Power of rongoā Māori: Rangatahi-led project explores health benefits of kūmara vines

RNZ News

7 hours ago

Darius Martin-Baker stumbled on the idea while trying to cure a stomach issue.
Photo:
Supplied
Inspired by mātauranga Māori and rongoā, a young entrepreneur is turning kūmara waste into wellness through a groundbreaking new research project.
Twenty-one-year-old Darius Martin-Baker (Ngāpuhi, Waimā, Ngāwhā) is the driving force behind the kaupapa.
With $70,000 from the Bioresource Processing Alliance, he has partnered with Callaghan Innovation scientists to explore the nutritional potential of kūmara vines - the leafy part of the plant often chucked during harvest.
Martin-Baker said the idea for the kaupapa sparked while staying with his older sister - a longtime practitioner of rongoā Māori - when he began digging deeper into traditional plant knowledge in search of a cure for a stomach issue.
"I was reading through rongoā books, but I was getting quite hōhā, because I was like 'no koromiko'," he said. "You have a little bit, it stops you from having the runs, but you have too much, it causes it.
"I was, like, definitely can't be using that, because if John down the road decides to have three scoops instead of one, I don't want to be blamed for exacerbating any problems."
Then he looked up and saw his sister sprouting a kūmara on the windowsill.
"I was, like, 'Why? You're not growing it,' and she was like, 'It looks pretty, but also, it's a rongoā.'"
"I was, like, 'Is this a tūpuna-aligned moment?'"
Darius Martin-Baker began to research the medicinal use of kūmara vines.
Photo:
Supplied
That moment led him into deeper research, where he found a range of references to the medicinal uses of kūmara in old rongoā books.
"I was, like, 'Okay, if we know as Māori and our mātauranga that there's positive benefits to eating kūmara, then what does Western science say about it?'"
Martin-Baker came across a study from the University of Arkansas, which found kūmara vines contained anti-carcinogenic, anti-cardiovascular disease and anti-diabetic properties.
"It was definitely one of those 'cue the angel music and an epiphany pops out' moments."
Nearly 200,000 tonnes of kūmara vines go unused each year.
Photo:
Supplied
According to the Bioresource Processing Alliance, nearly 200,000 tonnes of kūmara vines go unused in Aotearoa each year.
Martin-Baker's goal is to unlock their potential, and create a product that could support people living with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, while also serving as a daily health supplement.
"Kūmara vine has been used by tangata whenua, since the plant was first grown in Aotearoa," he said. "This will be the first research project to investigate and hopefully commercialise the health properties of the vine."
Callagahan Innovation senior researcher Jolin Morel.
Photo:
Supplied
One of the several scientists helping bring that vision to life is Jolin Morel, a senior researcher at Callaghan Innovation's food processing technology team.
"It's great to have someone like [Darius], who is really trying to build on something that's been traditionally used, but isn't really well utilised now," he said.
According to Morel, kūmara vines are rich in bioactive compounds, including polyphenols and other phenolic antioxidants, which are associated with anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting properties.
"We're looking at how can we create products where these compounds are enriched."
They are exploring ways to develop a kūmara vine extract that's high in phenolics - something Morel said, "could be a powerful addition to a protein drink or similar supplement".
"We're looking at scalable ways to process them, to make them into shelf-stable products that still retain the good properties of the vine."
Morel said, while Callaghan leads the mahi around processing and scale-up, Plant & Food Research is investigating the plant's bioactive compounds - known as phytochemicals - that give the vine its potential health benefits.
"There are a few different parts to the project - from creating product concepts to understanding the science behind the rongoā."
Most of the vines used so far have been grown in Kaipara.
Photo:
Supplied / Darius Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker said learning under his sister's mātauranga had grounded the kaupapa in tikanga, something he was committed to embedding throughout the entire project, starting from the way the kūmara vines were harvested.
"Following tikanga in picking practice is really important, so ensuring that there's alignment with Maramataka, but also just ensuring karakia," he said.
"Unfortunately, sometimes the harvest of the rau might not line up with the phase of the moon, so most of the time, it's just about giving karakia to all the different ātua that are in that area."
All the kūmara vines gathered so far have been sourced from Kaipara - one of the country's main kūmara-growing rohe.
"Acknowledging the hapū and iwi there and doing karakia in those moments" would remain central to the kaupapa, especially when the product enters the formulation and production stage, Martin-Baker said.
"Before we get into the actual production of it, doing karakia and following tikanga in that regard is going to be the point of utmost importance."
He also hoped that any future website or packaging would honour the whakapapa of the kūmara vine and its wider mātauranga lineage.
"I'll ensure that there's acknowledgments to ngā tūpuna o ngā ātua to ensure that those that have come before all of us, that have helped us build up this intergenerational knowledge, are acknowledged for that development and that gift to the rest of us."
Darius Martin-Baker has drawn from his Māori and Pākehā roots.
Photo:
Supplied / Darius Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker said the kaupapa felt like a reflection of his own whakapapa.
"When it comes to Western sciences supporting rongoā Māori, it's a balance. It's not that one is better than the other, but it's utilising them in a woven manner - like making a kete that holds this product."
"Being of Māori and Pākehā descent, it's definitely in my whakapapa to mix those two different parts of me, so it feels like this is not only a way of going about it that is tika and pono, but also, it feels like a little bit of myself."
He hoped his journey would inspire more rangatahi Māori to pursue pathways in innovation, science and rongoā.
"I want to see more Māori in this space - reclaiming mātauranga, creating solutions and doing it in a way that stays true to who we are."
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