Lincoln University Assistant Vice Chancellor (Māori & Pasifika) Dr Dione Payne is taking to the airwaves to offer a further understanding of the concept of mahika kai.
She is hosting a podcast, Mahika Kai Narratives, on Plains FM which will be aired every second Wednesday over the next year.
Dr Payne said the term was often used to refer to traditional Māori food and other natural resources and the places where those resources are obtained, but it was a much wider concept.
“Mahika kai is a key component of Mātauraka Māori and encompasses our relationship with the whenua and te taiao. Although it is often associated with food cultivation, it also speaks to our engagement with, and maintenance of our land and environment.”
She said the programme “brings researchers, policy makers and those elbow deep in their practice together to discuss all areas relating too, impacting on and providing services to mahika kai”.
The first episode is “What is mahika kai”, and features Dr Matiu Payne, Chair of Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata, and an avid practioner of mahika kai.
Over the year it will also feature interviews with community practitioners across the motu, as well as participants from the first Mahika Kai Conference held by Lincoln University in 2019, who also appear in the University’s Mahika Kai Journal https://journals.lincoln.ac.nz/index.php/m
Dr Payne said the focus on mahika kai is synonymous with the University’s ongoing focus on land-based programmes, and Lincoln has incorporated mahika kai as the central tenant of Mātauraka Māori on campus.
“We are the first university to deliver a mahika kai course. It is at 100 level and is both an elective paper for all programmes across the University. It is our intention to continue to develop our support of, and commitment to mahika kai as part of our future programme delivery”.
You can listen to the first podcast here https://bit.ly/3o6kk2n