April 21, 2015
Grant to fund traditional kai
Traditional Maori kai could start turning up on gourmet tables as the result of a new Massey University research project.
Dr Geoffrey Kira from the Research Centre for Maori Health and Development has secured $90,000 from the Vision Matauranga capability research fund to the Tupuna Kai Project.
He says people have a poor perception about what Maori ate, but tupuna thrived on staples like kumara and potatos mixed with birds, fish, berries and plants like pikopiko or fern fronds.
The information about Maori kai is fractured and often held closely within rohe.
"What we want to do is bring it all together so we can use it as leverage for new work such as supporting economic growth. Selling traditional kai overseas as a high end product, that is a possibility for us," Dr Kira says.
The Tupuna Kai Project will create a national database of foods and advice on cultivating and collecting them.
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