Pounamu Skelton

08/09/2026

This weekends Rongoā Wananga programme is finalised and I must say it's got some Retreat vibes to it!
Theres still time and some spaces if you want to join us
https://events.humanitix.com/rongoa-wanganga

24/08/2026

The whenua has shown us her tohu 🌱

This week she whispered it to us — the tohu of Koanga have arrived at our papakāinga. Our heihei have started laying and the cutest white legged lambs were born.

Every Koanga I feel the rush of excitement with the potential of the growing season that is emerging.

If you've been waiting for a sign to pull out your purapura, this is it. 🌿

In Māhuru, get your māra started:
- Sprout your kūmara tipu now, so they're ready to plant out by November.
- Get your hue and kamokamo purapura underway.
- And if you want to bring healing into your māra as well sow your medicine as well, sow clary sage, valerian, tarragon, parsley, and mint so that you grow an abundnat medicinal māra.

You don't need alot of whenua or years of experience to start. You just need a handful of seeds, a bit of soil, and some motivation.

What are you sowing this Koanga? Tell me below — I'd love to know what's calling you into the māra this season. 👇

23/08/2026

A raw, real and powerful conversation with experienced Taranaki Kai māra Faren Taylor who shares her healing journey by reconnectig to Papatūānuku and Te taiao.

Available now on The Māra Session podcast on spotify. 🌱🪻🌺

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xDr7F7kkNr4sIVea1a3IK

02/08/2026

Noku te whiwhi.
what an honour to share my natural organic skincare and Rongoā products at Toi Rarau exquisite gallery and retail space!
Maara o Rongo ingredients are grown at our Papakāinga and infused with mauri o te Whenua.
Call into Toi Rarau and check out all the artists Toi.

Maara o Rongo.
Kaihanga: Pounamu Skelton.

Available in the retail gallery. Gift sets and single range products. A koha that is meaningful.

15/07/2026

At the upcoming Puanga rises event this month I'm creating a delicious Inu inspired from our Maara.
A botanical mocktail made for the occasion, cardamom pods and cinnamon toasted first to open up their warmth, coriander seeds and fresh ginger added to round it out. Then Tarata hydrosol, distilled in our own apothecary from tarata grown here on the whenua.
Warming spice, citrus brightness, and a hydrosol that carries the scent of home. Made to be sipped slowly while we mark the rising of Puanga together.

12/07/2026

There is nothing quite like a refreshing, tasty botanical drink in hand that is healthy, tastes good and looks decadent. That is the space these mocktails sit in.
Steeped with organic herbs grown right here on the whenua, guided by Hua Parakore principles. No shortcuts, no sprays, nothing added that does not belong. Just plants that have been cared for, hand-picked, and turned into something the is healthy for your tinana.
A different way to unwind, one that still feels like a treat, still feels like ceremony, and nourishes your hauora.

10/07/2026

As the evenings draw in, I find myself reaching for one gentle rongoā more than any other. Chamomile.
Most of us know her as a bedtime tea, but she carries more than sleep in those small golden flowers. Chamomile is a nervine, which means she may calm a busy nervous system, ease an unsettled puku, and quieten the low hum of anxiety many wāhine carry without ever naming it. She does her mahi softly. She does not force. She invites the body to remember how to rest.
This is why she has become my evening ritual.
Steep a small handful of dried chamomile flowers in just off the boil water for five minutes, keeping the cup covered so the healing oils stay in. Strain, then add a curl of orange peel and a small spoon of honey if you like. Wrap your hands around the cup and sip it slowly as the light goes.
No rush. No screens. Just kai for the nervous system and a moment that belongs only to you
Check out maara o rongo product range at nz.pounamuskelton.com/shop
𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘪𝘸𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺

09/07/2026

The vision came to me through a meditation, a message to go home to my people. At the time I did not even know where home was, but I packed the car and drove north anyway.
That was 24 years ago. My vision of living on the whenua, eating organic kai and living sustainably has taken every one of those years to manifest and come to fruition.
For a long stretch I was a single mum with two tamariki, working two and often three jobs to keep a roof over our heads. It took the pain of another relationship breakup to move me toward a better decision for myself, and that decision changed everything. I chose to ask for what I was 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵, and to start being paid what I was 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛.
If this resonates with you, then it may be time, my friend, to know your own worth too. Your 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵. Your 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵. And most importantly, your 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵.
It is our decisions that shape our destiny.
It may have taken 24 years, but the vision has landed. We are home on the whenua, eating kai we have grown with our own hands, and living mostly sustainably.
If you are ready to know your worth and pick your dream back up, come walk with me. Follow along here, and send me a message with the one dream you have set down. I would love to hear it.
Know your worth. Watch your world change.
𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘪𝘸𝘢 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘨𝘩𝘺