E ngā mana, e ngā reo

Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei wāhanga a tō tātau Ipurangi,

Te Kāwai Toro

“Te Kāwai Toro” literally means ‘the shoot that reaches out’.  It derives from the whakataukī (proverb) ‘E kimi ana i ngā kāwai i toro ki tawhiti’ (seeking the shoots that stretch far out).  This refers to someone seeking to establish a distant relationship or seeking to rediscover his or her own roots.  It links well with the Trust’s whakataukī about making a big harvest from a small kumara.

Establishment of Te Kāwai Toro /  Te Orokohanga o Te Kāwai Toro The Trust’s 2003 strategic review identified the under-representation of Māori in the Trust’s philanthropic activities.  In response the Trust established the Te Kāwai Toro initiative.  The goals of Te Kāwai Toro were:

• To contribute to Māori development.
• To build the knowledge and networks of the Trust's personnel in order to enhance its internal capability to establish and maintain ongoing relationships with Māori communities and organsiatins across all its grant making programmes
• To contribute to the development of a constructive context in society, which is required for Māori development to be successful in the long term

In 2006 the Trust made a few significant, multi-year grants in support of whānau development initiatives.  These aimed to be relevant to Māori priorities, and aligned with Māori ways of operating in terms of process.  The Trust learned a great deal from relationships with these groups, and it has informed our wider work.  Funding for Māori development is now one of the Trust’s priorities, and the new application process has also been informed by this grants process.

You can learn more about the four groups funded here.

For an overview of the progress of Te Kāwai Toro, click here.