Kainga Waka

Our Vision

Our Kainga Waka alliance will create, manage and run a centralised, tōhunga-led hub for all aspects of waka culture based in Māngere Bridge, Tāmaki Makaurau: a safe, inclusive, innovative space for creating and maintaining waka, holistic learning, safeguarding mātauranga Māori, knowledge transmission and knowledge sovereignty.

The innovative, double-hulled waka building design will incorporate a canoe building and carving workshop equipped to create waka of all types and sizes using both customary and cutting-edge materials in one building/hull, a waka ama storage and sports facility in the other building/hull, connected by a bespoke performance and education area, supported by a cutting-edge data centre governed by Māori Data Sovereignty principles.

This physical space will be extended into the digital realm with AR/VR assets and curriculum development to further extend access and participation into the broader national and global community.

The Kainga Waka project has the visionary potential to generate the kinds of historic regeneration and transformation for waka that the kōhanga reo movement has had for te reo Māori. It gives life to all dimensions of the very concept of “KAINGA” as both “home” and “community”, activating “KA” - fire and energy; “I” - essence and spirituality; and “NGA” - plurality. Firmly grounded in tikanga and tohungatanga, it will nurture reconnection with ancestral knowledges and practices, inspiring and rekindling cultural identity and pride for generations to come and restoring waka to their rightful place at the very heart of Aotearoa’s identity as a Pacific nation.