Res.Awesome & Para Kore

We are very excited to announce that Res.Awesome has partnered up with the amazing organisation Para Kore! The Para Kore programme works to promote zero-waste, closed-loop living and hopes to see Aotearoa transition to a circular waste economy. Para Kore is about honouring Papatūānuku, our natural land. Papatūānuku is a powerful force that gives life to all things and provides us with everything we could possibly need; physically and spiritually. Mother nature gives birth to all life and eventually, all life cycles fall back to the land. This is why we must treat her with gratitude and respect.

Para Kore has a beautiful kaupapa that aligns with us at Res.Awesome. Giving our natural resources every opportunity to thrive is the main goal for both organisations. Indigenous knowledge and values naturally promote a zero-waste, closed-loop way of life and at Res.Awesome we believe such values should be upheld. Collaboration with Para Kore has been been a goal of our Kaiwhakaara, Fi, for many years. Part of her vision for Res.Awesome and our community, is to enable more people to engage with Māori organisations, especially those which focus on facilitating a zero-waste future.

We would like to give a quick shout out to the incredible Jacqui Forbes of Para Kore. She is a community waste expert who is passionate about zero waste. Jacqui runs the innovative Para Kore Marae education programme to support iwi, hapū and whānau to create a zero-waste future for Aotearoa. We are stoked to announce that she has just been nominated for the New Zealand Environmental Hero of the Year. Go Jacqui! We are so proud to be working alongside you!

We are also excited to announce that this special collaboration just received a whopping $40,000 in funding to go towards piloting the Para Kore Marae Inc system in Ōtepoti. This money will be a great investment in our future and will be distributed between three entities; Arai Te Uru Marae, Puketeraki Marae, + Te Wananga o Aotearoa Ōtepoti. This money will be spent on delivering Para Kore’s wānanga through these three entities. Funding will partly go towards providing bin systems, signage and ensuring there are amazing people on the ground to facilitate learning in this important area. Some area’s of learning covered will be;

• Understanding the whakapapa of our 5 natural resources

• The system of stuff; from the extraction of resources —> manufacture —> distribution —> consumption —> disposal

• Visual waste checks

• Worm farming

• Burning & burying waste

• and more ….

We can’t wait to show you more regarding how this money will be spent and all the great work planned for our community. The time is now Ōtepoti and we are so excited! Thank you to the generous sponsors at Te Pūtahitanga and their Wave 14 round of funding; the generosity shown by this amazing sponsorship and social innovation programme allowed this dream to become a reality!

If new systems are going to be successful we need to get many people involved. The future of this initiative depends on the leadership of incredible people and we are always on the hunt for social change agents who can do the mahi! If you are interested in learning more about the potential opportunities available to our community, please feel free to reach out to us. The team at Res.Awesome envision this relationship being a long-lasting one and we will always be here to support this incredible work!

xxx

Written by Erin Cox

Edited by Fi Clements