Hua Parakore: A Korowai That Can Embrace All of You
A distinctive opportunity for organics in Aotearoa New Zealand – Hua Parakore as a korowai to existing organic standards and potentially organic regenerative agriculture.
Hua Parakore is the flagship Indigenous verification and validation system for Kai Atua (pure food) developed by Te Waka Kai Ora. This kaupapa Māori organic verification and validation system acts as a korowai (cloak) around the other organic verification systems. There is the opportunity to bring this well established kaupapa Māori korowai to organic regenerative agriculture, bringing Indigenous innovation and distinctiveness. It is important that Māori efforts in the organic sector are not duplicated and existing systems such as Hua Parakore are strengthened for implementation uptake, particularly in the newly emerging landscape of organic regulation.
The Hua Parakore is also certified organic and was developed to map to the NZSA 8410.2003 NZ Organic Standard for Production.
Dr Jessica Hutchings Interview on Hua Parakore, Māori Food Sovereignty, and Growing Organic Food.
WHAT IS HUA PARAKORE?
Hua Parakore is not a standard, the system has kaupapa or values that combine mātauranga Māori, tikanga and key organic principles.
The Hua Parakore system is the world’s first Indigenous verification and validation system for Kai Atua. There are Hua Parakore verified producers both on farms and with Māori food outlets across Aotearoa. Hua Parakore is also available to other Indigenous producers around the world – there are Indigenous producers that are Hua Parakore verified such as MA’O Farms in Hawai’i. More recently it has been developed into a kaupapa Māori soil health framework as well as a food sovereignty framework for Māori communities, kaitiaki, farmers and growers, resource managers and policymakers.
“Hua Parakore is an integrity based process about authenticating Māori seeds, Māori grown, Māori verified, Māori marketed and Māori exported. Hua Parakore is a Māori point of difference.”
— Te Iwi Puihi Tipene, Ngati Hine, founder, Te Waka Kai Ora.
GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF HUA PARAKORE
Te Waka Kai Ora are the kaitiaki of Hua Parakore. The genesis of Hua Parakore system lies with the Te Taitokerau Organic Producers Society Incorporated, a regional group of Te Waka Kai Ora.
The Hua Parakore was fully developed through a three-year kaupapa Māori research programme funded in 2007 by a significant investment from the Government’s science investment arm.
Hua Parakore provides a kaupapa Māori pathway for Māori producers to tell a kaupapa Māori story with regards to their food production. Learn more about Te Waka Kai Ora and Hua Parakore HERE.
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