Rakai Beazley has been the General Manager at Ngahere (which includes GridMNK, Konei and Tukua) for the last 2 years, and sits down with Manawa on his last day for a leaving interview.

It's an open and honest kōrero that goes behind the scenes in this almost 7yr old social enterprise, and the role Ra has played in his season.

He also talks about what's next for him on his journey.

A week before launching her new pukapuka Atua Wāhine, Hana and Manawa kōrero through the journey of bringing this taonga to existence, and the impact she hopes it will make.

Hana Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou, Waikato, Pākehā) is a māmā living by Māori philosophies to explore wellness, self-determination and liberation. She freelances in communication and has self-published two books exploring ancestral Māori concepts and systems and their applications in modern life.

From Google Books:

Ancient wisdom of the Māori goddesses to help you navigate the modern world

Atua wāhine are the Māori goddesses who make up the world around us: earth, fire, water, the moon and more.

From the earth mother, Papatūānuku, who sustains and nurtures us to the goddess of peace, Hinepūtehue, who transformed pain into beauty, and the misunderstood goddess of the underworld, Hinenuitepō, who created purpose and enlightenment from betrayal - this book is a treasure of knowledge and insight.

Drawing on whakataukī (proverbs) and pūrākau (traditional stories), discover how the wisdom of 17 atua wāhine can help us live with courage and confidence in the modern world. With guided steps, these atua will inspire you to foster creativity, acknowledge cycles of change, and embrace self-determination.

Manawa has a hard and fast chat with the bro Rui, founder of clean tech company Critical. and creator of Cleanstone, the fully sustainable, recycled plastic product changing up the NZ interiors industry.

They both only had 20 mins to chat so went right in there (and a little all over the place) including a couple of sneak previews about what's next for Critical. and an upcoming product dropppp on Konei.

But what we really wanna know is - do YOU want to hear a proper podcast series from these two?

*apologies for the audio quality in this one, clearly in our haste we didn;t realise one of the micropohnes was loose and making a wiggly sound... arohamai.

Manawa sits down with Amber, Co-founder adn CEO of ARA Journeys, a digital technologies company based in South Auckland, Aotearoa and expanding across the globe.

Manawa and Amber recently travelled to China together as part of the Asia New Zealand Foundation's Māori Creative Business Leaders delegation, and Amber followed that tour with a trip to Thailand.

In this episode they share their experiences and insights from visiting multiple companies in the game development, digital storytelling, content creation and other tech sectors in China, along with insights from Thailand's tech sector too.

Manawa sits down with Nikkita Koia, founder of Poipoiā - an Ōtautahi based brand rooted in rongoā Māori. A casual chat about pakihi life and Nikkita's journey so far.

We had a short but sweet kōrero with Ruby of Ako NZ, a brand based in Whangārei specialising in kakahu for pēpi, comfortable clothing for babies that incorporate te reo Māori

Ruby talks about normalising te reo Māori in the home with their Milestone Blanket and how they interact with their community.

https://akonz.co.nz/

https://www.instagram.com/akonz__/

Based in Kaikohe, Te Tai Tokerau, My Taiao specialise in Reo and Mātauranga Māori inspired clothing.

Konei general manager Ra, sat down with 1/2 of the brand - Tamati Rakena, to kōrero. They speak on the brands beginnings when taiao began coming back to life as an effect of the Covid lockdowns, and how they incorporate matauranga Māori into their kakahu, by drawing inspiration from the lifestyle of many Māori who live by the sea and bush

https://www.mytaiao.co.nz/

https://www.instagram.com/mytaiao/

Soil & Sand clothing is a business based in Te Tai Tokerau specialising in Māori infused designs incorporated in their kākahu.

Our GM Ra sat down with Stephen, one half of the brand and discussed their journey from as a screen printing company to the launch of their apparel and inspiring Māori rangatahi and their artistic abilities.

https://soilandsand.co.nz/

https://www.instagram.com/soilandsand_clothing/

Tuhi Stationery has been in the game for 5 years, selling bilingual Te Reo Māori and Samoan educational resources. On EP 5 of Konei Kōrero at Te Matatini, we chat with co-founder, Geneva on her journey so far, what a move to a different country means for her pakihi and what the future holds for Tuhi Stationery.  

What do you do when faced with life threatening environmental challenges in your rohe, while a bucket list opportunity awaits you on the other side?

That's what we discuss with Ash - co-founder of Nōku Clothing in EP 4 of Konei Kōrero, right from the rainy stall fronts of Te Matatini.