Learn Together. Build Lasting Relationships.
Good conservation starts with good relationships. We work alongside communities, organisations, and care partners to support heritage in ways that are respectful, practical, and grounded in place.
Our work is not only about objects. It is also about people, relationships, and shared responsibility for what is being cared for. We believe the best outcomes come from listening well, being transparent about our role, and working together to find the right path forward.
Based in Taranaki, we are proud to support the communities around us while also working with clients across Aotearoa New Zealand. Being grounded here matters to us. It shapes how we build relationships, how we approach local heritage, and how we stay connected to the people and places behind the work.
When working with taonga and Māori heritage, care must be guided by more than technical knowledge alone. We recognise the importance of tikanga, mātauranga Māori, and respectful engagement with iwi, hapū, and whānau.
We also believe conservation knowledge should be shared. Through advisory support, training, and workshops, we help clients and communities build confidence in caring for their own collections and heritage materials. This community-engaged, “thinking together” approach is a defining part of our practice.
“This information will be incredibly helpful in guiding our next steps. ”
Tikanga-Led Partnerships
Heritage care is not only material care; it also carries cultural responsibility. We work respectfully with iwi, imi, hapū, whānau, kaitiaki, and project partners to ensure decisions about taonga and cultural materials are guided by tikanga, mātauranga Māori, and the values of the people connected to them. Our role is to listen, support, document, and provide conservation expertise in ways that strengthen cultural care rather than replace it. Through open communication and shared decision-making, we aim to help heritage projects move forward with respect, transparency, and trust.
Learn about rohe-based conservation and collaborative care for taonga tūturu.
Training and Workshops
We share practical conservation knowledge to help people feel more confident caring for the collections, objects, taonga, and heritage materials they work with. Our training and workshops can be tailored for museums, iwi, hapū, councils, community groups, galleries, project teams, and collection staff. Sessions may include collection handling, storage, condition checking, disaster preparedness, preventive conservation, or care planning. Our aim is to build skills, support good decision-making, and strengthen long-term care within the communities and organisations connected to heritage.
Watch Let’s Talk About Shipwrecks, featuring Dr. Susanne Rawson.
Advisory Support
Sometimes the most useful first step is a clear conversation about what to do next. We provide practical conservation advice to help clients, organisations, and communities make informed decisions about care, planning, treatment options, storage, risk, and project priorities. Our advisory support can assist with early scoping, collection reviews, funding or project planning, and identifying when specialist treatment may be needed. We aim to offer guidance that is realistic, ethical, and tailored to the people, places, and materials involved.
Listen to Preserving Our Past, a nine-part conversation about conservation, community and caring for heritage.