The Māori landowners of Te Uretureture, Matakana 9, along with Te Tumu Paeroa: The New Māori Trustee, have agreed to develop 5 hectares of their land into a Kiwifuit Orchard.
A ceremony attended by owners, trustees and Te Tumu Paeroa representatives was held on the land, and a plum tree was planted to mark the significance of the day.
“The land has been in maize for a long time, going on 35 years. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to remove it and let the land heal. Te Tumu Paeroa came to us early on, and we’ve now built a strong relationship. Together we’ve worked though some of the challenges and kept the integrity of our sites of cultural significance and are moving forward with the development with our people in mind,” says advisory trustee and Matakana Island local, Te Uta Roretana.
The plan for Te Uretureture includes a grazing lease for the balance of the land and an urupā for the various hapu that connect to Matakana Island. Historical pā sites are being protected by Māori reservation law, and a covenant for Ngā Whenua Rāhui to protect and contribute to the native plants on the island, are further initiatives that came from the landowners and all were supported by Te Tumu Paeroa to implement.
Jason Murray, an advisory trustee living on the land, sees the development as an opportunity to bring whanau home.
“Matakana is my turangawaewae, it’s where I feel strong and free. I’m hoping that this development will inspire whanau to come up with ideas to diversify our land later down the track. It could be avocado, it could be bees. We could even consider market gardening. The kiwifruit orchard will support those aspirations and I’m hoping that it will attract people back to the island to work on the land and give back to the community,” says Jason.
Te Tumu Paeroa will invest approximately $1.5 million to establish and operate the kiwifruit orchard in an innovative partnership model that protects the whenua from any risk. The strategic plan going forward is to develop training opportunities for whanau of Matakana in governance, orchard management and financial literacy, as in 12 years the owners of Te Uretureture will own 100% of the fully functioning orchard.
Head of Te Tumu Paeroa, Jamie Tuuta, is pleased to see the organisational vision being realised.
“Our mission at Te Tumu Paeroa is to mobilise Māori land and assets to create this generation’s legacy. We’re looking to enable whanau to develop their whenua in line with their aspirations, and work together to enrich their communities. We are also supporting them to lead and govern their own land. The whanau on Matakana Island are at the beginning of their journey. We’ve built a solid foundation together and we’re looking forward to continuing to work on that relationship” says Jamie.
Orchard shelter will be established, starting in November and ongoing composting to restore the natural properties of the soil will be initiated this month.
Kiwifruit planting will begin next season.
