We are both from Te Tai Tokerau. We were raised to grow and gather kai and were taught how to live a simple life, with an appreciation of our natural resources. As we started to have babies and grow our whānau we became attached to the easy and convenient lifestyle. Supermarkets, takeaways, paying for activities and the electronic babysitters – phone, tv, games, computer etc.
We have always maintained some kind of outdoor lifestyle, kai gathering, camping and have always had a māra/garden, and when Covid hit and we were locked down, we made more of a conscious effort to go back to what we know and love.
One thing we couldn’t shake was the electronic babysitter. Like most parents we worry about how much our tamariki are consuming online. We see the changes in our kids. The addiction to the screen, the meltdowns when the device is taken away, the bad behaviour, fighting and no motivation to do anything unless the reward is the device. We also noticed our actions, the challenges we face giving up technology and how easy it is to give in and allow screen time so freely, just so we can have a break.
Last summer holidays we were really struggling with our boy Rocky who was 7 at the time. The meltdowns, tantrums and withdrawal symptoms were next level and made us pouri. On new years day we packed up and headed off for 4 days camping, came home for a night and took off for another 6 days. The difference we noticed as a whānau unit was amazing! We were bonding, talking, playing card and boardgames, doing activities together, the kids were keen as to try new things and although there was down time on the devices, they were an afterthought and not the first option.
On our last day at camp, we were talking about all of our positive experiences and started wondering if taking whānau to experience a few days in the taiao could be an opportunity that others would be interested in.
We leveraged our social media platforms, 100% Grunt Aotearoa, and sent out a market research survey to see what other peoples whakaaro was, particularly around technology and using the taiao as a resource to reconnect with their whānau. The results weren’t entirely surprising, but the chats and comments that came from the survey revealed a yearning for a return to the simplicity of life and the childhood we all grew up with before technology came along.
We are passionate and driven to bring this kaupapa to life. But what really motivates us is passing the mātauranga we were given, to whānau who may not have had the same upbringing as us or don’t have the resources that we have.
