Harakeke harvest for a market order
A Level 1 student has an order for 20 small woven kete for a local market in 12 weeks. She plans to harvest harakeke from a nearby wetland reserve on a single Saturday in July, cutting every leaf from ten bushes to save time. She will boil the strips in a large pot with green synthetic dye, dry them in the sun, and weave the kete at home. The market organiser advertises the kete as 'traditional, natural harakeke'. A neighbour warns that the wetland is a food source for native birds and that the local marae has a plantation. The student has not done karakia or checked with a weaver. She has $80 for materials and wants to keep the process simple. The weather forecast for the harvest day is rain and strong wind. She also has a smaller patch of harakeke in her grandmother's garden.
1. Evaluate the student's harvest plan and recommend specific changes, giving reasons.
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The harvest plan is not sustainable or tikanga-based. Cutting every leaf from ten bushes can kill or weaken the fans; harakeke is harvested from the outer mature leaves while leaving the rito (central shoot) and awhi rito and enough leaves for the plant to recover. Harvesting in rain and strong wind is unsafe and can damage the leaves; the wetland reserve may also be protected, and harvesting without the landowner's permission is inappropriate. The grandmother's patch is a better starting point only with her permission and after checking local practice. The student should contact the local marae, ask about their plantation, learn the correct cutting method, do karakia, and take only what is needed for 20 kete. She should leave the wetland birds' food source alone.
2. Discuss whether the student should use synthetic dye and how the market description should be handled.
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Synthetic dye is not automatically wrong, but it changes the claim. If she uses green synthetic dye, the kete are not 'traditional, natural harakeke' in the sense the market advertises; the label should say 'harakeke kete with synthetic dye' or she should use a natural dye process approved by a weaver. Boiling synthetic dye at home needs ventilation and safe disposal; waste water should not go into the wetland. Natural dyes may be more consistent with the market claim but require mordants and knowledge, and some mordants are toxic. The best judgement is honesty: either change the description to match the materials or change the materials to match the description. She should also test colourfastness and keep a sample.
3. Explain how the student could document tikanga and sustainability in her assessment portfolio.
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Document: date, time, weather, and location of harvest; who gave permission; karakia and tikanga observed; which bushes were cut and how many leaves were left; the total harvest; dye recipe, mordant, and disposal method; drying and weaving notes; photographs of the patch before and after; and a reflection on what she would change. Link each decision to kaitiakitanga and sustainability, not just to appearance. In the portfolio, explain why the wetland was rejected and how the grandmother's patch or marae plantation was used. This evidence shows understanding of Māori art-making conventions and the responsibilities that go with harvesting materials.