kōrero, laughter, tears, and silence. It reminds us we don’t have to carry our struggles alone.

For hinengaro 🧠
Weaving helps ease anxiety, grounds us and offers a creative release for emotions we might otherwise hold inside. It transforms mamae into taonga.

✨ That is Te Hurihanga ~ the turning, a shift... From stress to stillness. From disconnection to reconnection. From frustration to gratitude. From raru to rongoā.

So come along if your keen to learn and get tau.. it's every Friday at Uruuruwhenua Hauora Central from 10am to 12pm 🌀

Mā te raranga, ka ora te hinengaro.
Through weaving, the mind is nurtured 🤎🌿

28/08/2025

Mahi muka with Uruuruwhenua Hauora Central Māmā Pēpi Roopu ✨️🤎🌿🌀

Today our māmā learnt how to prepare and roll muka ties, a sacred practice carried by our tūpuna for generations.

Muka 🌿 the soft, silky fibre drawn from the inner harakeke leaf is more than just a material. It is a taonga with powerful healing properties. Naturally antiseptic, absorbent, and gentle on the skin, muka has long been used to tie and care for the pito/umbilical cord of our pēpi. Unlike the big plastic clamps, muka allows the pito to dry and heal naturally, reducing risk of infection and soothing the tender skin of our newborns.

For our tūpuna, muka was the obvious and best choice.. not only because of its practical benefits, but because it carries mauri. When we use muka for our pēpi, we are honouring them with the fibres of our whenua, binding them to their whakapapa, and surrounding them in the aroha of ancient knowledge.

This mahi is more than technique.. it is healing in action, a continuation of indigenous practices that uplift whānau and return us to the wisdom of te ao Māori ❤️🤍🖤 Each muka tie becomes a reminder 🌬 beneath every surface lies hidden strength, softness, and resilience.

He taonga tuku iho ~ muka nurtures our pēpi, protects their pito, and ties us back to our whenua, our whakapapa, and to each other. 🌙✨

27/08/2025

🌬🥹🌀🌊🌿

28/8/25 Okoro o Hereturikoka
https://www.maramataka.co.nz/.../maramataka-wall-planner...

25/08/2025

💙 Ice Blue Stick 🌀 Mahi Kete Essential 💪🏽

Kia ora whānau, I recieved a lovely massage with my beautiful friend Amber today and it reminded me how its good to share what works for us or what we use in the mahi we do... So this one’s for all the ringa raupā out there in the sheds, on the whenua, or grinding through mahi that leaves your body sore and tight.

The doTERRA Ice Blue Stick is 🔥 or should I say ❄️🤣 for rubbing straight onto those sore or tight spots. No messy hands, just an easy glide on application that sinks deep to release tension and bring relief where you need it most.

✨ The key Ingredient is Copaiba 🌿
This taonga is known as a natural amplifier for healing. Copaiba supports the body’s natural response to inflammation, eases discomfort, and helps relax muscles and joints. Paired with the cooling powers of Ice Blue, it’s like giving your tinana a karakia of comfort & relief!

Whether you’re fresh out of the shearing sheds, bent over weaving that kete, or carrying the load of everyday mahi this stick belongs in your kete!

✨ My mum’s a distributor, hit me up if you want to order. Kia ora koe 🤍

Ngā mihi & Aroha always
Bubbah ✨

25/08/2025

Tuuturu 🤎🌿

25/8/25 Tirea o Hereturikoka
https://www.maramataka.co.nz/.../maramataka-wall-planner...

24/08/2025

Today was my second class with the Year 11s at Dunstan High, and we continued our mahi preparing for muka poi. We started with taura whiri (plaited ropes) using wool as practice before moving to the real deal with muka 🌿

It was so beautiful watching the students pick up the rhythm of weaving, twisting and braiding the colours together, seeing the whakairo patterns appear before their eyes. For some, it was their very first time weaving, yet the way they sat in the flow, focused, and working together, felt like te whare pora (the house of weaving) had come alive in the classroom.

This kaupapa isn’t just about making poi, it’s about reconnecting with taonga tuku iho, working with our hands, grounding ourselves, and keeping alive the practices that our tūpuna carried through despite suppression. The ropes may be small, but they carry a big story.

Ngā mihi to these tauira for stepping into the mahi with open hearts and willing hands. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. 🌿✨