Elevating the mana of soil through the Hua Parakore Framework

How might Māori values in relation to soil contribute to national strategies for identifying, maintaining and enhancing soil health? This article uses the Hua Parakore framework, a kaupapa Māori approach developed out of the Māori organics sector, to address these questions. Soil is an essential national resource on which New Zealand’s primary sector and agriculture industries depend. Soil is also part of the woven universe constituting Māori ways of knowing and doing (Marsden, 2003). Māori agricultural and horticultural practices also make a significant contribution to the New Zealand farming and agribusiness sector, mainly in pastoralism, dairying and forestry (Harmsworth & Roskruge, 2014). Combining both cultural and economic interests, the stakes are high for Māori in contributing to a sustainable national soil resource base. This article takes a focused look at how Te Ao Māori values can be used to understand concepts around soil health and provide a framework for soil resource management in order to elevate this issue in the public’s mind. We argue that wider understanding of the Māori values and worldviews as they apply to soil health—that is, elevating the mana of soil in the nation’s consciousness—might bring into sharper relief the ways in which kaupapa Māori approaches, including mātauranga Māori, can contribute to national strategies for healthy soil.