Weavers from Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty contributed to more than 40 tukutuku panels that will be shipped to New York this month to be permanently installed in the United Nations headquarters.
The project was led by Rotoiti's Christina Wirihana (Ngati Maniapoto-Raukawa, Tainui Ngati Pikaio, Te Arawa) and involved 60 weavers from around the country who are part of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa - the National Collective of Maori Weavers in New Zealand.
Mrs Wirihana previously told the Rotorua Daily Post she started work on the project at the end of 2010 and to see it completed was amazing. Part of the project involved harvesting kiekie and pingao - materials used for the weaving - in the Waitakere Ranges.
"It's really an amazing outcome of [many] hours and days of research of patterns, creating new patterns. To see it realised in a panel is quite amazing."
The woven panels were commissioned by the former Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, following his visit to the United Nations in 2010.