Ko wai mātou?
- about us -
Waiawa is the passion of Tracey Kereopa. He uri nō Tainui waka, ko Ngāti Tiipa te hapū. Together with her partner Trev Thompson, he uri nō Ngāti Pākehā, ā nō Tainui waka ana tamariki, they take care of the whenua.
Trev and his whānau have been kaitiaki of the whenua for the last 50 years. As a whānau, Tracey and Trev acknowledge the haukāinga, Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa.
Tū mai rā ngā maunga whakahī a Rangitūmau rāua ko Pūkaha, rere tonu te awa koiora a Ruamahanga. Kei ngā manu taupua o te whenua nei, koutou ngā uri o Rangitāne o Wairarapa, o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, tēnei ngā tai o Mihi e pari atu nei ki a koutou katoa.
We acknowledge the prestigious mountains of Rangitūmau and Pūkaha, and the life-giving river of Ruamahanga. We acknowledge Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa as the haukāinga and protectors of this whenua.
Tracey’s journey with rongoā Māori is rooted in a deep love from and for her whānau. Time spent with her Nana at her marae over the years opened a door to the realm of native plants and their various uses, for weaving and for healing. Her parents instilled in her a strong sense of getting things done and putting in the hard work to reach your goals. While dairy farming Tracey started making natural remedies for sick animals out of a need for healing in the animals and a desire for that healing to be chemical free. Moving into a career in health she saw the western clinical side of things and how the health system worked. When she became a Mum her love for her son Tamati drew her to utilise rongoā Māori to keep him well in a natural way. From there, she has continued her learning whilst taking care of her whānau and community.
Creating Waiawa has been a natural progression for Tracey where she delights in providing customers with natural handcrafted beauty products that support your health and wellbeing.
Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum)
100% Natural Products
At Waiawa, we take pride in knowing exactly where all our ingredients have come from, that we have nurtured the native plants by hand ourselves, or sustainably sourced them locally, and there are no chemicals in any of our products. Our intention for each product batch is set before we harvest any native plants or begin to gather the various ingredients. It is a part of our sustainable practice and allows us to tailor products with specific ingredients for specific purposes. In doing so we honour our tūpuna and the mātauranga they have handed down to us, we respect and look after the environment from which we have sourced our ingredients; and we provide our customers with tailor-made sustainable products that support their health, wellbeing, and beauty.
Testimonials
- How customers experience Waiawa Botanicals -
