It doesn't get much better than this.

A sunny, breezy morning at the Hakatere Marae. The foothills in the distance. Dave Dobbyn’s “Slice of Heaven” blares out of a portable speaker as students diligently chip away at their slabs of Oamaru limestone. 

“It’s nice peace and quiet out here, except for the music,” local stone carver Peter Green said, watching people saw and chisel their stone into take-home sculptures at his two-day wānanga (workshop).

Emma Goodwin, 15, was there to spend some quality time with her dad, Grant.

“We thought it would be nice. It’s quite popular,” she said.

“Every time [Peter] does the courses, it’s always booked really fast, so this time we made sure we got it.”

A maximum of 10 slots are available each session, allowing Green to pay attention to everyone’s progress.

Alice Ngati (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Ranginui) travelled down from Christchurch for the event.

“I saw a post a long time ago about them doing this, and decided to follow Hakatere Marae on Facebook.”

“As soon as tickets became available, I just grabbed them, and here I am!”

Ngati practises raranga (weaving) and wanted to expand her knowledge of traditional craft. 

“Those that have this toi (skill) available to them in Ashburton should take it up.”

“People might think, just because Peter’s Māori or something, it’s just for Māori. But no, anyone can come and give it a go.”

Green is a self-taught carver, and found the craft as a form of therapy and income during a rough patch in his life. 

“I first started carving while I was in jail. All I did was watch others. I had no income coming in so I decided to get into it, and stuck at it for so many years.”

“I started doing it out in the public eye just before the earthquakes. That was my gap to hit the Christchurch scene, I have a bit of a name up there as well.”

He initially carved wood, but transitioned to Oamaru limestone to fill a gap in the market.

Green said the wānanga were a chance for him to pass knowledge on to different people and generations.

“It’s just handing over what I know, and giving it to somebody else, so they can learn.”

“It’s also about getting out there and giving it a go. I’ve had a few (people) today say they didn’t know they could do something like this, that it looked too hard for them, and here they are.”

Green hopes to run more workshops, but said it depends on funding as the programme is subsidised by the Te Huka Tai Trust.

By Anisha Satya