'Makereti, 1938: The maori did not think of himself, or anything to do with his own gain. He thought only of his people, and was absorbed in his whanau, just as the whanau was absorbed in the hapu and the hapu in the iwi'.  

The Awatoru model recognises this fundamental principle of what it is to be Maori and provides a framework embracing foundation notions of community such as tikanga tangata and kawa atua. It looks to organisational models which place hapu at the heart of business structures.