I can’t stand the term “ethnic cleansing”. There’s nothing clean about persecution, rape, mutilation and murder of a group of human beings because of their ethnicity, religion or political beliefs. Tell the truth, for goodness sake –”attempted ethnic extermination”, or “forced ethnic relocation”… genocide…hatred and criminal violence…inexcusable evil… Every day we’re hearing this term used […]
Nganeko – a personal tribute
July 18, 2017 by 1 Comment
On June 15 this year we lost a dear friend, Nganeko Minhinnick. We first met Nganeko in 1987, at a Forest and Bird Society meeting where she spoke about the mining by New Zealand Steel of the Maioro iron sand dunes, her people’s ancient burial area at the mouth of the Waikato River, and the […]
Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick
July 18, 2017 by 2 Comments
On Thursday 15 June 2017 Aotearoa lost one of its greatest environmental advocates, Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick, of Ngaati Te Ata – Waiohua. From the age of eleven, Nganeko Kaihau was expected to undertake legal and environmental issues for her iwi, Ngaati Te Ata, because she was the most fluent English-speaker in her whanau. With […]
A Big Decision…
July 18, 2017 by 12 Comments
After considerable reflection and discussion, we have made the big decision to leave Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood and move to a smaller environmentally-friendly city apartment. We have enjoyed our four years here and learnt a lot. It’s been a great transition for us from the 28 acres of earthtalk@awhitu, and we appreciate the friendships we’ve established […]
Matariki…Nga Mihi o te Tau Hou
July 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
… a time for mourning and letting go of those who have died in the past year, for gathering with friends and enjoying the foods harvested and preserved in the autumn, and for reflecting on possible futures…. … and for saying ” nga mihi o te tau hou” – “happy new year”…to you.
about us…
May 17, 2017 by 1 Comment
Kia ora koutou, We’ve had a break from writing newsletters since November 2016, and feel it’s time to start again. Not necessarily every month, though! From Tanya… Kia ora koutou…It’s now two months since my left hip joint was successfully replaced, so I’m back to swimming, and biking to strengthen muscles. I made good use of […]
Poutasi Ukulele Project
May 17, 2017 by 1 Comment
We are delighted to say that the Samoan Ukulele Project, which we first wrote about almost two years ago, has now come to fruition! The Prime Minister of Samoa opened a new workshop for making ukulele, attached to the Arts and Crafts Centre in Poutasi Village, on Wednesday 5 April this year- and […]
Coromandel Peninsula
May 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
We’ve just returned from a five-day visit to the Coromandel Peninsula and Mercury Bay. We had two reasons for going at this time: to go to the one-off Moana Maniapoto Concert in Coromandel Township, and to link up there with our friend and former gardener Sue and her partner Susie for a late summer holiday […]
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