Description:

The Māra Kuki Reka Kani set are 3 unique cookie cutters developed for the Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust. Representing native plants of Aotearoa, the cutters enable Rauawaawa kaumātua (elders) and rangatahi (youth) involved with the design of these cutters, to connect with their whakapapa (heritage), through the patterns and colours of the cutters using kauwhata (story telling). The cookie cutters are also designed to help elderly suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease through cooking and colour therapy. “Colour therapy can be beneficial for those with memory loss.”- Joshua J. Freitas, author of The Dementia Concept.”

Each cookie cutter reflects the natural colours of a sacred place in Aotearoa to Māori, as well as the physical plant it represents. Each sacred place around New Zealand has an ancient Māori legend associated with it. These colours and places in Aotearoa assist Kaumātua with connecting to their sense of place and reignite memories, acknowledging the many places Kaumātua at Rauawaawa come from. The cutters attract children through their playful colours, and allow Kaumātua to pass on these ancient legends to their whānau. Natural colour can facilitate attention and memory in young children. Colour has been used by cultures all over the world to relay important information and help to improve mood and memory.

“The brain remembers information better when it’s presented in colour. Images are most memorable when presented in a palette drawn from the natural world.”

Pohutukawa – Whero/Red
The blood red Pōhutukawa cutter reflects its distinct stamen colour. Rangitoto means “bleeding sky” and is home to the largest Pōhutukawa forest. Māori know the island as ‘Nga Rangi-i-totongia a Tamatekapua’ which translates to ‘the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed’.

Kowhai – Kowhai/Yellow
The golden yellow Kōwhai petals reflect the sunrise at Maunga Hikurangi in Gisborne. The region is known as “Tairāwhiti” – the light shines on the water – and is recognised as the first point in Aotearoa to greet the morning sun.

Kawakawa – Kakariki/Green
The bright green Kawakawa embodies Maunga Tītīraupenga, a sacred forest in the heart of the North Island which is home to an abundance of medicinal plants, like Kawakawa, that have nourished Ngāti Rereahu for centuries.

This collection of Māra (Garden) cookie cutters, enable kaumātua and children to engage with their heritage through sensory colour and cooking therapy. Both rich in colour, whakapapa and values, these cookie cutters have brought joy to thousands of customers around Aotearoa.