Kilikiti Bats Bring Ara Campuses Together For Samoa Language Week
The event is the vision of Aras Te Whatu Ora funded Pacific lead in Mental Health and Wellbeing, Greg Galovale, who wanted to involve trades students in a community project with a fitness focus.
Samoan kilikiti pate (cricket bats) specially hand crafted and decorated by students will be at the centre of Gagana Samoa (Samoa Language Week) celebrations at Ara Institute of Canterbury.
In a first for Ara, a tournament will take place bringing together teams from across the institute to play the Pacific nation's favourite sport.
The event is the vision of Ara's Te Whatu Ora funded Pacific lead in Mental Health and Wellbeing, Greg Galovale, who wanted to involve trades students in a community project with a fitness focus.
'I was seeking to promote joinery in the Pacific space but also health, wellbeing and community,' Golavale said. 'Our Level 3 Pre-Trade joinery tutors Tim and Jody saw the prototype and got right behind the idea. The end result is fantastic!' he said.
Kilikiti bats were also made, decorated and gifted to key community groups who participated in Moana Health workshops to launch Gagana Samoa on campus. The event followed the 2025 theme 'Ia malu lou sā. Folau i lagimā – a well-grounded self is a successful self.'
The Wednesday kilikiti tournament will see teams from Ara's Woolston, City and Manawa (nursing) campuses line up alongside a team made up of the joinery students who crafted the bats.
Joinery student Theresa Desouza said it had been a rewarding project and she was looking forward to the event.
'I've lived in a lot of different countries, so I grew up very multiculturally. This opportunity to engage in another culture and build community has been beautiful,' Desouza said.
Student Advisor Pacific (Fautua ma So'oupu) Rev. Fitifiti Luatua visited the Woolston campus to share insights and first-hand experience of the game with the class.
Fergus Gaughan said he'd enjoyed learning about the history of kilkiti and the stories behind the bat design.
'This project has also brought me back to why I started getting interested in woodworking. I enjoy working with raw timbers and shaping them. Being able to take something unrecognisable and turning it into art resonates with me,' he said.
Joinery tutor Tim Melker said incorporating the project into coursework had been straightforward as the skills involved in making the three-sided bat were similar to aspects of furniture making.
'Our learners started with a square block. We used a jig and other machinery to cut off the bulk and then hand tools to fine tune it,' he said. 'But the standout aspect has been the cultural awareness we've gained through learning about the sport, having Rev share insights into the design of the bats and his experiences of playing in Samoa.'
Tutor Jody Pehrson added the class had created a legacy item through the project and the energy in the workshop told its own story.
'The proof is in the engagement. Everyone has been focused on creating a bat worthy of the sport and now they want to go and play the game. We've all learned a lot,' he said.
Once the bats left the hands of the trades learners, they were decorated and embellished by a team led by third-year Bachelor of Design (Applied Visual Art) student Lydia Iosefo.
'I do a lot of stencil work in my study, so this drew on that with some traditional patterning,' Iosefo said. 'As a bonus, this will count towards my professional practice hours which tests our ability to work with clients and deliver projects on deadline.'
Golavale said he was pleased the project had resonated with all those involved and he was looking forward to the inaugural kilikiti tournament – rain or shine.
'If the weather doesn't play ball we'll head to the Whareora. We'll be ready for some fun and expect plenty of banter,' he said.
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