Martha's Botanicals - Natural Skincare
My Journey with Rongoā MāoriMy journey with Rongoā Māori began more than three decades ago, as a young mother caring for my whānau. What started with my cousin teaching me how to prepare kawakawa has grown into a lifelong relationship with the land, my whānau, and the knowledge passed down through generations.Kawakawa has long been valued in Rongoā Māori for its healing properties, and it's become the heart of what I make. Every jar of balm and every bar of soap is handmade in small batches, using natural ingredients I trust enough to put on my own skin.I'm still early days as a small local business — every product is made with care, not mass-produced, and every bit of feedback genuinely helps me grow. Thank you for supporting local and handmade.
Read my full story below ↓
OUR PRODUCTS
Kawakawa Balm
Soothing Skin Salve — 60g — $28Kawakawa has been used in rongoā Māori for generations, valued for its soothing and restorative properties. This balm brings that tradition into an everyday skincare essential — a rich, natural salve made to nourish, protect, and soothe your skin from head to toe.Each jar starts with kawakawa infused rapeseed oil, gently extracted to capture the plant's natural goodness. From there, it's blended with shea butter and cocoa butter for deep moisture, coconut oil to help it glide on smoothly, vitamin E to support skin repair, aloe vera powder for a soothing touch, and beeswax to lock everything in and give the balm its signature soft, workable texture.It's a true multi-purpose salve — perfect for dry hands, elbows, cracked heels, minor scrapes, or simply as a daily moisturiser wherever your skin needs a little extra care. Lightweight enough for everyday use, yet rich enough to make a real difference.Every batch is handmade in small quantities, right here in Wairoa — no mass production, no shortcuts. Just natural ingredients, made with care, the traditional way.
Ready to order?
Message me on Facebook or email [email protected] to place your order — just let me know which product(s) you'd like and I'll get back to you with details.
Kawakawa Goats Milk Soap
Nourishing Hair & Body Soap — ~100g — $10This bar brings together two ingredients with a long history of caring for skin — kawakawa, valued in rongoā Māori for its soothing properties, and goats milk, known for its gentle, nourishing qualities. Together, they make a soap that cleanses without stripping your skin's natural moisture.Each bar starts with kawakawa infused rapeseed oil for its natural goodness, blended into a creamy goats milk soap base. Shea butter and coconut oil add richness and help the lather feel soft rather than drying, vitamin E supports healthy skin, gently exfoliating oatmeal helps clear away everyday dirt and buildup, and aloe vera powder adds a soothing finish.It's a true head-to-toe bar — gentle enough for daily hair and body washing, with a soft lather that leaves skin feeling clean and cared for, not tight or stripped.Every bar is handmade in small batches right here in Wairoa, cut and finished by hand — no mass production, just natural ingredients made with care.
Ready to order?
Message me on Facebook or email [email protected] to place your order — just let me know which product(s) you'd like and I'll get back to you with details.
Kawakawa Scalp and Skin Duo
These two were never really meant to be used apart. Wash with the Kawakawa Goats Milk Soap (100g), then follow with a small amount of Kawakawa Balm (60g) on your scalp — a simple routine that helps ease dryness and flaking, while keeping your skin nourished from head to toe.It's become a real routine in my own home — my sons use it after washing their hair, and it's helped with scalp dryness in a way that's simple, natural, and easy to keep up.Now available together as a bundle — $32 for both (normally $38) — everything you need for a full kawakawa hair and skin routine, made by hand right here in Wairoa.Ready to order your bundle?
Message me on Facebook or email [email protected] to place your order — just let me know which product(s) you'd like and I'll get back to you with details.
What Whānau Are Saying
I make these products in small batches, right here in Wairoa, and every bit of feedback from the people who use them means the world to me. Here's what some of my customers have shared about their experience with Martha's Botanicals.
WHY FRAGRANCE FREE MATTERS
At Martha’s Botanicals, we believe in honouring the natural qualities of the plants we work with. Our approach is simple — to create botanical products that are gentle, purposeful, and free from unnecessary synthetic fragrance.In this short video, I share why fragrance-free matters to me, what led me to make this choice, and why I believe our skin deserves products made with intention and respect for nature.Watch the video: Why We Choose Fragrance-FreeDiscover the story behind Martha’s Botanicals and the choices we make when creating our products.
A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO HARVESTING RONGOAA MAAORI
Free ebook — tikanga before, during, and after the harvestRongoā Māori is a living practice — one built on relationship, respect, and reciprocity with the natural world, not just knowing which leaf does what.This free guide is a starting point for anyone new to harvesting rongoā rākau. It walks through the tikanga that surrounds a respectful harvest: grounding yourself and getting permission before you go, asking and giving thanks while you're in the ngahere, and how to care for what you've gathered afterwards. It also touches on the maramataka, a few common plants to know, and the plants to be cautious of.Tikanga differs between iwi, hapū, and whānau — this guide draws on widely shared principles from practitioners, educators, and traditional knowledge, and is meant as a respectful first step, not the final word. The richest learning always comes from spending time in the ngahere with someone who holds the knowledge of their own rohe.Free to download and share. Ngā mihi to the practitioners and knowledge-holders whose generosity made this guide possible.
My Full Journey with Rongoā Māori
My journey with Rongoā Māori began more than three decades ago, when I was a young mother raising my children. I did not set out with the intention of becoming a Rongoā Māori practitioner. My journey began through my whānau, through necessity, and through a desire to care for the people I loved.One of the most important people at the beginning of my journey was my cousin. She became a bridge between generations, sharing with me the knowledge that had been passed down to her from her grandfather. Through her, I was introduced to the practical ways our tūpuna worked with the plants around them and how those plants could be prepared and used within our whānau.I remember learning about kawakawa and watching the process of turning the leaves into rongoā. It was simple and practical—gathering the leaves, preparing them, applying heat and allowing time to draw out what was needed. At that stage, I didn't fully understand the depth of what I was learning — but even then, I took it seriously. I was learning directly from my cousin, and I used what she taught me with care, to care for my whānau.My mum also became an important part of my learning. I watched her use makomako as part of her daily routine in managing her diabetes. I remember the effort involved in travelling to find the right trees, gathering what was needed and preparing it carefully. Her consistency taught me that Rongoā isn't only about visible, immediate healing. It is also about deep commitment, patience, and the discipline of continuing a practice day after day.My children also became part of my learning. When my daughter's eczema was difficult to manage, I began using what I had learned about plants, including preparing bidi-bidi washes for her. She couldn't tolerate drinking it because of its bitterness, but the washes gave me another way of working with the plant. These experiences taught me to pay attention—to observe, to listen and to understand that different plants have different ways of being used.My cousin's piripiri balm was another memorable part of my early experience with Rongoā. Watching native plant material being combined with pork fat to create a balm showed me how our traditional knowledge could be practical, accessible and part of everyday whānau life. These weren't products sitting on a shop shelf. They were remedies made by our own hands, shared within our family and connected to the knowledge of those who came before us.My dad was another quiet teacher in my journey. I remember his nightly foot soaks using tutu leaves. There was nothing elaborate about it. It was simply something he did in response to discomfort. Watching my parents use plant knowledge as part of everyday life helped me understand that Rongoā was not something separate from us — it was simply how our whānau lived.I also carry childhood memories of plants such as kopakopa. I remember seeing the leaf used for a stubborn boil and witnessing how quickly it appeared to help. At the time, I didn't have the knowledge or words to explain what I was seeing. I simply knew that this was something our whānau knew how to do.For many years, I was the person making and preparing rongoā for my whānau. I was learning through experience, observation and the knowledge shared with me by my cousin and older generations. It was simply something that had become part of my life.As I grew older, however, my understanding began to change.
I came to realise that the knowledge I had been given was something precious. It wasn't simply about knowing which plant to use or how to prepare it. It was connected to whakapapa, whenua, tikanga, whānau and the responsibility that comes with carrying mātauranga Māori forward.
That realisation eventually led me to pursue formal study in Rongoā Māori. My earlier experiences became the foundation on which I could build a deeper understanding of what I had been practising for years.Completing my Rongoā Māori studies Certificate 4 and 5 Diploma has allowed me to look back at those early experiences with new eyes. What began with my cousin teaching me, my mum and dad using rongoā, and me making remedies for my whānau has grown into a much deeper relationship with Rongoā Māori.Today, I understand that my journey did not begin in a classroom.
It began with my whānau.
It began with watching my cousin carry knowledge from her grandfather. It began with making rongoā for my mum and dad. It continued through caring for my children and learning from the plants around me. My formal education came later, helping me put knowledge, tikanga and practice around experiences that had already shaped my life.For me, Rongoā Māori is therefore not simply a collection of plants, recipes or remedies. It is a relationship—with whānau, whenua, whakapapa and the knowledge handed down through generations.My journey continues, and I see myself not as the owner of this knowledge, but as someone who has been entrusted with learning it, respecting it, practising it responsibly and, where appropriate, helping to carry it forward for the generations who come after me.Kawakawa has long been valued in Rongoā Māori for its healing properties, and it's become the heart of what I make. Every jar of balm and every bar of soap is handmade in small batches, using natural ingredients I trust enough to put on my own skin.I'm still early days as a small local business — which means every product is made with care, not mass-produced, and every bit of feedback genuinely helps me grow. Thank you for supporting local and handmade.
CONTACTS
I'm a small local business, still early days, so every purchase (and every bit of feedback) genuinely means a lot. Happy to answer any questions here or via Facebook message.Martha's Botanicals / Wairoa / [email protected]/
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