The Applecart Project: Bi-cultural action research collaboration focused on dietary change and social capital within a Māori community

Abstract

Na to rourou, Na taku rourou, Ka ora ai Te iwi. …with your food basket, and my food basket, the people will thrive…

The AppleCART Project was an action research project which evolved through a bi-cultural research relationship. The pairing of a Maori community organisation focused on wellbeing, with a Pākehā masters student, created a project that weaved together academic findings regarding barriers to dietary change, Māori health models and identity constructs and social capital indicators, and combined it with the organisation‟s experiential knowledge of a „hard to reach‟ Māori community. The development of The AppleCART Project therefore occurred at an intersection of four approaches: Māori, Pākehā, community, and academia. The 12-week project included weekly delivery of ingredients to prepare a healthy meal supported by social cooking workshops. Ten participants were interviewed; workshop observations and a post-project discussion group enriched the data, along with the author‟s personal action research diary.

Ethnographic data describes a community that has a health consciousness but experiences of poverty hinder ability to improve dietary behaviour. Social capital indicators are present within the community, mainly located within whānau networks. Participants with less robust whānau networks particularly lacking in expressive support relied on CART for social support. It is suggested that CART functions as an urban marae providing space, place and security for its community, engendering the development of adaptive and fluid contemporary Māori identities. Contrasts between Māori relational and Pākehā instrumental approaches are discussed.