Meet Our Team: Whāriki Business Manager, Jes Sweetman (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa)

He aha te mea nui o?te ao??He tangata,?he tangata he tangata.?

What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people it is people.

We have an incredible team here at Whāriki, people who believe in the kaupapa and are determined to make a difference with their mahi. So, we thought it was important to introduce you to them! Meet the wonderful Jes Sweetman?(Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa), our Kaiwhakahaere Manaaki (Business Manager) who has worked for Whāriki once before and we're proud to have welcomed back.

Kia ora Jes. Nau mai, haere mai.

Ko wai koe nō?hea koe? Can you tell us a little about who you are and where you’re from?

Ko taku rekereke, ko taku tūrangawaewae

E haruru ana ngā manu ka whai i ngā tapuwae a Tūpai

E rere ana tōku manu ki runga rā ki ngā wai ora o Mōhakaharara

kia kite i a Mawete, a Popoia, a Paikea e tiaki nei

Ka rere ki te tupuna e tū nei a Te Kahu-o-te-Rangi

mai i a Tangitū ki te moana,?

kia hoki mai ki te kāinga o ngā kererū

He uri tēnei nō Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa tōku iwi.?Ko Jes Sweetman ahau.

Ka rere aku mihi ki te hāpori o ngā pakihi Māori, i tō koutou tautoko i tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira.?

Super excited to be back and reppin Whāriki. Currently based in Tāmaki with my partner Hikurangi, our cheeky two-year-old tama, Wiremu-Bobby, and our equally cheeky three-year-old fur-baby, Rocky. We love spending most of our time with whānau and friends, supporting lots of kaupapa Māori here or back home in Te Matau-a-Maui.

I’ve just returned from maternity leave and completing a full immersion rumaki reo course with?Te Wānanga Takiura… I learned so much from this experience although I’m still very much a pēpi and have a lot more to learn!?

Give us a brief overview of your career prior to Whāriki.

Over the past 8 years, I’ve done some awesome mahi in the Māori economic development and tourism space here in Tāmaki. I’m most proud of the relationships I’ve been able to grow with our pakihi Māori and mana whenua on the ground to share our beautiful culture with manuhiri.

?

Tell us about your role at Whāriki.

Kaiwhakahaere Manaaki which is a cooler way of saying I’m the Whāriki Business Manager. I oversee the day-to-day operations of Whāriki and support the wider team to ensure we uphold the mana of this kaupapa. By Māori, for Māori, with Māori.

What inspired you to join the organisation?

As a few of us have mentioned before, we’re here for the kaupapa. We’re here to support one another and celebrate all of the awesome mahi our people are doing in te ao Māori. Whakawhanaungatanga at its best.

What exciting projects do you have in the pipeline and how will these benefit our pakihi Māori?

A big project we're focusing on at the moment is our?Business Health Checks which is?a quick and easy tool to assess how vulnerable our businesses are?and offer support to build reslience in the areas where help is needed – if you're a Whāriki member, you can complete yours here.?

There's heaps of awesome mahi in the pipeline to support our pakihi hāpori – we’re building out our new strategy, partnerships framework, and events programme all to support pakihi on the ground and contribute to a thriving Māori economy.?

What tips do you have for how our pakihi Māori can leverage and best utilise your team’s work at Whāriki?

There is power in whakawhanaungatanga. Get to know us and don’t be afraid to ask for help – that’s what we are here for. Our doors are always open, so, nau mai, haere mai e te whānau!?

We know it’s hard to pick just three, but which pakihi Māori are you most inspired by at the moment and why?

Rerehua Boutique – A relatively new pakihi creating some beautiful everyday-wear culturally empowering jewelry. He tino taonga tēnei.?

Aho Creative – my bubba pretty much lived in the Aho pēpi wraps. I love the thought-provoking pānui sharing whakaaro about her creative process and being an authentic and sustainable business.

Padre Contracting – Shameless plug, if you need any contracting work done down in Heretaunga hit up my cousin Padre! Proud of ya cuz!

Can you share a whakataukī that resonates with you e hoa?

Me hokohoko Māori, me tautoko Māori!

Whenever I’m asked what my ‘superpower’ is I always say, ‘buying Māori’. I’m always on the hunt for awesome Māori made taonga and products, that I can either gift or keep for myself. Usually, keep...