The diffusion of sustainable technologies to Maori land: A case study of participation by Maori in agri-food networks

Abstract

Within innovation diffusion literature, indigenous peoples have historically been described as ‘laggards’: slow to adopt new technologies. While accepted as the originators of acceptably ‘quaint’ traditions, Māori, like other indigenous peoples, are targeted as passive adopters of new, and theoretically, beneficial innovations. However within sustainability discourse, indigenous peoples are considered to possess innovations in the form of traditional knowledge that is conducive to sustainability. For Māori, this assumption has converged with niche marketing strategies in agri-food networks and Māori initiatives to participate in research programmes. This paper details the diffusion of innovative objects in the form of taewa or ‘Māori potatoes’ within sustainability research programmes. Knowledge sourced from Māori in their role as kai tiaki of taewa have seen attempts by research institutions to accommodate Māori growers within collaborative programmes. However, the intended diffusion of collaborative research with Māori outwards from ‘core’ research institutions is paradoxically reliant on a counter-diffusion of ‘Mātauranga Māori’ from Māori growers. This counter-diffusion is subject to validation from Māori collectives: if cooperation is withdrawn by these collectives, diffusion is not possible. Rather than the non-adoption of sustainable technologies by Māori, such withdrawal is interpreted as non-participation in unsustainable networks.