Rebuilding ahi kaa - keeping the home fires bright

Intern

Jack (Haki) Hamilton, University of Otago

Supervisor

Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora, The University of Auckland

Overview 

Through the 20th century, many Māori left the rural East Coast / Tairawhiti to find livelihoods and opportunities for their whānau in urban centres beyond their tribal districts. This continues to this day as a result of a persistently depressed regional economy, lack of job opportunities, and narrow career pathways. Some whānau may have been fortunate enough to have returned to their iwi homelands for tangi, whānau events or holidays, but for many, this has not been enough to enable a strong connection to marae, or to marae communities. 

This internship aimed to address a critical issue faced by many Māori postgraduate students who have grown up in urban centres away from their ancestral marae communities, which is: how do they fan their ahi kaa and nourish a connection with their marae community? 

The objective of this internship was: to develop and explore ways for people to reconnect, refresh, and rekindle their ahi kaa, empowering them to contribute actively to keeping the home fires bright and fostering a strong sense of connectedness and belonging.