Whaea gives cadets taste of pā life on the farm

Olive Hawira recalls a time when farms were the pā for many whānau.

“I was raised on a farm in the Parapara, so for my whānau it was our pā,” says Olive.

“It was the place we’d come together at in good and bad times – for Christmas, tangi, birthdays and weddings. A place where everyone pulled their weight and got rewarded.”

“And that’s a tikanga I try to pass on in my work with rangatahi on this whenua and in this whare.”

The opening of the Awhiwhenua whare at Te Pā Station last year would not have been complete without someone like Olive to teach life skills to the six rangatahi who live there as part of their farming cadetships.

“The rangatahi here call me ‘Whaea’, she says proudly.

“They live here for a year and it is my job to make sure by the time they leave, they know how to cook, clean and manage a whare by themselves, because that’s what they’ll need to do when they work on a farm.”

Having worked in early childhood for more than 40 years, Olive is well aware of the need to develop good relationships with the rangatahi.

“Making the connection with them and realising that each of them have their own unique personalities and strengths, is key to enhancing their life skills,” she says.

“Yes, I’m their whaea when they are in this whare, but it is my job to ensure they are capable of living independently next year.”

And to prove her point, the Ohākune grandmother of six has been talking while helping one rangatahi with some planning and teaching another how to best clean an oven and peel a potato.

“Dear, your knife needs sharpening because those peels are too thick,” she directs. “And after you’ve sharpened that knife, you and I will sit down and do some planning for the rest of the week.”

Olive’s whakapapa is such that there is not one part of the region she does not connect to.

“Dad’s Mum was from Ngāti Rangi and Ngā Wairiki and his dad was from Ngāti Rangi also. My Mum was from Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Patutokotoko and Ngāti Tū.”

Olive, who is also a shareholder in AWHI, believes more shareholders and beneficiaries need to take advantage of the Awhiwhenua farming cadetship programme.

“These cadetships and this whare were created to give our young ones and whānau the opportunity to get involved in farming - to manaaki the whenua, to manage it, to really get involved in AWHI core business and future.”

“They also need to know that farming isn’t just for men. Some of the wāhine who have been through this programme have been the best at it.”

“I would like to see more of our shareholders urge their mokopuna to consider this programme because it’ll open so many doors for them in this industry and there’s nothing better than seeing our own whānau run the land, like we do at our pā.”

Above: Whaea Olive shares a laugh with Awhiwhenua cadet Kate Price.