The Future is Kai!
An Indigenous Lead-to-Enable Blueprint for a
Resilient and Sustainable Food System in Taranaki 2026-2036
The Taranaki Kai Strategy: The Future is Kai!
Mauri tū, mauri ora,
On behalf of The Rautāpatu Foundation Trustees and Project Team, we want to say... Ngā mihi nui.
Thank you to everyone for your generosity within The Big Kai Redesign engagement programme. It was an honour to host community wānanga, talanoa, group hui and 1:1 interviews with so many talented and committed community members. We are very grateful for your thoughtful responses, your precious time and openness to share ideas, aspirations and the challenges.
The draft Taranaki Kai Strategy suite is currently out with our whānau, hapū, marae, growers, and regional partners for consultation. We are gathering feedback and reviewing all insights to ensure the final strategy truly reflects our regional aspirations and grounded realities.
The Big Kai Redesign engagement confirmed that our community wishes to be involved and support learning and sharing spaces,
so we hope to announce The Future is Kai Wānanga Series and exciting kaupapa in development at the October 2026 launch.
What We Achieved Together: Engagement Insights
The Big Kai Redesign engagement phase brought together 237 unique participants across our regional footprint—comprising 112 wānanga attendees, 105 survey participants, and 20 targeted interviews and marae engagements.
Through our series of regional wānanga and talanoa, interviews and our region-wide community survey, our community made it clear that we are ready for systemic change:
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Spike in Food Systems Awareness: Across our standard evaluation cohorts, lower-tier baseline awareness was entirely eliminated, with participants showing a massive shift into high and very high understandings of local food systems.
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Commitment to Action: Approximately 92.1% of wānanga attendees scored within the high-to-highest tiers of commitment to supporting direct community action.
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Strong Mandate for Circularity: 97.1% of survey respondents agreed that access to healthy, good-quality food must be a top priority for Taranaki’s future planning, supporting local circular packaging and organic nutrient retention.
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Highlighting the "Missing Middle Infrastructure": While 67.6% of our community recognise our willingness to share and swap kai as a core strength, the data revealed a critical infrastructure gap—with 81% facing cost-of-living pressures and limited access to shared industrial assets and processing tools.
Strategy Roadmap
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Consultation Phase: Gathering feedback and insights from across Taranaki waka and communities.
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Review and Refinement: Collating community input to finalise the strategy documents.
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October Launch: Official release of the complete 4-part strategy suite in October (Overview, Analysis Report, Strategy, and Action Plan).
Strategy Centre & Resources
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Summary Document: You can download our concise overview document to review the core kaupapa: [Download 2-page Summary]
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Full Suite: The complete 4-part suite—comprising the Overview and Methodology Document, Analysis Report, Strategy, and Action Plan—will be published following our October launch.
Get in Touch
For feedback, enquiries, or to connect with the team: kiaora@rautapatu.nz
The BIG Kai Redesign
Wānanga Series 2026
Upcoming Events:
Launch: Feedback Strategy & Actions
This in-person Event is planned for October 2026.
But, we also note have had many requests for an online webinar
because of the cost of travel, so please watch this space.
Registrations will open when details are finalised.
Completed Wananga
Circular Economy Wānanga
11-13 November 2025, attended by whanau, national
international guest researchers, government,
community organisations. Read about the event here.
Wānanga: Tokomaru - Katere ki te Moana Marae
Held Saturday 21 February 2026, read about the event here.
Wānanga: Kurahaupō - Te Pōtaka Marae
Exploring Food & Kai Systems
April 2026
Wānanga: Pacifica Peoples Wānanga II
Katere ki te Moana
Exploring Food & Kai Systems
May 2026
Wānanga: Aotea, Te Hāpori Hononga o Te Hāwera
Exploring Food & Kai Systems
June 2026
About the Research Project
The Big Kai Redesign was a collaborative kaupapa led by The Rautāpatu Foundation and supported by our research partners: The Bioeconomy Science Institute AgResearch and Pūrangakura. Our community partners include TOI Foundation who have invested in our Community-Led focus in order to transform our local food system. The Big Kai Redesign aims to:
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Uplift the values of mana, sustainability, and circularity
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Create a Mana-Centred Kai Systems Strategy and Action Plan
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Address challenges like food insecurity, environmental harm, and public health outcomes.
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Foster community-led, indigenous-driven solutions rooted in regenerative practices and innovative design
This project is about Systems Change and that means we will weave together policies, resources, relationships, power structures, and cultural mindsets to achieve lasting transformation of kai systems in Taranaki.
As an indigenous-led movement, it also contributes meaningfully to numerous United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by fostering resilient communities, sustainable environments, and inclusive economic growth grounded in te ao Māori values.
Our brand, reflects our commitment to a Mana-centred kai system that integrates indigenous values with global sustainability principles to build resilient, thriving communities in Taranaki.
We can confirm that this research has been assessed and approved by the Aotearoa Research Ethics Committee, Te Roopu Rapu i te tika, [AREC25/49].
Price, Value, and Cost of Our Current Food System
In Taranaki, the price of our current food system is felt deeply. Although we grow enough food to feed many, the focus on export markets means local whānau often find nutritious kai out of reach, leading to poorer health and wellbeing. Meanwhile, the whenua and wai systems suffer from the environmental toll of industrial agriculture—biodiversity loss, soil damage, and polluted waterways. This “cost” isn’t carried by industry, and it is not always visible on supermarket shelves, but impacts us all.
Key reasons why this matters include:
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Many whānau experience barriers to accessing affordable, healthy food that is culturally
connected and sustainable. -
Export-driven models prioritise profits over local wellbeing and the health of Te Taiao.
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Environmental degradation from conventional farming practices harms ecosystems and
reduces long-term food security. -
The loss of connection between people and the source of their kai weakens cultural identity
and community resilience. -
The true value of kai lies beyond price tags ~ it is a taonga that nurtures life, culture, and
relationships for generations.
The Big Kai Redesign invited us to acknowledge these costs while revaluing our food system through indigenous wisdom and circular economy principles. Together, we can grow a kai system that regenerates the environment, supports thriving whānau, and honours our cultural heritage.
Key Concepts
A Kai System encompasses all parts of the food supply chain ~ not just what we see as consumers ~ including the production, storage, processing, transportation, distribution, consumption, and waste management of kai, all interconnected to create a sustainable and resilient ecosystem.
The Big Kai Redesign invited us all to reimagine how every element of the food supply and value chain can be transformed through the guiding principles of mana, sustainability, circularity, and the deep cultural value of kai.
KAI
Kai embodies more than food; it is an essential source of life, cultural identity, and connection that nurtures the wellbeing of people and their environment.
MANA
Mana is the foundational principle that guides respectful relationships, empowering communities to regain authority, dignity, and spiritual connection in food systems.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability ensures that our kai systems regenerate the environment, support health, and uphold cultural values for present and future generations.
CIRCULARITY
Circularity in kai systems models a regenerative economy that eliminates waste, maximises resource use, and mirrors indigenous values of sharing and stewardship.
Why Mana Centred?
Mana is a foundational concept of this kaupapa, signifying energy, power, and an intrinsic connection to the natural world. It guides how we value and engage with each other and our environment. In this plan, Mana is the core principle driving our approach to building sustainable and culturally centred food systems. It informs every stage of our engagement, aligning our objectives with the well-being of both people and the planet.
The Big Kai Redesign is all about us being able to understand community perspectives and effectively develop a Mana-Centred Kai System Strategy.
Why It Matters?
Our food system is under pressure from climate change, biodiversity loss, and economic models focused more on exports than caring for our land and ecosystems (Te Taiao).
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Many whānau face challenges accessing nourishing kai, despite the abundance of natural
resources and cultural knowledge in Taranaki. -
Disconnection from traditional food sources affects not only health but also cultural identity,
community wellbeing, and environmental health. -
The Big Kai Redesign aims to restore the mana and mauri of our kai by strengthening relationships between people, land, and water.
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It supports healthier whānau, vibrant cultures, and thriving communities.
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The project encourages food practices that regenerate ecosystems and sustain our environment for future generations.
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By blending indigenous knowledge with innovative, circular economy principles, it creates a resilient, sustainable food system for Taranaki’s future.
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This approach builds economic opportunities that
benefit all people living in the region while honouring
cultural values and environmental stewardship.