But one of the biggest responses has actually been something else entirely
“What is a Tiheru?”
To be honest, we thought we’d made that part pretty clear, you know… a waka bailer 😅. But it’s shown us that people want more context which actually reinforces one of the driving kaupapa behind PAKU in the first place, bringing Māori objects and ideas from behind museum glass back into everyday life.
We’re organising a trip into the Te Papa archives to spend time with the Tiheru in their collection, which we’re super excited about. We’ll be looking closely at the forms, materials, and histories behind them and sharing that journey as we go.
One person shared that their tamariki are “beach kids”, where sand and water play are part of everyday life. Another talked about how transporting play starts young from one-year-old pēpi right through to older tamariki.
Someone else mentioned that while rowing they still use a cut-up milk bottle as a waka bailer in rough water “something lightweight that just does the job” which immediately opened up a whole new line of thinking for us around adult-sized versions and contemporary use.
We’ve had people imagining the Tiheru in the māra as a compost scoop, a carrying tool for weeds and fruit picking or something small and light enough for kids to actually use properly outdoors. We’ve even had multiple kura offer to prototype test with tamariki once we get to that stage.
That kind of feedback is gold, not because it validates the idea but because it expands it.
It shifts the project from being a single object into something connected to real experiences, real environments, and real ways people might use it.
That’s exactly why we wanted to open this process up early.
We’re still right at the beginning of this kaupapa, we are taking it slow and honestly we still don’t know exactly what’s going to turn this from an idea into our version of a “PAKU Tiheru” but already it feels more grounded because of the whakaaro people have shared.
The design kōrero starts here
One of the most interesting parts of opening up this process early is seeing how quickly people move from reacting to an idea to shaping it. We’ve already had people suggesting ways the Tiheru could evolve depending on where and how it’s used.
Some whakaaro has been practical
- A sharper front edge for digging wet sand
- Small drainage holes for water play
- A flatter base so it can sit upright while filled with compost, shells, or soil
- Tougher edge geometry for scraping mulch or bark
Others have been about shared play and accessibility
- Different sizes for different ages and stages of play
- Stackable forms for playcentres and kura
- Lightweight carrying forms for younger tamariki
And some ideas have pushed us into different areas
- Adult-sized Tiheru for rowing, waka, and water use
- Materials that weather and age beautifully outdoors
- More sculptural forms that can live inside the home as well as outside
- Subtle references to traditional forms and carving language
- AR or storytelling elements that help explain the history and use of the Tiheru
For us this is the truly exciting part and we really couldn't have asked for more. This is already becoming bigger than the original idea we put out into the world.
Next up we’ll be diving deeper into the history and forms of Tiheru, including that trip to the Tepapa archive to get deeper into the kaupapa and talk with people who hold knowledge around them.
And in the meantime if you’ve got more kōrero, stories, references, ideas, or examples, keep sending them through....... We’re listening.
Drop us a line in our contacts page