Kotahi Mano Kāika, Kotahi Mano Wawata (One thousand homes, One thousand aspirations) is the iwi strategy that leads the charge to reinvigorate our language within Kāi Tahu homes and communities. It is a 25 year strategy which aims to have at least 1000 Kāi Tahu households speaking te reo Māori by the year 2025.

The strategy focuses primarily on the intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori supported by an extensive range of language initiatives and resources for learners at all levels. To support this strategy, four contestable funds are available to registered Kāi Tahu iwi members to support te reo Māori development and leadership.

A number of key goals drive the work of KMK in this area: raising the awareness of the importance of our language and the benefits of bilingualism; increasing the number of fluent speakers and supporting whānau to use te reo Māori as a communicative everyday language within the home.

To date more than 1500 whānau have engaged with Kotahi Mano Kāika committed to learning and using te reo Māori. Increasing numbers of whānau are normalising and using te reo Māori as the language of choice in their homes.