Toi Pakihi: MANAVATION, Tūraukawa Bartlett

For whānau and hapori (communities) – that was the motivation spurring Tūraukawa Bartlett to start Manavation. It’s where hopeful polyglots can sign up to learn te reo Māori. And since its conception, it has amassed a strong following of a thousand students across Aotearoa, Australia and even the United States of America.

Although successful now, the Manavation journey was not easy. Tūraukawa says it all started after his son Varden was born. Varden’s birth came towards the end of an already tumultuous time, and it got tougher when Varden was diagnosed with autism.

“He went from being a ‘normal’ 18-month-old, to then having the functions of a 3-month-old baby”, says Tūraukawa.

The diagnosis was “a kick up the bum” for him to change his life and start working towards finding a sense of healing for Varden and the whānau. Tūraukawa and his wife Aimee decided being connected to their language and worldview was a start to the kind of stability that would support his tamariki.

“Suddenly after 26 years of not speaking te reo Māori, of being totally culturally disconnected, I’m doing my first ever reo programme, at the marae in Ōrākei,” he explains.

That was the beginning of his involvement with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and the start of his growing community. As life got more stable, Tūraukawa’s dreams got bigger. He wanted to buy a house, to make a name for himself, to secure a prosperous future for his whānau – but where to start?

His first thought was to establish Manavation. This was a means of giving back to the community, to help more people like himself to discover their ahurea tuakiri (cultural identity). But as he says, he was clueless about running a business.

“We didn’t even know what a business plan was! We had the passion, and the motivation, just not the know-how.”

That’s when the iwi supported through the Toi Pakihi programme driven by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Māia. “They helped us put together a step-by-step plan to get our kaupapa going. Suddenly we had lawyers, we had accountants, we had a business mentor. It was not only an investment from a business perspective, but an investment in aroha. It was an investment in our whānau going forward, and for that, we are very thankful.”

Today, he has been (in his own words) healed, and his life is going exactly the way he hoped. The family starts their day with a 7am karakia, before going about their duties – taking the kids to kura, running classes, grocery shopping.

Their motto to finding a work-life balance is to provide high impact in a short amount of time. This means confining the Manavation work to the first third of the day, so he has more time to spend with his loved ones – because if you do the mahi, you get the treats.

“When we bring the value, potential and commitment to what we do, then everything else will fall in place”, he says. He particularly wants to shift the narrative for Māori, to encourage them to be bigger than they are.

“If you don’t value yourself, no one else will. It takes courage to even have these conversations to begin something new. You put in the hard work, show up day after day, and let the mahi speak for itself.”

Manavation offers multiple levels of Te Reo courses, and wellbeing support. To register, or find out more, click here.