Gretta Carney (Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi) is a talented, busy Māmā, who has dedicated herself to food, healing and health. Her mahi in the hauora space has centered around kai, with her taking on leadership roles with The Organic Catering Company, OANZ (Organic Aotearoa New Zealand) and Te Waka Kai Ora.
Gretta has a National Diploma in Biodynamic Organic Agriculture and is also a qualified Classical Homeopath, running a clinical practice in Hawkes Bay since 2012.
In 2015 Gretta co-founded Hapi Organic Cafe & Maara, Clean Kai Eatery, with Fleur du Fresne, with the intention of putting their health practices to work within the context of kai.
What is Hapī about? What inspired you to establish this kaupapa?
Fleur and I opened the doors of Hapi with the intention of creating an eatery that was actually a health practice. We actually put our names and qualifications on the door! We based the business on Ngā Kaupapa o Hua Parakore and painted a mural of medicinal plants with “Everybody Welcome” written over the top.
What is your favourite thing about your mahi? What keeps you going?
The people. Our whānau. I am always just so humbled by the fact that Hapi has such an extensive community who respect and support everything we stand for. I also just love the Hapi crew of sharp, fun and super talented rangatahi. It makes me proud and also excited for the future.
What does Hauora mean to you?
I was taught that Hauora is like a bounce back factor. Life is always going to throw things at us but it’s how we choose to deal with it and how quickly we bounce back that is the reflection of our wellbeing. For me Hauora has never been something that got served up on a plate, it has always been something that I had to fight for, something that I had to stand up for, something that needed to be claimed.
In your opinion, what are the biggest hauora challenges whānau Māori are facing in the wider Hawke’s Bay area? What do we need to do to improve this?
Well that’s simple – Stop spraying poisonous chemicals on our kai! The Heretaunga plains are poisoned paradise. Everyday agricultural chemicals are sprayed onto the crops that neighbour our homes, our schools and our recreational areas. We all understand that this is potentially a major threat to our health but there is no research taking place to understand exactly what the impact is. As a region we experience disproportionate statistics in a variety of chronic physical and mental health conditions, and the argument remains that our chronic exposure to agricultural chemicals could be a major contributing factor to these issues.
If you could change one thing for the wellbeing of whānau Māori in our rohe, what would it be?
Aside from cleaning up our environment of the toxic chemicals I would wish to restore our customary kai economies. Not that long ago we didn’t buy any kai. Everything we ate came from the environment around us through a sophisticated mahinga kai system based on koha. Mai Kai is a local initiative to reinstate this kind of abundance economy in our modern lives. We can all produce something! Nāku te rourou, nāu te rourou.
What does tino rangatiratanga mean to you in relation to health and wellbeing?
For me tino rangatiratanga is taking 100% responsibility for my health and wellbeing. There is industry and profit to be made out of my being unwell. I find that simple, inexpensive acts of kindness and care are the backbone of health. The answer is always simple.
What is your favourite whakataukī relating to health and wellness and why?
He kai he rongoā, he rongoā he kai. This is the whakataukī shared by Percy Tipene (Ngāti Hine) who was the founding Champion and Chair of Te Waka Kai Ora. I worked closely with Percy for many years and much of the whakaaro I share comes from either him or my Dad, who always told me that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
