The Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki Waka Club in Karitāne have been building a new traditional double-hulled waka with the help of whānau and young volunteers.
The project was funded by Coastal People Southern Skies which is focused on climate change and coastal communities.
Most of the young volunteers had little to no experience in woodwork or using power tools and were under the guidance of kaumatua (elders) and the Waka Club in Karitāne.
The project’s name is Ruruku, which means to bind together — not only in the building of the waka, but also in the connections they formed with one another.
Club member Brendan Flack said the project was "another way of connecting whānau to the ocean".
"Those skills almost got lost, they only hung on by a thread.
"So part of this is the revival of traditional knowledge of voyaging."
The waka is made using old technology with modern materials which makes the process much faster.
"It’s not like having to find yourself a piece of stone and make an adze and then chop down the tree and hollow it out, so we’re really fortunate."
The new waka project came soon after they finished building an 18-foot waka ama with the help of around 40 rangatahi, many of which were University of Otago students.
The waka was named after the youngest star in the Matariki constellation, Hiwa-i-te-rangi.
The Hiwa-i-te-rangi waka made its first voyage in July on the estuary of the Waikouaiti River in Karitāne.
Zayvia Parata was one of the young volunteers who helped build Hiwa-i-te-rangi as well as the new waka.
He explained that "actually being a part of building the waka is way better than just watching".
"It’s pretty cool seeing how it all comes together, seeing the process of how to build a waka, especially since this is the biggest one we’ve built."
To Mr Flack, it is important the younger generation learn these skills so they can pass on that knowledge in the future.
"By making a smaller canoe that we can actually build ourselves, I think we’ll value it more.
"We’re not buying one off the shelf, we know how much work goes into it so we’ll always look after it."
They hope to have the waka on the water in time for next year’s waka ama festival in Kaiteriteri.
