He kai kei aku ringa
'There is food at the end of my hands.' When we apply our skills and marshall our resources, a new future that we design to sustain us is possible.
The whānau of Whangaroa Papa Hapū (Papa Hapū) exemplify resilience, empowerment, and hope. Without their determination to use the skills and resources available, including new technology, to create success, the Mātou Collective would not have gained traction. Neither would the opportunity to bring about a new software model designed by, for, and with Indigenous people globally have come about.
Kaumatua and Kuia recognised the great responsibility of increasing the capabilities needed to grow and develop their Papa Hapū. As part of a years-long reparations (settlement) process, they sought the skills and tools that would help them and serendipitously found Mātou Collective, who were searching for whanau with the courage not to settle for digital tools that are designed without them and their culture at its core.
What has unfolded is a co-learning, co-design and co-development adventure. A new process for the registration of whānau, confirmation of whakapapa, interoperability with indispensable kanohi ki te kanohi tikanga and the discovery of new opportunities to strengthen bonds and the foundations of the Papa Hapū's future.