12 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Te Tawa Pamu Trust’s vision and Karen Phelps One purpose in mind, planning,forward thinking and strong values has seen Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust Dairy Unit,Te Tawa Pamu, win the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Farming for the Future Award at the 2023 Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Hinehou Timutimu, General Manager, Pamu Kaiwhakahaere,with Ken Goldsmith and Tyson Kelly, says the Trust was pleasantly surprised to win and the main aim of entering had been to use the feedback as a guide to benchmark farm performance to help it achieve its future goals. The 220ha farm called Te Tawa Pamu milks 460-470 cows and is comprised of various Maori land blocks, the owners connected through Ngati Rongo hapu. The decision was made to pool the land together to form an Ahuwhenua Lands Trust called Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust in 1989 as it was determined that doing so would result in benefit. The trust serves 1,100 owners and beneficiaries as well as its wider community. Hinehou says creating opportunities aligned to the trust’s matawhanui (vision) has been a key driver. The team encompasses five generations who are employed at all levels of the business including operations, management and governance. Contract milker Tyson Kelly, of Te Kotahitanga Dairying, was raised in Ruatoki and learned herd and farming skills from his koroua Hare Nuku. Hinehou says it’s given him an opportunity pass on his ketematauranga (knowledge and experience) to the rangatahi. One of Tyson’s cousins has the 2IC role and his two nephews are part time/relief milkers. Tyson’s partner Sapphire is the calf rearer and their three girls – Te Iriarangi 13, Snow 12 and Meadow, 2 – help out as well. Hinehou says that farming with the future in mind echoes the trusts’ uara (values) – sustainability (manaaki), belonging (whakawhanaunga), embracing beliefs and values (wairua), and guardianship (kaitiaki). A comprehensive integrated farm plan forms the lynchpin covering aspects including soil health, land resources, farm management policy, nutrient management, fresh water management, Te Mana o te Wai catchment status, biodiversity, Mahinga Kai cultural heritage sites and sites of significance and climate change. Kua Amio Project team photo – Film and production crew. Snow and Te Iriarangi with their dog Choppa at the milking shed. Goals in each area are broken down and have a specific action plan. The journey includes Te Punawai o te Aroha, a project that will see restoration of wetlands and streams on the property. Hinehou says the concept was developed following the Trust’s purchase of Te Tawa Pamu in 2019 “The trustees saw we needed to take care and pay attention to create a clean green environment for natural flora and fauna to thrive,” explains Hinehou. “This has in turn produced kai for whanau and the wider community including watercress, tuna from the farm’s creeks. It’s one of the key areas the trust wanted to develop, looking towards the future by having a natural food source for our people via a public mahinga kai (food gathering) site.” Other community outreach activities include growing beefies on farm and distributing meat packs as a koha to the three marae linked to the trust and kohanga reo. There is also distribution of grants and paetapukakahu for active pakeke at Owhakatoro, Paneteure and TauarauMarae and NgatiRongo Hapu. The trust’s histories and connectedness as kaitiaki of this land has led to the protection of culturally significant puna wai (spring waters) and the maintenance of urupa (ancestral burial grounds) Hinehou says Tyson and his staff take care of the urupa as a mark of respect and giving back. A further project to cement links with the past is Kua Amio ki Tona Timatanga, a project creating an historical foundation of records and retelling the stories of those who have lived and worked the land. Hinehou says this ensures their stories and histories are captured for future generations, creating an education resource in the form of children’s books written in Te Reo that will be gifted to the kura and will include development of a trust archive. “This means Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust histories and stories will be retold from generation to generation. Interviews were filmed and captured into YouTube videos that will be on the Trust’s new website once it’s developed. From a Te Ao Maori perspective learning is passed from one generation to another meaning there is no end. Kua amio ki tona timatanga -he taonga tuku iho, which when translated means full circle - fostered, nurtured, practiced.” “This means Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust histories and stories will be retold from generation to generation. Interviews were filmed and captured into YouTube videos that will be on the Trust’s new website once it’s developed. From a Te Ao Maori perspective learning is passed from one generation to another meaning there is no end.” Stainless steel – fabrication and welding Design Supply Install Steve King 027 4095 0054 Will King 027 615 7922 Robbie Hall 027 807 1312 * Ef uent & irrigation * Feed systems * Frost protection * Animal health * Detergent * Rubberware & Consumable * Trenching service c1107kwKing Milking & water systems specialists since 1988 Main Street, Edgecumbe Ph 07 304 9640 anytime Proudly supporting Te Tawa Pamu BayVets Clinic Phone: 07 304 9184 40 Bridge Street, Edgecumbe. Proud to be associated with Te Tawa Pamu
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