Māori land governance,
made easier.
Tākoha is reimagining Indigenous land governance by giving the people who hold the load the digital operating system to lead with confidence, unity, and long-term impact.
When governance is clear, people align. And when people align, value is activated, and whenua moves.
Tairāwhiti based Māori Land Trusts only
One place for your records.
One place for your decisions.
One place for your people.
Many paths. One source.
Our People // Our Purpose
Made for the people carrying the responsibility.
Māori land entities are part of one of the most sophisticated governance systems in the world. Unlike standard corporate or private ownership models, they must hold together collective interests, succession, trustee accountability, beneficiary participation, cultural responsibility, and the enduring protection of whenua as a taonga tuku iho. At the centre of it all are whānau, doing the best they can with what they have. We understand them, because they are our people.
It's built for those who are expected to keep everything moving, often without the tools.
Strategic Focus
Beneath Pūtahi Maunga are underground streams that meet in one place to create life. That is Tākoha: the coming together of landowners, trustees, whānau, and future generations to strengthen connection, guide decisions, and build a better future together.
The Problem // The Tension
Right now, governance is harder than it needs to be.
- [!] Complex legal and court requirements
- [!] Heavy burden of notifying large numbers of owners
- [!] Fragmented ownership and succession backlogs
- [!] Slow and costly trust formation or amendment processes
- [!] Risk of personal trustee liability
- [!] Difficulty accessing finance and investment
- [!] High compliance costs, including AML/CFT obligations
- [!] Low land productivity and under-utilisation
- [!] Ongoing fixed costs such as rates, insurance, and maintenance
- [!] Gaps in financial, business, and governance capability
- [!] Poor communication between trustees and owners
- [!] Low owner engagement and absentee ownership
- [!] Difficulty recruiting and retaining capable trustees
- [!] Internal conflict, factionalism, and accountability disputes
- [!] Decision-making gridlock and quorum challenges
- [!] Tension between tikanga Māori and Western legal structures
- [!] Balancing preservation of whenua with economic development pressures
- [!] Generational gaps in connection, participation, and vision
- [!] Volunteer fatigue and trustee burnout
- [!] High record-keeping, reporting, and administrative workload
- [!] Difficult meeting logistics, especially with dispersed owners
- [!] Limited technical expertise for land development projects
- [!] Low digital confidence and weak information systems
- [!] Pressure from external regulation, councils, and policy change
- [!] Financial strain caused by local authority rates and other compliance obligations
- [!] Loss of trust, confidence, and social cohesion within whānau and communities
“When decisions stall, everything stops - whenua is held back, and so are the people connected to it.”
This is not a capability issue. It is a coordination issue.
The Promise // Strategic Result
One place. More clarity.
Better decisions.
Tākoha brings governance into one trusted place so trustees can see clearly, decide with confidence, and move their whenua forward.
It gives owners greater visibility, strengthens trust in the process, and helps keep people connected to the future of their whenua.
Core Value
- One place for your records Secure
- One place for your decisions Immutable
- One place for your people Verified
- Many paths. One source. Central
Policy Framework
All data is held onshore in Aotearoa and protected within Māori Data Sovereignty protocols.
WHAKAPAPA. GOVERNANCE RECORDS. INDIVIDUAL USER DATA. NEVER SOLD. NEVER LICENSED. PERIOD.
PROTOTYPE // EARLY PROOF // BEFORE WE RAISE FUNDS
The Whānau AI Assistant
We have developed a Whānau AI Assistant prototype to help whānau navigate Māori land succession before starting any formal application. It is designed to reduce confusion, improve readiness, and guide users toward the right succession pathway. The Whānau AI Assistant will be available free for the first 3 months. During this time, we will keep adding value by improving the guidance, refining the succession pathways, and strengthening the support available to whānau as they prepare for formal application.
Next Step // Building Together
Tākoha Pilot Programme
Building stronger governance, together.
The Tākoha Pilot is a 6-month programme designed to support Māori land trusts and entities to bring their governance into one clear, trusted place.
Many trusts are working hard, but important information is often spread across emails, folders, paper files, and people's memory. This makes it harder to prepare for meetings, harder to make confident decisions, and harder to move whenua forward.
The Tākoha pilot changes that.
Core problem first
Many Māori governance entities do not have a secure, current, shared source of truth for governance records, access, and decision history.
- ● Important information is often spread across inboxes, paper files, folders, individual devices, and the memory of a few key people.
- ● Trustee readiness, continuity, and meeting preparedness become difficult when governance material is fragmented.
- ● Poor visibility and weak continuity increase governance risk and reduce confidence in records and decision-making.
It becomes a single source of truth for governance: simple, clear, and trusted.
What participants receive
As a pilot trust, you must be located in Tairāwhiti. You will receive:
- 1. One trusted place for key governance records.
- 2. Controlled access settings so the right people can see the right information at the right time, with permissions that can change as governance roles change.
- 3. Trusts receive a traceable record of significant governance activity, including who uploaded, viewed, or changed information, which strengthens accountability and confidence.
- 4. Trusts receive tools that help trustees prepare for meetings, understand current governance matters, and make handovers easier for new, current, or returning trustees.
- 5. Trusts receive support for board readiness through key document checklists, meeting pack preparation, minutes and resolutions storage, and clearer visibility of what is missing or coming up.
What success looks like
By the end of the pilot, trusts should be able to say:
- "Our records are now in one place."
- "We know what's going on."
- "We can prepare for meetings more easily."
- "We feel more confident in our governance."
Eligibility
Located in Tairāwhiti
Built on trust
All data is stored securely onshore in Aotearoa. Māori Data Sovereignty protocols apply. Your information remains yours.
Context // Three Big Shifts
The public system has failed, in full view.
The $40 million collapse of Pātaka Whenua and the 7,700+ cases left waiting did not surprise Māori landowners. It confirmed what they already knew: the system was never designed to serve them. That failure has created a clear, urgent opening for a private, kaupapa-aligned alternative.
Māori data now has to be treated as taonga in practice, not just in theory.
Māori data sovereignty has moved from aspiration to legal expectation. WAI 2522 classified Māori data as taonga under Te Tiriti, and the new NZ North cloud region in Tāmaki Makaurau with Te Tumu Paeroa as an anchor tenant shows the infrastructure now exists in Aotearoa to do this properly, on our terms.
The Māori economy has grown. Governance has not kept up.
The Māori economy has almost doubled in five years, from around $69 billion in 2018 to $126 billion in 2023. The capital is there and ready. Governance certainty is the missing piece between that capital and the whenua it is meant to reach.
Origin // Why I built this, and why I could not look away
Tiowaana Harrington
Founder and CEO, Tākoha Land Digital Solutions
"For a long time, I've watched our people carry more than the system was ever designed to hold."
They have carried complex ownership.
Responsibility across generations.
Expectations from whānau, from whenua, from the past and the future. All at once.
And they have done it with fragmented tools. Scattered records. Unclear processes.
And systems that were never built for the way we actually operate.
And still, they have held it together.
That is the part most people miss.
The problem has never been the people. The problem has been the system around them.
Because when the system is weak, even strong people are slowed down.
Decisions take longer. Trust gets tested. Opportunities slip through the gaps.
But when the system becomes clear, everything changes.
Clarity removes doubt.
Clarity builds trust.
Clarity allows people to move.
So what happens when the system finally matches the strength of the people using it?
Decisions stop stalling and start progressing.
Trustees can see clearly, act confidently, and stand behind their decisions.
Whānau feel informed, included, and connected, not shut out or left behind.
Momentum builds. Land that has been sitting still begins to move.
Opportunities that once felt too hard become achievable.
Energy shifts from trying to "figure things out" to actually building something.
And over time, something deeper happens.
Confidence returns.
Trust is restored.
Capability grows across generations.
Because when the system works, it does more than organise information. It unlocks potential.
Not just economic potential. Cultural. Social. Intergenerational.
That is the shift.
From surviving governance to leading it.
From holding things together to moving things forward.
Because our people have always had the strength. The question was never if they could do it. The question was what becomes possible when the system finally backs them?
Philosophy // Our Vision
Technology that
feels human.
At Tākoha, our technology begins and ends with people. We exist to serve whānau, trustees, and future generations, not just by building systems, but by restoring trust, strengthening connection, and making governance feel human again.
Our tech is only exceptional when it uplifts people: when it reduces burden, brings clarity, honours whakapapa, and empowers those who carry responsibility for the whenua.
People before product
We don't build features. We solve real problems for real people. Every line of code must make life easier for whānau and trustees.
Technology that feels human
Our systems are not cold or complicated. They are clear, respectful, and intuitive, designed for the people who use them, not just those who build them.
Mana-enhancing design
We build in ways that uphold dignity, respect roles, and honour the responsibility people carry for their whenua and whakapapa.
Listening before building
Exceptional staff at Tākoha listen deeply to trustees, to whānau, to context before they design anything.
Trust is everything
We treat people's information, decisions, and histories with the highest level of care. Trust is not a feature, it is the foundation.
Impact over ego
It's not about clever tech. It's about meaningful outcomes for people: clearer decisions, stronger relationships, and confident governance.
Foundations // Five Pillars
Everything Tākoha builds rests
on five foundations.
Marama
Clarity
Clarity changes everything. From that clarity comes confidence. And with confidence comes momentum. Whether it is succession, leasing, development, or long-term planning.
Ngakau Pono
Trust
Trust is not a feature. It is the foundation. We build trust into every part of Tākoha — from protecting people's information, honouring their decisions, and treating their history with respect.
Mana
Sovereignty
Your data is yours. Always. Held onshore in Aotearoa under Māori Data Sovereignty protocols, never sold, never shared, never compromised.
Kaitiaki
Steward
Good governance is the greatest gift trustees can leave — because it outlives any one meeting, any one personality, and any one generation. It creates the conditions for whenua to be protected, decisions to be respected, and whānau to move forward with confidence long after current trustees have stepped away.
Rangatira
Strength
The problem has never been the people. It has been the system around them. Our people have always had the strength, the intelligence, the resilience, and the commitment to carry the responsibility of the whenua. What has too often failed them is not their capability, but the weight of fragmented processes, scattered records, unclear roles, and systems that were never designed with them in mind.
Team // Whānau
The people behind
the backbone.
Tiowaana Harrington
Founder & CEO
Teina Moetara
Tikanga Director
Chathu Chandrasekara
Tech Lead – Architecture
Lian Passmore
Product Lead
Kimiora Brown
Operation Lead
Niemin Pari Huriwai
Māori Land Specialist
Te Kerehi Thompson
Māori Land Specialist
Our Team Brand Tone
Clear: Plain language, short sentences, minimal jargon.
Trusted: Steady, calm, no hype, no overpromising.
Grounded: Whenua-first, tikanga-aware, people before technology.