'Virtual' market for Maori wares

A new internet marketplace aims to help Maori producers of food and natural products sell their goods directly to consumers.
The Aunty's Garden network includes 92 Maori producers from around New Zealand offering products ranging from organic vegetables to natural yoghurt and stationery.
Potential customers can explore the profiles in a virtual farmers' market and contact the producers directly to purchase their products.
The website was launched yesterday at Waipatu Marae in Hastings by the Minister of Maori Affairs Pita Sharples.
The project has been under development for 18 months by Kahungunu Asset Holding Company with partial funding from Te Puni Kokiri.
Ngati Kahungunu Iwi chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana said the objective of the project was economic development by enabling Maori entrepreneurs.
"This is about harnessing the power of Maori entrepreneurship for economic development. There are hundreds of Maori businesspeople growing and making natural products from the land and the sea throughout the country," he said.
"Our aim is to connect the producers directly with urban consumers and to give our people more of the end value of the products they make and grow."
Kahungunu Asset Holding Company general manager Aramanu Ropiha said Aunty's Garden was establishing a new category of premium natural product - Maori grown and made.
"The most affluent consumers all over the world are looking for an extra dimension in their products such as organic or biodynamic," she said.
"We believe that urban consumers recognise the close connection many Maori have to Papatuanuku as something that adds another dimension to what we produce. This project is about turning that into a sustainable business for our people."
www.auntysgarden.co.nz