Ko ngā pakihi Māori tērā e kaha kitea ana ki Te Matatini ki Te Kāhui Maunga i tēnei tau, e hokona atu ana ngā taera, kai, pukapuka me te huhua noa atu.
Ki te papa whenua o Pukekura, e 140 ngā toa pakihi e hōrapa ana hai kai mā te whatu, mā te puku anō hoki.
Hai tā te pouwhakahaere o He Toronga Pakihi ki Taranaki, tā Paora Rautupu, e hīkaka ana ia ki te kite i ngā huamoni ka whakawhiwhia ki ngā pakihi ki roto pū i a Taranaki.
“22 million was bought into the last Matatini festival in Auckland and they look at all the credit card sales and eftpos swipes. So, if that were to come here, to Taranaki, it would just a wonderful boost for our local economy, for our pakihi themselves and for our whānau aswell.”
E hia ngā pakihi Māori ki Te Matatini?
Hai tā Rautupu 140 katoa ngā pakihi kua whakatūria ki Te Matatini i tēnei tau, ka mutu, ko te nuinga he pakihi Māori.
He kai, he kākahu, he ratonga hauora anō hoki ētahi o ngā pakihi kua whakatū, hai kai mā te tini me te mano o te kaupapa haka nei.
“It’s awesome for them to express their wares, their gifts, their services and our people, our guests that are at the festival they’re just lapping up mussel fritters, raw fish, there’s hāngī galore. It’s just really neat to see so many pakihi Māori out here doing it. So many clothing brands and the buzz in the market side is just awesome.”
Ko ngā pakihi e tū nā ki Te Matatini ki Te Kāhui Maunga, ko ērā nō te haukāinga ake, nō Ngāmotu, e whai hua ana hai oranga tonutanga mō rātau tonu.
Hai tā Rautupu anō, ehara i te mea he ara māmā ka whāia e ēnei pakihi Māori.
“A lot of our pakihi are quite small in numbers so we’re talking under 10 employees. So, they suffer that extra challenge, that extra hurdle of trying to go up against the big boys. So, we exist as a Māori business network to try and support capacity uplift, try and support capability growth.”
Nau mai ki Te Matatini, kia rangona te reka o Taranaki
He ratonga āwhina i ngā pakihi Māori a He Toronga Pakihi ki Taranaki, otirā, he wāhi hoki tō rātau hai whakawhanake i aua pakihi.
Hai tā Rautupu, ahakoa ngā tairo o te wā, e ngākau rorotu ana ngā pakihi o Taranaki.
“What I’ve noticed from today is that a lot of them have reinvented themselves. So, we’ve got a civil group over there who are cooking hāngī, we’ve got another group doing fried bread and bacon. Not there core duties obviously, but they’re taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity in Te Matatini here.
“Bring your wallet whānau, come and taste some of the wonderful things that are on offer.”
