Kaituhono/Partners

Poutiaki

To date three iwi groups have been guiding the research programme: Te Kawerau a Maki, Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Hinerangi. Rapporteurs and representatives from these poutiaki groups have an active leadership role in the research programme, considering and approving each piece of research and related activity before it can happen.

Te Kawerau a Maki → (Pita Turei & Edward Ashby)

Ngāti Hauā → (Hone Te Maru & Tara Nicholas)

Ngāti Hinerangi → (Kathryn Jansen & Mohi Korohina)

While this research programme to date has had active leadership from three poutiaki partners, we recognise that there are other iwi and hapū with equally legitimate rights and responsibilities as kaitiaki for Wairuakohu and the ecosystems that have supported the taonga. Our collaboration welcomes and encourages expressions of interest from other kaitiaki groups interested in contributing to the kaupapa and sharing in the decision-making going forward.

IO

Manu Caddie was the initiator of the research programme in 2017 when he reached out to a group of NZ research institutions to see if there was interest in creating a collaboration focused on Wairuakohu / Radula marginata. He has continued involvement through a number of companies and through his company IO Ltd has invested funds to cover the three year preclinical research programme being run by the University of Waikato, as well as toxicity studies carried out overseas and project management services coordinating all the various stakeholders.

More about Manu →

Maiangi Taiao

Maiangi Taiao, the Bioeconomy Science Institute (BSI) is a Public Research Organisation focused mostly on all aspects of the bioeconomy. The BSI, when it was Plant & Food Research (PFR) was tangentially involved with an earlier Radula marginata research collaboration involved Dr Oliver Kayser from the Technical University of Dortmund, but when approached by Manu in 2017, were keen to be involved in collaboration based in Aotearoa. With support from kaitiaki partners and funded by Rua Bioscience initially, PFR led a series of research projects focused on documenting Wairuakohu in the wild, studied the chemistry of the plant in different locations and different seasons, cultivated specimens in controlled environments with experiments designed to find the optimal growing conditions, and worked out how to create tissue culture from spores captured at rare moments of release. PFR subsequently progressed these projects with its own resources invested into the collaboration that also helped reshape the way the organisation works with taonga species and kaitiaki Māori.

More about Maiangi Taiao →

Rua Bioscience

Rua Bioscience (NZX:RUA) was co-founded by Manu Caddie and early on he convinced the company Board to take a risk and invest in the Wairuakohu research. There was close alignment between the research agenda and Rua’s commitment to cannabinoid medicines and indigenous innovation. The initial investment by Rua provided a solid platform for subsequent work to proceed and while Rua has focused on other priorities since 2021, the company remains a key partner in the kaupapa.

More about Rua Bioscience →

Wairuakohu Charitable Trust

The taonga has rights and responsibilities for itself and the ecosystem that has nurtured it. We have established an entity to represent those interests – to be a voice for the taonga and to share in any future benefits that come from utilising information contained in the plant.