No need for compulsory Maori?

A café on Waiheke Island has come up with a novel way to increase the use of te reo and it isn’t compulsory to use it but will save you some money.

On a Sunday, you can arrive at 8.30am, right at opening time, and by 8.35am there is a queue of locals out the door, waiting for their freshly baked hot cross buns, patisserie, artisan breads and hot, steaming drinks.

And if you say “He kawhe maku”, instead of “I’d like a coffee”, you’ll get 50c off for your trouble.

Owner Patrick Griffiths says the idea of introducing Maori is to support people to learn the language at whatever level they want, and to feel comfortable about it.

He and his wife Hinemoa have been studying te reo for seven years.

“If you want to speak Italian you can go to Italy and immerse yourself in the language but there’s no place you can really go to speak te reo Maori.

“It’s one of our three official languages and is a taonga – it’s very precious.”

Sure, it is on the very liberal Waiheke Island but it sure is a more interesting and fun way to encourage people to use everyday, conversational Maori.