About Us
Meet the Team Behind Te Ao Kakano
Our Journey
Involvement in one of the first successful outdoor medicinal cannabis grows of scale in New Zealand, brought together a passionate group of growers , inspired by the opportunity for our land and people.
With a combined knowledge of the Land…its soils, its nutrients and its grow qualities… our Taiao, its suns, its rains and its winds…and the Plant, its strength, its vulnerabilities and its special healing properties…we want to help commercial growers maximise their grow potential.
As leading commercial growers we lived the challenges and shared the knowledge. We evolved systems that worked, re-tuned knowledges from our separate histories, called upon the networks of our communities, and developed a blue print for success.
Te Ao Kakano is the platform that allows us to share our knowledge with you.
Knowledge
Te Ao Kakano can lead or assist you in your outdoor cannabis grow plan and bridge the knowledge gap to maximise your potential. Let us do what we do well so you can do what you do well.
Training & Education
We will provide training and education for plant maintenance during the grow period, particularly around the crucial practice of when, why and how much leaf to trim, to optimise yield and mitigate disease risk. We will also educate for the identification and remedial actions around disease and mould growth.
Full Service
Our lead advisor will be fully available to all Te Ao Kakano growers’ at a personal level, our technicions will be available whenever required, and our management team will strategise on any and all aspects of production that can increase your on farm efficiencies.
Love The Land
"Whakanui nga tangata e tiaka ana i nga whenau, Whakanuia nga tangata ringa raupa"Creating a better land for our children and our childrens children. Medicinal cannabis is regenerative and sustainable for our Taiao (environment). With this plant we have the ability to care and demonstrate best farming practices for our land. We can utilise the land to create an income stream that does not rely on intensive agriculture ... an activity that responds to our changing environment, an activity that gives back to the land. The abilty to give back to a space that has sustained the generations before us, and those to come. We are all but visitors and we want to look after what gives us life.
"Celebrate the people who look after the land, celebrate the people with the calloused hand"
Love The Plant
"Poipoia te kakano, kia puawai"The medicinal properties of the cannabis plant have been known for millennia and continues to be relied upon for its’ healing properties in many Eastern and traditional cultures. Cannabis’ healing properties have now been recognised within our western Societies, with a changed relationship towards a plant that is organically and innately designed to interact with the human endocannabonoid system. We value the power this plant has and see the potential to help our people and our land by developing a healthier relationship with this plant.
"Nurture the seed, let it flower."
Love The People
"He aha te mea nui o te ao? Te tangata, te tangata, te tangata"We love the idea of creating thriving communities where we build work opportunities, education pathways, pathways into industry and ultimately allow people increased agency in their medicinal choices.
"What is the greatest thing in the world? The people, the people the people."
Our People
Meet the team behind Te Ao Kakano
Jaye Cavaye-Astle
“Taupiri te maunga, Waikato te awa, Tainui te waka. He piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha rau.”
Jaye hails from the mighty Waikato with strong whanau ties to Te Tairawhiti, Waikato and Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu. Jaye has steadily advocated the use of medicinal cannabis, tirelessly rallying, working with numerous community trusts, and steering towards increased education around the plant’s plentiful remedial applications.
Versed in traditional Māori rongoā, herbalism, homeopathy, and other traditional Māori healing models, Jaye aspires to harness her teaching background and industry knowledge to create educational pathways that facilitate increased access to medicinal cannabis.
Inspired by her mother’s love and knowledge of the plant’s uses, working with professionals and public interested in the future of farming medicinal cannabis came naturally to Jaye.
Prior to working with farming models of cannabis, Jaye acted as an intermediary for individuals seeking medical application to the Ministry of Health, primarily advocating for palliative applications and relief of chronic disease such as acute seizure, acute eczema, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, cancers, arthritis, and C-PTSD.
Jaye delivers to her clients’ quality service assurance through a strong work ethic, transparency, and an emphasis on forward planning. Jaye strives to create vision and opportunity for others that see the benefits of a thriving medicinal cannabis industry to New Zealand.
Growing up on the land where generations of your Waitaha, Kati Mamoe and Kai Tahu tupuna have walked the awa of the Waikaka and Mataura, and where generations of your Scottish whanau have farmed the land, is a powerfull call to home.
After completing a B.Com.(Ag) at Lincoln University and spending 4 years working in Londons financial markets, Don returned to the Waikaka Valley farm with his wife Brigette. A period of growth followed where the base operation was grown from 3000su to 15000su allowing a successfull farm succession into two commercial operations.
Don and Brigettes’ Waikaka Valley operation now farms a mixture of commercial and stud sheep, beef cattle, cereal cropping, dairy grazing and a move into medicinal cannabis production.
Presently Don and Brigette have the satisfaction of enjoying the kiatiakitanga of their whanau land with both their boys, and Dons parents. A unique and incredibley satisfying experience
Don continues his off farm roles including his Directorship in an in-bound tourism business, and as a Director on Alliance Group Ltd.
Kiatiakitanga of the land creates the opportunity for inter-generational participation of his whenua, and his association with the hapori of his many activities remains Dons motivator. Te Ao Kakano provides the opportunity to rejuvinate the hapori of our land and whanau.
Don Morrison
Timbo Deaker
Timbo Deaker owns and manages Viticultura Cental Otago, a company that provides viticulture services to over 30 dfiferent vineyards around Central Otago and North Otago. The suite of services includes labour, machinery, management, consultancy, labotory services, fruit brokeage and staff accomdation.
With 30 years experince and consultancy in viticulture around Central Otago, Timbo provides insight to how the wine industry started and matured. The cross-over from viticulture to medical cannabis is comparable – and his insight to how a young industry can mature onto an international stage will help guide our growers.
Timbo has graduated from his under grad with a Certification in Viticulture at NMIT in 1993, to finish his post gradurate studies at Lincoln Univeristy with Post Grad Viticulture and Onelogy in 1999. Timbo has worked for wineries in California, East Sussex, Barrossa, and Burgandy.
Phil is a free-lance consultant and company owner of Across Performance Ltd. As a consultant, Phil works with various values-based teams and communities in support of innovation and change that delivers value and positive impact. This includes facilitating co-design and co-innovation, designing and innovating business models, building and sustaining effective leadership capability, and delivering qualitative research and customer insights.
With 25 years’ experience as an officer within the NZ Army’s Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers, an Executive MBA from Massey University, and more than a decade working across the business and education sector, Phil brings a unique mix of experience, skills, and knowledge to the task of supporting others in pursuit of positive organisational outcomes. In 2006, Phil was made an Additional Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in recognition of operational leadership, relationship management, and project management skills in Iraq.
