On Saturday, 9th April, Apumoana Marae held its Annual Kūmara and Rīwai Harvest. Central Kids Elstree Kindergarten in Rotorua has been supporting the event for the past five years and it has become a permanent fixture on the kindergarten calendar. The event is important in many ways:

• The planting and harvesting of kūmara is reigniting traditions of our Māori ancestors. Here in Te Arawa, the kūmara was protected on the Te Arawa waka on its voyage to Aotearoa by our tupuna Whakaotirangi.
• The kūmara and rīwai that was harvested is distributed throughout the community, and used to feed those in hardship.
• The event enables our tamariki and whānau, both past and present to come back together and reconnect at this special place.