Kahutoi Mere (Kahu) had a rocky start to life but credits her survival to the strength of the wahine she is named after. Kahutoi Mere is named after her paternal and maternal great-grandmothers. Kahutoi derives from her father’s grandmother, Kahutoi Kite Paiaka 3rd 1884-1979. And Mere is from her mother’s grandmother Mere Te Rongopamamao 1841-1927.

As the 10th child of the whānau and third in a succession of four girls, Kahu is credited with having a kindred spirit, generous to the core with a fondness for animals from an early age. She is also the best guitarist in the family, including her brothers.

Like many of her siblings, Kahu was raised at the homestead and attended Oparure School and Te Kuiti High School. As a teenager, Kahu relished the opportunity to sit at the feet of mum and Nanna to absorb wanānga, whakapapa and the connections to whenua, hapū and iwi. This foundation provided fundamental matauranga and a move into the world and eventual career of raranga. With whanau being the constant determinant and her avid interest in weaving, Kahu continues that journey with notable achievements. However, her first job was at the Te Kuiti New World, running the café, then rousing for local shearing gangs, working at the Te Kuiti Hotel and Burton’s Bakery in Te Kuiti. It wasn’t until she moved home to Oparure and helped run the then whānau business at Waitomo, called Ohaki, that the spark for further interest in weaving as an artist, and an academic, was ignited. A trajectory she soon excelled in. By 1991, Kahu accepted an artist-in-residence position at Unitec Institute of Technology, in Mt Albert Auckland. This was a move strongly encouraged by Nanna Hetet who also passed on her shareholding in Ohaki to Kahu for further motivation. Kahu soon completed a teaching certificate and furthered her education in the arts. She then went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Arts at Auckland University. Kahu ventured south to take up a position at Otago University teaching a degree program for two years before returning to Te Kuiti in 1970 to juggled the care of aging parents, and a position at Te Wānanga ō Aotearoa, helping to develop a Masters program. Kahu holds a Masters of Art and Design from Auckland University of Technology and in 2022 celebrates the completion of her Doctor of Philosphy in Fine Arts through Waikato University.

 Kahutoi has no children, but has always been a caring aunty to her nieces and nephews, and their tamariki.