Helen Paul-Smith
on the Wisdom That Grows Between Worlds
There's a whakataukī at the heart of how Helen Paul-Smith moves through the world: Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi. With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive. For the Co-Founder and Director of ŌKU New Zealand, it's less a motto than a method.
Helen, of Tapuika and Ngāi Te Rangi descent, is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Yoga Teacher, and Rongoā Practitioner. The company she co-founded shares the healing wisdom of Aotearoa's native plants through herbal teas, elixirs, and skincare, and under her leadership became B Corp Certified. But the origin story is more personal than commercial.
"A defining moment was reconnecting with my own whakapapa, tikanga and relationship with te taiao during a significant period of personal change," she reflects. Time on ancestral lands clarified something she now considers foundational: wellbeing, sustainability, and cultural identity are not separate domains. They are the same conversation.
The business Helen runs operates at an intersection that is still undervalued. Māori-led enterprises generate significant cultural, environmental, and social value - value that conventional funding frameworks struggle to recognise. "Traditional funding models tend to focus primarily on financial outcomes," she says. The commercial realities of sustainable choices require investors willing to think in generations, not quarters.
Her approach to stakeholder engagement cuts through the compliance framing that weighs ESG conversations down. "Start with shared values rather than compliance. When people understand the why, meaningful action follows."
What sustains her is kaitiakitanga: guardianship, not ownership. The understanding that we borrow the environment from future generations and are accountable for what we return. Aotearoa's superpower, in Helen's view, is the capacity to combine indigenous knowledge with innovation - mātauranga Māori offering an intergenerational perspective the world increasingly needs.
Her takeaway for readers: ten minutes outside, phone down, simply observing and listening. Sustainability begins with awareness and appreciation. It's a quiet ask. And a radical one.
Read Helen's answers to Blooming Sustainability's full questionnaire to explore how that understanding shapes her leadership - and her challenge to the funding models that overlook it.
BLOOMING Sustainability Questionnaire
Name: Helen Paul-Smith
Company & Title: Co-Founder & Director, ŌKU New Zealand
Website & LinkedIn Profile: www.oku.co.nz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-paul-smith-0a755392/
* Guiding Values | Kaupapa
If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?
It would be a native flowering plant growing within a healthy ecosystem. Sustainability is never about one thing in isolation. It is nurtured by strong relationships – with people, with place and with future generations. For me, sustainability begins with connection to Papatūānuku and understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from it.
A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.
This whakataukī reflects my belief that meaningful change happens through collaboration and collective action.
If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?
Stay connected to your values. There will always be pressure to move faster, grow bigger or take shortcuts. The leaders who create lasting impact are those who remain grounded in their purpose and continue listening to their communities, customers and the environment.
* Leading Change | Arataki
A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:
A defining moment was reconnecting with my own whakapapa, tikanga and relationship with te taiao during a significant period of personal change. Spending time on my ancestral lands deepened my understanding that wellbeing, sustainability and cultural identity are inseparable. That experience continues to influence how I lead both my life and our business.
What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?
One of the biggest challenges is balancing commercial realities with long-term environmental and social outcomes. Sustainable choices often cost more in the short term, but we believe businesses have a responsibility to think beyond quarterly results and consider future generations.
An area you need more support with:
Greater support for Māori-led innovation and scaling sustainable businesses into international markets. Māori businesses often create significant cultural, environmental and social value, yet traditional funding models tend to focus primarily on financial outcomes.
An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:
The principle of kaitiakitanga. It reminds us that we are guardians rather than owners of the resources we use. We borrow the environment from future generations and have a responsibility to leave it in better condition than we found it.
Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:
Start with shared values rather than compliance. People connect more strongly to stories, purpose and practical outcomes than they do to reporting frameworks. When people understand the why, meaningful action follows.
What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?
Our connection to nature and our ability to combine indigenous knowledge with innovation. Mātauranga Māori offers a long-term, intergenerational perspective that has enormous relevance for the challenges facing the world today.
* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki
Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability:
My studies in Ayurveda, Rongoā Māori and Te Reo Māori have all shaped my worldview. I am continually inspired by indigenous knowledge systems and by people working to restore ecosystems and cultural practices.
Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:
Events that bring together indigenous leaders, sustainability practitioners and innovators. Some of the most valuable conversations happen where different knowledge systems meet. Last year I was fortunate to attend and speak at B Corp Assembly in Australia and it completely recharged my sustainability mojo!
A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:
Whenua-based restoration projects that combine environmental regeneration with cultural revitalisation and economic opportunity for whānau. These initiatives demonstrate that sustainability can deliver multiple benefits simultaneously.
If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?
That people reconnect with nature as part of their daily lives. When we feel connected to the natural world, we are far more likely to protect it.
The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:
Graeme Atkin, he has been instrumental in the revitalisation of Ngutukākā in Aotearoa
* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:
Spend ten minutes outside in nature without your phone. Observe, listen and reconnect with the environment around you. Sustainability begins with awareness and appreciation.
