A little about us

Welcome to
Toi Kai Rawa

Toi Kai Rawa Trust is the Bay of Plenty’s Regional Māori economic development organisation with the purpose to advance the prosperity of Māori across the wider Bay of Plenty by:

• Leading approaches to improve Māori prosperity, which includes wealth and wellbeing
• Advancing the benefits of increased Māori social, cultural and community outcomes including income, employment, health and education
• Growing leaders through the practice and tradition of succession/ youth leadership, good governance, cultural sovereignty and expansion, connectivity and living sustainably with our natural world.

Toi Kai Rawa draws it's name from an ancient ancestor prevalent in connecting the wider Bay of Plenty. Toi lived at his Pā, Kaputerangi, situated on the bluffs above present-day Whakatāne. Toi was the founding ancestor of many tribes that occupied a large swathe of territory in the wider Bay of Plenty. These peoples, were known collectively as Te Tini o Toi (the multitudes of Toi).

Under the mana of Toi, Toi Kai Rawa means the creating of an abundance of 'kai' or 'food' in its widest metaphorical and physical forms. The availability of food that can be distributed to and shared by every whānau member symbolises a community that is connected, healthy, thriving and well - a community where everyone is sustained and can thus rise to meet the challenges of the future.