Kaitiakitanga

Kaitiakitanga Program and Network
Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi children
guard and share Whirinaki,
their culture, language and values

6.8.1 Community On-line Broadband Project Details:

Description:

This will make broadband (wireless or otherwise) available to all homes and organisations in our community. A suggestion was made by Hinurewa Te Hau, Trade and Enterprise NZ on 14 May 2004 as an opportunity we could think about, at which time our kura along with the Tuhoe Education Authority already had it in the pipeline.

Our Kura already operates laptops in a wireless network and on 7th Oct 2003 our senior students presented a collaborative computing paper at the Toshiba "Expanding Horizons" conference for teachers in Taupo. Our Kura is participating in the "Computers in Homes" programme and running evening classes in computing for parents to encourage computer literacy and student support at home.

Our community was served by very erratic telecom voice modem connections that support only low bandwidth with no access to ADSL services. Our Kura as an interim measure tried high speed inbound satellite communications but this does not provide the outgoing bandwidth needed for videoconferencing and sharing their lessons externally.

In 2003 we volunteered to be a pilot broadband rollout school. The Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard at the opening of our merged Kura on 31 Jan 2004 stated that "Broadband will soon be right through to Ruatahuna." With the merging of our two sites it was necessary to include broadband interlinking with Minginui Kura site as well. We have worked with Waikato University who have designed a special service for our location and in May 2005 this was operational, so we now have video conferencing and other broadband band services. A pilot has been set up with five homes in our community which can be expanded to provide radiopoint access to every home in our village. Video view the Campbell Live show videoclip feature of 19 Oct 2006.

In November 2006, the community under the auspices of the Minginui Village Council and other bodies applied for Digital Strategy funding as part of the Whirinaki Interactive project, to roll out broadband access to all homes in our valley.

We thank our local farmer Andrew Macdonald for offering the prime and very accessible hilltop site on his farm, without which the task would have been much more difficult.

Our thanks to the WAND Network Research Group at Waikato University whose CRC Connecting Rural Communities team have taken us on this learning journey, and involved us in its implementation and support.

See photo gallery of the solar repeater installation in our valley

It was a heavy lift to the hilltop which commands a great line of site view of the valley to Te Whaiti Kura

.... and back up the valley to the Minginui Village and our Kura site there.

See the Te Whaiti Technical Proposal.pdf which gives details of the system being rolled out to interconnect Te Urewera Schools

Outcomes expected:

• Ability to beam out our Kura programs and lessons to other schools
• Ability to allow visitors anywhere to e-visit our community and forest
• Ability to start up information age enterprises in our valley

Start Date: Mid 2004
Largely Completed: May 2005

Budget: This was financed as a pilot rollout project where we were guinea pigs

Nominal Project Leader: Local Community Liaison Chris Eketone - Chairman school Board of Trustees.

Project Team: WAND Team from Waikato University

Issues Register:

• Flag	Date:	Issue:	Action	By	Signoff
  	May 04	No broadband access	Try to get us nominated as a pilot broadband community.	CE	sorted

Progress Log

• Date	Details of event or action	By
  14/05/04	Hinurewa Te Hau, Trade and Enterprise NZ suggested a possible community broadband project
  May 04	Enrolled as a pilot school for broadband with Waikato University Government funded project
  June 05	Broadband operational with ability to extend to community educational use.
  June 06	A number of key community locations on line as well
  19Oct 6	Feature on Campbell Live show Click to view
  19Dec06	Submitted "Whirinaki Interactive" proposal for Digital Strategy Community Partnership Funding

NOTICES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Our gift to you - download Free Whirinaki Matariki Wall Calendar

What Andree a sustainability writer discovered about Kaitiakitanga

Coming Easter 2010 Biomimicry Exploration - Norbert Hoeller, Auckland
David Bellamy - Moa's Ark revisited tour Whirinaki 25 4-10 Oct 09
The Maori Youth Hikoi to Bioneers Conference, San Francisco 16 Oct 08
VIDEO "Redesigning our Future" - Youth Forum with Michael Braungart

Papakainga Development - Matekuare Whanau Project underway
Minginui Community Gardening - underway thanks to Community Max
Whirinaki Ecological Technology (We-tech) Our pest control innovation

Check out our school's Energy Monitoring / Weatherstation project
Our drama production, kapakaka and other creative initiatives


Ngati Whare Iwi Treaty Settlement signed, incl partnership with DOC
WEMZ - The Whirinaki Ecological Restoration Zone - a project with DOC
DOC partnerships information kiosk, Mangamate, Sanctuary(proposed)
Take a photo tour through our valley see restoration work needed
Ready to start - our Whirinaki Centre, Nursery and Recycling Projects
Our project to upgrade our water supply in Minginui Mar 07
Thanks TPK for facilitating Govt support for Minginui initiatives
Our network's submission to govt on Rural Community Opportunities

Toxin Bioremediation Project started in Whakatane May 09
Celebrate what our friends at Hokianga Harbourcare are doing
Our Network's Mycorestoration Research Project - Fungi and mushroom
Our Lopez friends help Raglan with an affordable housing project

Thanks MfE for a big toxin cleanup on our millsites - July 07
Blocked - our Community Digital Strategy - Whirinaki Interactive 12/06
Prince Andrew adopts our Kiwi, Princess Beatrice on Mokoia Is Mar 07
Our network on the Kiwi Youth Voice learning journey to US. Mar 07
Our network at Youth Voice Digital Earth Summit on Sustainbility Aug 06
We welcomed Hunter Lovins 7-9 July 06, VIDEO view NZ tour resources
Thanks Waikato University for help with broadband 05
Thanks Housing Corp, house painting and marae restoration teams
Go Tramping in Whirinaki. See Kaka, Kiwi, Weka, Robin, Blueduck
Report Living Organisation workshops. Tipu Ake presented worldwide 05
Report Hikoi to Indigenous Knowledges Conf , Well, NZ. June 05
Thanks to UNITEC Architecture Students for help with town plans 04
Report on Sustainable Resources Conf, Colorado 04
Report on PMI Global Forum, Los Angeles Tipu Ake paper 04
Report on Sharing Indigenous Wisdom Conf, Wisconsin, June 04
Int and local visitors attend Tipu Ake Retreat March 04 See report
MPs Horomia and Mallard open our new merged area school Jan 04
Trip to Whaingaroa Env Gp Raglan, Jan04 learnings, VIDEO view