Taradale students' Pūkare Cards part of Young Enterprise Scheme

The Pūkare Cards team from left: CEO Tom Little, executive administration officer Elizabeth Raitaci, marketing manager Liv Fountain and Jasmine Paz CFO. Photo / Warren Buckland

A group of young start-up students have an ambitious product that aims to utilize te reo Māori and emotive cards to help youth express themselves.

Four students from Taradale High School have created Pūkare Cards, a business concept as part of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.

Year 12 Tom Little is the CEO, Year 12 Liv Fountain is the marketing manager, Year 12 Elizabeth Raitaci is the executive administration officer and Year 13 Jasmine Paz is the CFO.

Pūkare cards are a teaching tool for communication, 25 cards each with a different emotion and scenarios on the back weaving in te reo Māori throughout.

Tom explained that pūkare means to express emotion and feelings and to be evocative.

He said they wanted to create something that was meaningful, innovative and would help them.

"When I was younger I struggled with ADHD and I would have benefited from something like this to help express my emotions."

Liv said children with a disability who are non-verbal have a need for a product like this.

"They can find it hard to express themselves in different situations and it can sometimes become quite overwhelming and frustrating for them."

Elizabeth said the use of te reo was a good point of difference for their product as well as helping to incorporate Aotearoa-New Zealand culture into it.

In their hands are prototypes while designs on the table made by an English freelancer are close to the final cards, which will be printed by Mammoth Design in Onekawa. Photo / Warren Buckland

Jasmine explained the group's logo was designed by her sister and incorporates a koro pattern with the phrase "what is on your mind".

The team said their primary values are manaakitanga, showing respect, compassion and inclusivity, and whanaungatanga, connections between different people.

Tom said there has been a stigma around mental health conversations in the past.

"It's important from a young age they [youth] have strategies for their parents to communicate with them"

Tom said the cards have been proofed and checked by two psychologists, Frank Hayes based in Auckland and Wanda Douglas based in Hawke's Bay, and a te reo Māori expert Chad Tareha, Mahinga Kai tutor and Ngāti Pārau Hapū Trust chairman.

The team said they were also grateful to their mentor Peter Grey, branch manager at ANZ Taradale, and other staff at the bank who helped to set up an account for them.

Tom said they've had interest from parents and teachers and they hoped to expand their reach to organisations such as the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki.

Liv said Hawke's Bay Regional Council supported the start-up with $500 after the students reached out to them.

The packs of 25 cards will be made from sustainable materials and sold for $20 each.

They have pre-orders for nearly 70 boxes, with 20 packs being sold to Wilson School in Auckland for students with special educational needs.

Liv said they aim to sell 500 boxes in the next few months to help as many people in the community as they can.

The team hope to continue the project beyond the end of the Young Enterprise Scheme and expand their range eventually.

Pūkare Cards can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pukarecards/ on Facebook, at Instagram or contact them at pukarecards@gmail.com.