A pilot whakairo course in the Manawatū community was run by members of the local iwi. The eight participants, all involved in the justice system, completed all ten weeks of the course.

It started with learning the patterns and their meanings before applying their knowledge to painting and then carving their chosen patterns on custom wood.

The proud participants invited their whānau to the graduation and for some, it was their first positive learning experience. Work is under way to get more whakairo programmes up and running in the community, along with a pilot raranga programme for wāhine.

Below are some photos from the course.

Master carver Mitchell Tareha talks about the whakairo workshop at the Arts in Corrections Lower North Island Network meeting