Te Rangimarie Ririnui

Through their kaupapa Waitā, Te Rangimarie (on behalf of Waitā Freediving) is a course designed to produce safe and confident kairuku/divers that are grounded in tikanga Māori.

Te Rangimarie’s moemoeā…

Waitā is a freediving training pathway (see our attached Proposal) that is Māori-led and designed to build the next generation of gatherers who will act as beacons for safe and environmentally conscious freediving practices. Our training pathway combines key attributes from Mātauranga Māori-based ocean monitoring and kai gathering techniques with internationally recognised training courses.

Waitā’s purpose aligns strongly with that of the Tonganui Scholarship, being to advance tikanga Māori, mātauranga tuku iho and Te Ao Māori within the oceans sector.

Our courses are designed to be accessible, and we intend to use the scholarship to subsidise course delivery costs. Based on our forecasting, the Tonganui scholarship can support the cost of two students/kairuku in each year of the scholarship (six students total).

What were the major outcomes of this kaupapa? 

Over the 2025/26 summer period, Waitā successfully delivered five freediving courses to Māori Authorities (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tūaropaki Trust, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Ranginui and Rotoiti 15 Trust) from across Aotearoa. The first two courses were made possible through the support of the Tapuwae Roa’s Tonganui Scholarship, which enabled participants to access high-quality training that may otherwise have been financially out of reach. The funding provided the foundation to launch the summer programme, build momentum, and demonstrate strong demand for kaupapa Māori freediving education.

The success of these initial courses created the confidence, reputation and financial sustainability required to deliver a further three courses over the remainder of the summer. Across all five courses, participants developed practical freediving skills, increased their understanding of safe diving practices, strengthened their appreciation of tikanga and customary gathering, and built enduring connections with one another and the moana. Collectively, the project has contributed to growing a community of skilled, safety-conscious Māori divers who are better equipped to act as kaitiaki and pass this knowledge on to future generations.

What were some of the challenges your kaupapa faced during its implementation?

Challenges were:

• Initial uptake of courses
• Student’s accessing the right equipment
• Building trust with Māori Authorities to safely guide their uri.
• Financial constraints to participation (which the Tonganui scholarship helped alleviate)

How did this kaupapa benefit from the Tonganui Scholarship? 

We couldn’t have achieved what we did without this scholarship – e mihi nui ana.

Our first two courses with Ngāti Ranginui and Te Aupōuri were delivered at no cost to the participants. All of which enjoyed the course which enabled our kaupapa to grow organically into what it is today.

What are your future plans for this kaupapa?

Our aspiration is to partner with Māori Authorities across the motu, deepen kairuku’s connection with the moana, and and produce a generation of Māori that operate safely in the moana. Our goal is to train over 100 Māori divers in the summer of 2026/27.