Our Purpose

river water over rocks
red triangle pattern

We see Te Ao Mārama - the world of enlightenment, as the recipe for meaningful change in remote Northland communities.

Te Ao Mārama

Te Ao Mārama is borne from the Māori creation story in which there are three distinct stages of existence; Te Kore (the void) - the great emptiness of space and unrealised potential, Te Po (the darkness or night) - a world where faint murmurings of movement and consciousness begin to stir, and finally Te Ao Mārama (the world of light) - where enlightenment, knowledge, and life burst into being.

Te Ao Mārama represents to us the next system; a new world of clarity and peace inspired by kinship, balance, and reciprocity with the natural world. As an organisation, we endevaour to transcend barriers, grow connections and ultimately catalyse Te Ao Mārama through the work we do. Our mahi brings together a range of different stakeholders in support of sustainable environmental regeneration, biodiversity enhancement, economic vitality, and social wellbeing across Te Tai Tokerau.

Te Ao Mārama - Te Ara Encyclopedia

Connectivity Catalyst

As a connectivity catalyst:

  • We support communities to define their unique, long-term aspirations and the journey towards sustainable self-determination.
  • We weave the relationships, tools, finance and resources required for Te Ao Marama to emerge, enabling communities to regenerate their lands, waters, and nature-based economies, creating abundant and resilient ecosystems for the benefit of all.
  • We grow trusted community members on how to access and facilitate their engagement with Te Kete Hononga, our knowledge base of available services and resources.
  • We partner with like-minded organizations to combine projects, funding, and services into a unified plan that fits each community's specific needs.
     

Our Connectivity Catalyst model has its roots in connectivity conservation; being that nature (ourselves included) thrives when interconnected. This philosophy underpinned the early years of our work and journey and served us well, however as we have grown as an organisation and progressed our kaupapa, we’ve found that the narrow focus on ‘conservation’ fails to grasp the breadth, scale and complexity of the challenges Northland faces. Reimagining ourselves as a ‘Connectivity Catalyst’ allowed us to respond to the social dimension of regeneration in our region, which we consider to be a critical, yet missing piece of the puzzle.

Our Strategies