Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Booklet on growing food promotes healthy diet says author

Updated at 6:45 am on 2 February 2012

The co-author of a new resource booklet for Maori to grow their own food says it's helping to reconnect people with the whenua.

Grow Your Own Kai was written by Lisa Talbot and illustrated by Cecelia Kumeroa of Whanganui iwi.

Ms Talbot is a Whanganui based organic soil expert who is passionate about organic gardens.

She says the booklet is even easy for children to follow and encourages people to eat more vegetables and return to a traditional Maori diet that is more healthy and cheaper because it avoids having to buy vegetables at the supermarket.

Ms Talbot says because it's a resource for Maori she wanted to encourage whanau to move away from processed foods that are high in sugar and fat and eat more traditional Maori vegetable varieties including kumara (sweet potato), kamokamo (squash) and taewa (Maori potatoes).

She says the response to the booklet so far has been great and more people are gardening because of it.

Ms Talbot says most people usually grow way more than they need, and come away with a sense of pride from growing all their kai and being able to share it with their friends and family.

She says she's surprised a resource of its kind has never been published before and hopes in future publications to include how to produce more types of Maori vegetables.

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