Te Waka O Whakamanawa

A rolling inspiration roadshow.. a double decker tour bus offering national and international guest artists a unique chance to tour New Zealand in style while connecting with community, inspiring our youth, and supporting and promoting the local arts industry. This. Is. Epic.

She's going to be, literally, one of a kind. With the completed and fully furnished 1980 Bristol VT featuring self-contained accommodation for 6 to 10 people with a comfortable lounge, an open-floor creative space and recording capabilities in the sound-treated area downstairs, an espresso machine/food vendor certified kitchen area, built-in sound system capable of catering for anything from cooking demonstrations to bass-heavy DJ’s, and eventually even a fold-out stage, the opportunities for marketing and tourism are extensive, with many target groups to choose from. Hence, one can offset charitable projects by hiring the bus for a variety of services. We will also be able to offer greatly reduced overhead prices on tours for our artists, simply through streamlining our services. Accommodation, sound system hire, transport. Whatever is needed to maintain fun and creative flow, we'll have it covered.

However, at the heart of the project lie fundamental principles of sustainability, education, and bringing healthy communities together. What is the most important thing of all? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. It is the people. By bringing tours and the bus herself to visit schools, particularly in low-decile or rural communities, we hope to connect our youth with the people who inspire them, whilst nurturing the connection our guests have with these growing Aotearoa roots. Being set up to offer recording workshops in this time gives us the opportunity to give children a voice and an opportunity, while also allowing our artists to produce material while touring, if desired. Hearing their songs, and watching the process of making music, will widen the potential of our tamariki. Everybody wins.

We are acknowledging and embracing our culture, our future and our past. Positively passionate, aiming to inspire young artists and promote local, original music throughout New Zealand, we believe our project will benefit many for years to come, and are therefore incredibly excited to be already on the way to bringing it all together. The waka is now in our care, and we have begun the long journey of getting her to completion. You can find out more, view photos and read the story and inspiration on the website (www.erinsphere.com/te_waka/).

Please support Te Waka O Whakamanawa (the Inspiration Bus). We are currently independent of any agency or organisation, and are dedicated to retaining these foundation themes. Therefore we would prefer to avoid turning to investors more interested in profit than people. We hope you'll jump on board.. Maybe even buy yourself a ride up top? Donors are welcome to a free tour at any stage, contact us to arrange yours. Accepting that this project is fundamentally bigger than ourselves, if you have a special skill or idea for the project that you'd like to donate instead, please head over to the social pages to get in touch.