Tōku Reo Charitable Trust’s pae tawhiti is to create a speaker community. A community of approximately 60 whānau (approximately 240 individuals) who will support each other, meet regularly and engage in whānau orientated activities. Te Reo Māori will be the primary language of use between parents, grandparents and their tamariki and mokopuna.

 

The principle of speaker communities was first introduced by Dr. Ruakere Hond in his doctoral thesis Matua Te Reo, Matua Te Tangata (2013). His thesis underlines the importance of a community of supportive speakers who collectively work together to normalise intergenerational transmission of an endangered language. A speaker community is defined as a collective of people who have formed a community with the sole purpose of restoring the use of an endangered language.

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Te Puna Ihi Manaaki was established in 2016. It is a community of whānau supporting each other to increase the use of reo Māori in the home with tamariki/mokopuna. Whānau don't have to have tamariki or mokopuna to be a part of this community, just a willingness to learn, share and tautoko each other.

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Whānau meet weekly for language lessons and language planning. The community also has several interconnected groups that focus on reo for those particular groups. 

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• Nanny Gang 

• Te Puna Maara 

• Mama Roopu 

• RAWE Rangatahi 

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