Two 22-year-old industrial design students making a low-carbon fibreglass alternative out of harakeke are raising $2m to start taking their product global
Harakeke is also a seemingly miracle material. Māori used parts of the plant for rafts, sweeteners, poultices and medicine, and harakeke fibre made fishing lines, nets and rope.
Harakeke rope was so strong, in fact, early Australian traders wanted it - and as much as Māori could make. They bartered harakeke for muskets, in the process turning tribal conflict into full-scale war.