Otawhiwhi Marae Brings Kai and Mātauranga to Flavours of Plenty Festival

Otawhiwhi Marae chairman Reon Tuanau will be sharing the deep cultural significance of kai with visitors as part of this year's Flavours of Plenty Festival, presented in collaboration with the Echo Walking Festival. Tuanau says learning the history of food makes it taste a little bit sweeter, and his chosen theme for the day — ko te kai a te rangatira ko tē kōrero, meaning the food of chiefs is dialogue — reflects the idea of sharing stories at the heart of Māori history, culture, and whakapapa.

A key focus will be the humble kūmara and what this root vegetable has meant to Māori as a staple of early New Zealand life. Tuanau plans to share a story about a time when a group had exhausted their supply of bread burgers and had converted mangroves to kūmara, only surviving thanks to one woman's secret stash that was planted and sustained the community through the season ahead.

The day's programme includes a welcome and local kai narrative, a traditional kūmara dish demonstration, a hands-on fry bread workshop where participants can make their own paua fry bread, and a culminating fire on the water's edge to prepare kaimoana in the old-fashioned way — on corrugated iron or even a shovel. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for the marae, with proceeds going towards a trip to Tuhua-Mayor Island.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).