Hosted with permission of Te Mauri Tau Inc.

"Poutiria te Aroha is the name given to a programme under development, which aims to promote nonviolent philosophy and
practice within New Zealand homes and communities. The
name was derived during discussion with the late Dame Kāterina Te Heikoko Mataira, who summarised the kaupapa as
“Poupoua, tiritiria te aroha ki roto ki te whānau”, where “Poupoua, tiritiria” refers to the action of implanting and firmly embedding, “aroha” speaks of unconditional love, and “whānau”
encompasses the family in its widest context.
Poutiria te Aroha builds on, and adapts, the pioneering work on
Nonviolent Parenting developed by the Echo Parenting and
Education Center [EPEC] in Los Angeles, (formerly the Centre
for Nonviolent Parenting and Education), established by Ruth
Beaglehole.
The experience of learning about this work prompted Te Mauri
Tau to embark on a project to develop it for New Zealand contexts. A key aim was to explore the links between the
nonviolent philosophy and practice and Te Ao Māori, and to
build a programme based on this thinking that would be
firmly anchored within tikanga Māori. The transition from the
nonviolent parenting programme and create it in a new form,
Poutiria te Aroha, is still underway. A successful application
to the JR McKenzie Trust resulted in funding being available for
2011 and 2012 to extend the learning journey and deepen our
understanding of nonviolent parenting, with a view to creating
Poutiria te Aroha.
This report captures the learning from the first year of the programme. A second report will be prepared at the end of 2012." (Foreword)