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Ehara kau i te mea he piki rākau me te whakatika rākau anake tā Rangiora Inia mahi. Ko te pae tawhiti māna he whakatū i tāna ake kamupene e ora ai āna tamariki otīā ngā whakatupuranga heke iho.
Kua toru tau a Rangiora e mahi ana mā Treescape. He mātanga poro rākau ia.
"I kuhu kūware ai ahau ki tēnei mahi, ko tēnā kōrero hoki e mea nei he wae kai paiaka, kai te kaha hāngai nei ki ahau tēnā he mahi, he ako, he ako, he mahi."
"He ahakoa tēnei momo wairua ka ākongia ahau e Treescape ki a tika te mahi rākau – kai ia mārama tae ai tētehi mahita ki tō mātou iari ki te ako i a mātou – he rerekē ngā whāinga mō ia tangata.
Mōku nei ko te ara ki te whaipainga – mātanga poro rākau (utility aborist). Ko te mana o tēnei tiwhikete he whakaae taku mahi rākau e tū pātata ana ki ngā taura hiko. Nā, kai kōnei ahau inaianei e ako ana i tēnei mātauranga".
E rua tekau mā toru ngā tau o Rangiora. He tangata kua kaha atawhaingia ki tēnei ara e tana mākau e Maia Bennett.
"Ko taku pāpā whakaangi tētehi tangata kua roa ki tēnei ao poro rākau. E rua tekau o ngā tau a Jason e mahi nei i tēnei mahi, ka noho tahi māua, he māmā noa tana tuku kōrero, mōhiohio ki ahau, koinā ka ihi rangaranga ai taku ngākau me taku wairua ki tēnei mahi – ko te mea whakamiharo ki ahau ko āna kōrero mō te piki rākau, ka rua, kai te taiao a ia e mahi ana – e hāngai katoa ana tēnei wairua ki ahau.
"He tangata kaha ahau ki te piki rākau kāre au e wehi ana ki ngā rākau teitei me te mea hoki ko te taiao tētehi takiwā whakatau i ahau".
He Ngāti Pikiao, he Ngāti Tarawhai a Rangiora. He mōhio nōna koia nei tana mahi haere ake nei, haere ake nei.
"Kua wehe taku mākau me tōna matua tāne kua whakatūria kētia e rāua tā rāua ake kamupene poro rākau, kua kotahi tau rāua e tū rangatira nei – nō reira ko taku hiahia kia tika katoa aku tiwhikete kia puta kau ahau ki te awhina i taku mākau engari hoki ko tā rāua kamupene, nā wai rā e tika ai hai kamupene tūturu mō ngā uri whakatupu.
Koina te whāinga matua ko te whakatu kamupene ā whānau nei, e whai mahi ai ā māua tamariki ki te pirangitia e rātou – koina te pae tawhiti he tuku ki a rātou tētehi whare āhuru mōwai, mā katoa ana ā roto, ā waho".
E ai ki ngā ture o te kāwanatanga nei, ko Rangiora me āna poumahi he poumahi-mārie.
"Kāre anō rātou kia tino turakina e te māuiui korona, ehara noa iho i te mea he poro rākau ki ngā tahataha o ngā whare me ērā atu o ngā whare, engari ko ngā rākau e tū pātata ana ki ngā taura hiko, nā reira i eke ai mātou ki te taumata poumahi-mārie.
Ko taku taitara he whaipainga-mātanga pro rākau. He tangata mahi rākau e pā atu ana, e tū tata ana ki ngā taura hiko, whoi anō ka pāngia e tātou ki te māuiui korona, ae ko wētehi o tātou i rāhuingia engari i mahi tonu mātou, he whakatika whare, me ngā rākau kōero, he whakawatea ai ngā pou hiko kua whakararungia i ngā rākau kaumātua, kia whai hiko tonu ai ngā kāinga otīā, te tāone nei.
Ko āna kupu whakatūpato ki ngā rangatahi kai te raweke taputapu hiko kia mau i ngā pūeru tika, kia kāua koe e whara, kia kāua rānei koe e rere ki Te Reinga."
Tuarua ko te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero. Ki ētehi he karakia, ae, ki a mātou he whakawhitiwhiti kōrero kia kāua tētehi o mātou e taotū ai.
Ko te whāinga matua ko te oranga o te ohu nei me te hokinga ki ō mātou ake kāinga, e taea ai e tātou ki te whakatutuki i tēnei whainga mēnā tātou e kaha nei ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero, me te manaaki tētehi i tētehi".
Ae, e ngākau whiwhita a Rangiora ki tana mahi, engari kai te pēnā hoki ia ki tōna Ao taketake. I whānau mai a Rangiora Moses Inia i Rotorua nei. I pakekengia i ngā wāhi o te tāone nei, engari nōna e taitamariki ana ka neke ia ki Ahitereiria ka noho i te kāinga o tōna matua wahine kaokaoroa, ka oti i tana kura tuarua i reira.
Engari kai te kāinga a Rangiora inaianei he tamaiti nō te pā taunaha. " Ko ā mātou mahi he whakapai, he manaaki i tō mātou urupā. He poro i ngā rākau kaumātua he tiaki whenua – ā, i ētehi taimā e wānanga hoki ana mātou.
Māua ko taku matua tāne kaokaoroa me taku tapeha tata, he whaikōrero, he whakapapa, he mau-taiaha, he matataki kia pūkākā tonu ai te ahikā kia kāua rawa e pirorehe ngā pūrenga kāinga".
Ka nui tōna whakapono ki tōna ao taketake.
"Nōku te maringi nui i whānau au i tētehi whānau whakapono nei ki tō tātou ao Māori – ko tōku reo he reo whenua nā reira i whai kaha ai ahau ki te tū ki runga ki te mata o te whenua, nā reira hoki ai ahau e hikoi māia nei i tēnei ao hurihuri, rā mai, pō mai.
Rukutia te kiato o Tāne, rukutia te papa o Tāne, rukutia ngā tangata kia ū kia mau.
Māuriora".
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Working with trees is more than a job to Rangiora Inia. He plans to make it his family business, a legacy for the children he will have.
He is in his third year working for Treescape where he is a fully qualified utility arborist.
"I went into this line of work with no experience at all, so I pretty much got trained by jumping right in.
"Every day was pretty much my training, just learning by being on the tools, and in the trees.
"Proper training is provided through Treescape, usually once a month the trainer will make his way to our yard to have a classroom day with those who are still learning and working towards their qualifications.
"For myself, I was working towards my qualification as a utility arborist, an arborist who works around powerlines. And here I am now starting my third year as a qualified utility arborist."
Rangiora, 23, has been supported and encouraged in his mahi by his partner, Maia Bennett.
"Hearing all about the aspects of the job from my partner's dad (Jason) who has been working in this line of work for over 20 years, that's what inspired me.
"Just hearing about how they are always climbing trees and being in the forest really interested me because I love heights and I love being outside."
Rangiora, who affiliates to Ngati Pikiao and Ngati Tarawhai, sees arboriculture in his future.
"My partner and her dad have gone off on their own and started their own arboriculture business and they have been running for a year now and been running good.
"So for myself, the future plan is to be with my partner working with her side by side and working with her to build that solid foundation for when our tamariki come along.
"And the long-term goal is to be able to hand the company down to our kids if they wish to do that mahi.
"However, that's a long way away but that's the idea of our long-term goal.
"Handing the plate over clean."
Rangiora and his colleagues at Treescape are considered "essential workers".
"Covid doesn't have an effect on our type of mahi.
"We are deemed "essential workers" because not only do we look after trees around houses and elsewhere, we also work with trees around powerlines.
"My title at work is "utility arborist" a person that can work on vegetation around powerlines.
"So when covid hit the first time around and we went into lockdown, we were still working cleaning up trees and clearing trees away from the powerlines that power our towns and
houses."
He has advice for rangatahi is that when working with tools and machinery, to always wear the correct personal protective equipment to minimise the chances of harm to yourself and others.
"Communication is definitely the biggest tool we have for a safer working day, everyone has the same goal, going home at the end of the day with no harm done, and that comes down to everyone playing their part in health and safety."
Passionate about his work, Rangiora is also devoted to te Ao Maori.
Rangiora Moses Inia was born and raised in Rotorua but spent his high-school years in Australia. He and his whanau go regularly to their pa.
"We maintain the lawns, trees, the urupa, and pretty much the whenua itself.
"From time to time myself, my uncle, and cousin make trips to our pa to keep our taha matataki, Karakia and whaikorero in check so it lives on firm in our whare."
Rangiora is a firm believer in his culture.
"I am forever grateful to have been raised in te ao Maori. It is the language I speak, it is the confidence I stand with and now it is the pathway I use to walk through life day by day."
Mauri Ora.
An online petition supporting the hapū has over 1950 signatures.