He Wāhi Haumaru is a collaboration between Canterbury Breastfeeding Advocacy Service, Women’s Health Action, and the team behind Breastfeeding NZ. Together, we’re creating an Aotearoa where every whānau feels supported in their feeding journey

Every movement starts somewhere. Ours began with a simple question: What if every parent could feed their baby wherever they needed to, without fear or shame?

For more than a decade, Breastfeeding New Zealand has been a digital pā harakeke — a safe space where over 100,000 whānau support each other through their feeding journeys. In 2023, we asked ourselves how we could extend that manaakitanga beyond the screen and into the real world.

Carol Storey (Te Whakatōhea) gifted us the name He Wāhi Haumaru, capturing perfectly what we wanted to create — safe and supportive spaces. Working with young Māori parents and designer Nikki Kennedy (Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea, Te Aitanga a Mahaki), we developed our tohu. That image of parent and child surrounded by woven harakeke tells our story: we’re all connected, we all have a role to play in nurturing the next generation.

Te Ngakau | The Heart: Te Pā Harakeke

Working with young Māori mātua and Nikki Kennedy (Ngāti Porou, Te Whakatōhea, Te Aitanga a Mahaki) of Taputapu Toi, we created our visual identity one that tells the story of whānau strength and connection. Our tohu draws its power from the ancient wisdom of te pā harakeke, inspired by Hirini Melbourne’s whakatauākī:

Hutia te rito o te harakeke
Kei whea te korimako e ko?
Ki mai ki ahau he aha te mea nui o te ao?
Maku e kī atu
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata, hei!

If you remove the heart of the flax bush
From where will the bellbird sing?
If you say to me
what is the most important thing in this world?
I will reply to you,
It is people, it is people, it is people!

The harakeke plant beautifully mirrors the structure of whānau, the rito (centre shoot) represents pēpi, the awhi rito their parents, and the outer leaves represent tūpuna. Just as the harakeke bush grows strong through its interconnected roots to form te pā harakeke, whānau thrive when supported by the many people, past and present, who nurture and protect each other.

This is why our tohu of matua me te tamaiti | parent and child sits lovingly on a background of woven harakeke. It reminds us that just like a flourishing harakeke bush, whānau grow strong when the rito are nurtured with care. The korimako depends on the harakeke, just as the strength of our communities relies on the wellbeing of our tamariki.

Creating Real-World Safe Spaces

We’re working with businesses and public spaces across Aotearoa to create real-world he wāhi haumaru where you can feed your pēpi without worry. When you see our tohu, you’ll know you’re somewhere that welcomes you and your whānau a place that understands the sacred act of nurturing the rito, the heart of whānau.

Our vision is simple: to enable many whānau to thrive through the connections they form, both online and in the real world. By embracing the wisdom of te pā harakeke, we’re creating nurturing environments where breastfeeding is valued and supported, empowering whānau to flourish together.