Reclaiming Harakeke: A Diamond Pathway for Saint Helena

9 May

Harakeke was once brought to Saint Helena as an economic hope — but without the tikanga, care, and cultural relationship that gives this plant life, it was treated as commodity, not kin. What followed was collapse: an industry that couldn’t sustain itself, a plant labelled invasive, and a sacred opportunity left untended.

But what if we could change that story?

The Diamond Framework offers a new path — one that honours the past without being trapped by it. It is a model grounded in cultural intelligence, ecological wealth, scientific knowledge, and a circular economy — four pillars that turn harakeke from a forgotten fibre into a national treasure.

For Saint Helena, this means more than restoration. It means renewal — of land, of livelihoods, of identity.

By weaving Indigenous wisdom with island innovation, the people of Saint Helena can reclaim harakeke as a force for regeneration, resilience, and reimagined legacy. Not an invasive weed. Not a failed export. But a fibre of the future.

🌿 The Diamond Framework for Saint Helena: Weaving Futures with Harakeke

💎 1. Cultural Intelligence – Restoring Relationship

Harakeke was once seen only through a colonial lens — industrial, extractive, replaceable. The Diamond Framework invites a re-storying:

Teach the cultural protocols (tikanga) around planting, harvesting, and weaving.
Encourage local storytelling and oral history about the flax industry — not just its collapse, but the people who worked it, the songs they sang, the hopes they held.
Invite Māori weavers not to “teach,” but to exchange — so both islands can evolve together, rooted in mutual respect.
Embed weaving into education and tourism — creating pride, not just products.

Cultural intelligence means seeing harakeke as a relationship, not a resource.

🌿 2. Ecological Wealth – Healing the Land

Harakeke thrives in marginal land, prevents erosion, and attracts pollinators. But left unmanaged, it can choke native growth.

Map harakeke’s current spread and assess eco-synergies and harms.
Replace wild spread with purposeful pā harakeke plantings in places that need soil recovery or biodiversity enhancement.
Use muka waste and harakeke by-products for compost, erosion control, or carbon sequestration.

Let harakeke support native regeneration — not replace it.

Ecological wealth is about balance — reciprocity with the land.

🧠 3. Scientific Knowledge – Innovating with Integrity

Saint Helena’s isolation is its gift. What they grow and make there is pure, rare, and valuable — but must be backed with knowledge.

Partner with scientists (Aotearoa and international) to explore natural dye use, eco-processing, and textile testingof Saint Helena-grown muka.
Train local youth in plant science, soil health, and climate resilience using harakeke as a case study.
Investigate regenerative agriculture models that blend harakeke with local crops or forest species.

Science becomes a modern ally to ancient ways.

🔁 4. Circular Economy – Weaving a Local Industry

Instead of export-heavy industry (which failed), build small-scale, circular local economies:

Grow harakeke in community co-ops, cared for collectively.
Develop handmade gift lines for local tourism, museums, and heritage stores.
Launch a Muka Craft School — teaching weaving, dyeing, rope-making, basketry, and fibre innovation.
Export story-rich products (not just raw fibre) to premium eco-conscious markets: “From the Peaks of Saint Helena, Woven with Legacy.”

Reinvest profits into community planting, wānanga, and training.

Circular economy means value stays in the hands of the people — not lost in shipping containers.

✨ In Summary:

The Diamond Framework turns harakeke into more than just a crop:
It becomes a vehicle for healing, heritage, innovation, and self-determination.

It invites Saint Helena to: