An Indigenous Māori View of Doughnut Economics
Juhi Shareef of Moonshot:City and Teina Boasa-Dean collaborated to reimagine the Doughnut from a Māori worldview
Background
To inform the local context for sustainability, I felt New Zealand needed a doughnut of its own. I have been to too many meetings held to discuss issues affecting minority groups (Māori, Pasifika, women, children) without them at the table. Clearly, the process of reimagining the doughnut needed be led by an indigenous voice – female if possible.
The doughnut translated into Te Reo Māori
The doughnut reimagined through an indigenous worldview
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation team hosted a meeting after the 2019 Summit in London to discuss the role of indigenous people in the circular economy. Teina and I shared the draft diagram, noting it hadn’t yet had Kate Raworth’s blessing. But we didn’t just share the translation of the doughnut, we shared a second version: Teina’s reimagining of the doughnut from a Tūhoe Māori perspective, with the environment as its foundation, and social elements on the outer ring (below).
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As Kate said when we shared our versions with her on Twitter:

Whatever your worldview, it is powerful to recognise that two perspectives of the New Zealand context – Māori and Pakeha – can sit side by side. It is our hope that these two perspectives, and more, spark dialogue on our journey to build a better future.
How can indigenous knowledge and practice become the foundation of resilient and regenerative cities?
“My ability to thrive in union with Mother Nature occurs when I have not dehumanised or desensitised myself to the extent that I do not recognise that I am violating Mother Nature.”
What is the most important thing in the universe? It is people, it is people, it is people.
“...there was a balance between human behaviour and healthy boundaries of human behaviour in their relationship to the environment. So, at that particular point in time, when things were in more of a balance, of course people could celebrate their behaviour in relationship with the environment. Today, indigenous communities increasingly recognise that this is not the case, and having to position the earth mother and sky father at the centre of a diagram like this, makes things overt and explicit.”
Next steps
I am working with my partner on Moonshot:City, Priti Ambani, in a collaboration with a number of other individuals and organisations to map regenerative projects in Aotearoa.
Drawing from the DEAL, C40, Thriving Cities Initiative methodology used for Amsterdam, we will base our Action Labs on:
- The indigenous reimagining of the Doughnut
- Indigenous Māori values and principles known as kawa, currently being refined by Teina Boasa-Dean and other Māori wayfinders. These wayfinders acknowledge the doughnut model but are now referencing a indigenous motif - a spiral - known as a takarangi. Indigenous partnership and acknowledgement of Te Ao Maori is vital for bi-cultural Aotearoa.
- Data on material, energy and asset flows
- An acknowledgement that a lot of regenerative initiatives are already underway; we aim to connect and amplify existing initiatives under a place-based, community-led vision
- A set of lenses including: biomimicry, circular economy, Cradle to Cradle, SDGs etc
- Learnings from international best practice and collaboration with leading businesses on circular business models
- A systems approach, rather than focusing on individual businesses or organisations.
Please get in touch via this platform or check out Project Moonshot:City if you would like any more information, we're keen to connect with other regenerative / doughnut practitioners!
Acknowledgement
To hear Teina explain the Te Reo Māori doughnut in her own words, listen to Episode 2 of our podcast Moonshot:City
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Shelley Anderson
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Ryan J. Kemp
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States of America
Alōha! I am a regenerative + sustainability business consultant at Pueo Consulting, author and speaker. Since graduating cum laude in finance from Northeastern University in Boston I have worked in, lived in, and traveled to over forty-five countries learning from different cultural elders, working on solutions to some of the world’s largest issues, writing about it through poetry and prose and speaking on various podcasts and summits. I am also a member of the Sustainable Change Research Network, International Alliance for Localization (IAL), a certified YTT-200 hour Ashtanga Yoga teacher, Ayurvedic practitioner, published author, and poet.
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Suzanne Schwartz
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Davide Calvi
Lisbon, Área Metropolitana de Lisboa, Portugal
I'm Telecom Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Privacy Evangelist and Chef; I'm using my passions, curiosity, knowledge and experience to pioneer solutions that make the world more sustainable and safeguard individuals's data privacy
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James .
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Colin Murphy
Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
I'm a Master of Public Affairs candidate at the O'Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs interested in learning more about DEAL and applications of doughnut economics to municipal policymaking. Occupationally, I have experience working in sustainable food systems, tech, and currently, academic research studying local climate policies. Vocationally, I'm a climate justice organizer and member of the degrowth movement.
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Marian Turniawan
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Skylar Sharples
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