This study examines the �Kai o te Hauora� Maori Community nutrition training delivered by Maori Provider, Te Hotu Manawa Maori as a means of bringing about nutritional change in a Maori community. The aim of the Kai o te Hauora Training is to empower iwi and Maori communities with the skills, knowledge and resources to enable them to make informed decisions about their nutritional health. The research methods were grounded in Kaupapa Maori research methodology. Three community members who have taken part in the Kai o te Hauora training were interviewed as well as those people with whom they have networked within the wider community. Formal unstructured interviews were carried out with a total of twenty-three people over a twenty month period from November 1998 to June 2000. The interviews were each transcribed and analysed for key themes. The results of the interviews documented the changes in behaviour and attitudes toward nutrition for the Maori community in the Whakatane region, through the stories of the three community members who had taken part in the training. Their successes and difficulties in attempting to influence change were also recorded. The success of the Kai o te Hauora training in relation to the literature is discussed. The importance of working from a Kaupapa Maori framework in both nutrition interventions and research relating to Maori is emphasised. This framework inherently acknowledges the importance of Maori networks, values and concepts. The importance of the Kai o te Hauora training principle of empowerment is also acknowledged as being fundamental to the programmes success. The need for further research to measure the impact of the Kai o te Hauora programme, and Maori women�s contributions to their communities is noted, as is the need for this research to have been carried out within a Kaupapa Maori framework.

This study examines the �Kai o te Hauora� Maori Community nutrition training delivered by Maori Provider, Te Hotu Manawa Maori as a means of bringing about nutritional change in a Maori community. The aim of the Kai o te Hauora Training is to empower iwi and Maori communities with the skills, knowledge and resources to enable them to make informed decisions about their nutritional health. The research methods were grounded in Kaupapa Maori research methodology. Three community members who have taken part in the Kai o te Hauora training were interviewed as well as those people with whom they have networked within the wider community. Formal unstructured interviews were carried out with a total of twenty-three people over a twenty month period from November 1998 to June 2000. The interviews were each transcribed and analysed for key themes. The results of the interviews documented the changes in behaviour and attitudes toward nutrition for the Maori community in the Whakatane region, through the stories of the three community members who had taken part in the training. Their successes and difficulties in attempting to influence change were also recorded. The success of the Kai o te Hauora training in relation to the literature is discussed. The importance of working from a Kaupapa Maori framework in both nutrition interventions and research relating to Maori is emphasised. This framework inherently acknowledges the importance of Maori networks, values and concepts. The importance of the Kai o te Hauora training principle of empowerment is also acknowledged as being fundamental to the programmes success. The need for further research to measure the impact of the Kai o te Hauora programme, and Maori women�s contributions to their communities is noted, as is the need for this research to have been carried out within a Kaupapa Maori framework.