Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa or Māori Weavers New Zealand is the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 national Māori weavers’ collective

Collective

A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...

, which aims to foster and preserve Māori traditional textiles

Maori traditional textiles

Māori traditional textiles are the indigenous textiles of the Māori people of New Zealand. The organisation Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the national Māori weavers’ collective aims to preserve and foster the skills of making and using these materials....

.

Founded in 'Aotearoa Moananui a Kiwa Weavers' by the Māori and South Pacific Arts Council, the Māori

Maori culture

Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...

 and Pacifika

Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

 portions of the organisation were split for funding reasons—current Toi Māori Aotearoa

Toi Maori Aotearoa

Toi Maori Aotearoa is a charitable trust that promotes Māori traditional arts and Māori artists, both in New Zealand and overseas....

 funding is specifically targeted at Māori arts.

Te Roopu holds national hui (attendance of which is required by a number of tertiary courses), regional workshops, publishes a newsletter, coordinates with research funding agencies, publishes books.

Emily Schuster of Māori Arts and Crafts Institute

New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute

The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute opened in 1967 in Rotorua, New Zealand due to the impending threat of the loss of traditional Māori arts. In 1926 a Māori Arts and Crafts school had been established in Rotorua by Sir Apirana Ngata, and the new school continued the tradition in a...

 in Rotorua

Rotorua

Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...

 was the first chariperson. Diggeress Te Kanawa

Diggeress Te Kanawa

Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa was a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga . Of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Kinohaku descent, she was was given her unusual forename to honour the World War I diggers after her father served in the Māori Battalion...

 was a co-founder.

There is some overlap of personel and events with Maori Women's Welfare League

Māori Women's Welfare League

The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori women and children...

, but the League has a much broader remit, longer history and more political outlook.

National Hui

• 2003 Rangiotu Marae, Palmerston North
  Palmerston North
  Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
  
  
• 2005 Owae Marae, Waitara
  Waitara
  Waitara is the name of a number of localities:* Waitara, New South Wales* Waitara, Queensland* Waitara, New Zealand* Waitara River in Taranaki, New Zealand...
  
  
• 2007 Maraenui Marae, Te Kaha
  Te Kaha
  Te Kaha is a small New Zealand community situated in the Bay of Plenty near Opotiki. It has a population of about 375, approximately 70 percent of Māori descent....
  
  
• 2009 Takitimu Marae, Wairoa
  Wairoa
  Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...
  
  
• 2010 Rotorua
  Rotorua
  Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
  
  
• 2011 Kawhia

Books

• The gathering : a collection of writings from the weavers newsletters of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa = Ngā kohikohinga. Cath Brown; Bert Waru; Garry Nicholas; Te Roopu Raranga Whatu O Aotearoa. 2002. ISBN 9780958234108
• Mai te whenua = Of the land. Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa. Rotorua Museum of Art & History. 2010 (No ISBN)
• Whiri toi : creation of our minds and hands in art. Lala Rolls; Island Productions.; Toi Māori Aotearoa.; Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa.; Creative New Zealand.
• He rito, he ranga : kiekie : our taonga plant. Wellington : Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa. Toi Maori Aotearoa, 2009. ISBN 9780958234122
• Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks edited by Awhina Tamarapa, Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa. Te Papa Press. 2011. ISBN 978-1-877385-56-8