May 06, 2016
Jar labels bring kupu home
A Waikato University student hopes putting Maori words on common household items will be the start of a successful business.
Nikki Kennedy took part in a programme over the summer for young entrepreneurs, and developed the idea of Taputapu.
She’s set up a website and is producing homewares, starting with containers for tea, coffee, sugar and other staples.
They are decorated with the Maori word for what goes in them, as well as an example of how that kupu can be used in a sentence.
"What I found through my surveys was a lot of beginners in te reo Maori label everything in the house. However they don't know how to put it into sentences, they don't know how to use it, so I was able to use that feedback and apply it to my products," she says.
Nikki Kennedy says it’s all part of ensuring Maori is spoken in the home every day.
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