Te Whakatupuranga Tuatahi
Ko te whakairo Tomokanga me ngā Pou e tohu ana i te waharoa ki te Ara Rongoā.
Ka ārahina te huarahi e ngā rākau māori kei ngā taha e rua, ā, ka ahu atu ki te Kumara Tāpapakā me te ao o ngā tupu kai whakatupua.
Kei raro i te maru o ngā kairākau tuku iho o te rohe, e whakamahia ana ngā tikanga tuku iho i tukuna mai e ngā tūpuna. Mā konei e kitea ai ngā pūkenga hei oranga mō tō rātou whānau.
Nā te koha o ngā rākau oriwa, i riro mai i a mātou hei hua rākau tuatahi i te whakatuwheratanga o te Ara Rongoā. Nā tētahi o ō mātou tūroro i te wāhanga atawhai whakamutunga taua koha i tukuna, nāna hoki i whai whakaritenga nui ki te kite i te whanaketanga o te Ara Rongoā e puāwai ana i waho tonu i tōna matapihi.
Ko ngā oriwa, he tohu rangimārie, he whakamaharatanga hoki ki ngā hurihanga taiao o te ao, e karapotia ana e te māra whakarongo e kīia nei ko te “Māra o te Aroha me te Rangirua”, kei reira e whakakotahi ana ngā tae me ngā kakara o ngā putiputi, ngā rongoā me ngā rākau hei whakaara i ō tātou wairua.
The Creation – The Ara Rongoā Tomokanga Entranceway
The Tomokanga (carved gateway) and pou mark the main entrance to the Ara Rongoā. Native trees line the sides, leading to the Kūmara Tāpapa (kūmara beds) and the realm of cultivated food plants.
Led by local traditional kūmara growers using techniques developed and handed down through the generations, our Kūmara Tāpapa showcase the skills needed to grow kūmara and other foods in the exposed site and clay soils we work with.
This zone draws from the knowledge of mana whenua passed down over generations, providing opportunities for people to learn the skills needed to provide for their own whānau.
The olive trees were gifted to us as the first hua rākau (fruiting trees) at the opening of the Ara Rongoā. This koha (gift) came from one of our palliative care patients, who took great pleasure in watching the development of the Ara Rongoā unfold outside her window.
The olives, a symbol of peace and a reminder of the natural cycles of life, are surrounded by the ‘sensory garden’ — also known as the ‘Garden of Love and Chaos’ — where the sights and smells of flowers, herbs, and shrubs mingle together to awaken our senses.