A beautifully crafted macrocarpa presentation box made by the Waimate MenzShed is heading to India this weekend, carrying a special gift to mark an international business relationship.
Left to right: John Dawson, Larry Goddard, Allan Laurie, Laurie Davis, Lyn Hewitson and Neil King.
Waimate businessman Allan Laurie, of Laurie Forestry, has been invited to India by SR Forestry, a business partner that has purchased 250,000 tonnes of New Zealand logs through his company over the past two years.
SR Forestry is the international log-trading arm of the Sumitra Rajkripal Group, an Indian timber business established in 1895. The group operates across timber sourcing, manufacturing and international trade.
Allan is taking a traditional Māori weapon, a wahaika, to present to his hosts.
The wahaika has both ceremonial and practical significance. Allan says presenting one to a business partner is a symbol of trust - a gesture of friendship and confidence that the weapon will never be used against the giver.
He's presented wahaika to international business partners before, but this is the first time he's had a special presentation box made
And that's where the Waimate MenzShed came in.
The team crafted a beautiful box from macrocarpa, with Lyn Hewitson adding the finishing touch - a lining of silver fern fabric.
There was one slightly tense moment when the wahaika was placed inside the finished box to see whether it would fit - but of course, it did.
