About Koha

Koha founder, Vivienne Thackray has over fifteen years experience of working and training in the public and voluntary sector. With a firm focus on people, Vivienne has worked extensively with the homeless, young offenders, refugees & asylum seekers, the mentally ill and those with drug & alcohol addiction. Having a desire to make a real difference she progressed into managing legal aid contracts, running award winning welfare rights services & representing clients in the civil courts. 

Vivienne has travelled extensively, learning from a variety of cultures and about their alternative perspectives of knowledge & education. She has also worked as a teacher in Tibet and China.

Combining this varied experience and a love of sharing knowledge Vivienne moved into the field of training and founded Koha.

Currently, studying on the UK's first Positive Psychology MSc course and lecturing in the subject, Vivienne utilises cutting edge research from the field of positive psychology, the neural sciences and cognitive psychology. She employs this knowledge of a wide range of subjects to develop individuals & organisations to achieve their maximum potential.

Vivienne is a CIPD qualified trainer and a member of the following professional bodies:

The International Positive Psychology Association
The International Association of Applied Psychology

Koha – a Maori Custom

Koha is a New Zealand Maori custom where a gift or treasured possession is offered to a collective event, an example might be a gift from visitors to a host.

Sharing amongst all participants is an important part of a koha.

At Koha training events the trainer contributes their deep, specialist knowledge of the subject and Koha course participants are encouraged to share their own knowledge and experience with each other.

The Koha Symbol

The Koha symbol is a Hei-Matau fish hook. For the Māori, the hei matau is taonga (a cultural treasure). It represents not only their land, but also strength, prosperity, power and authority.

The Hei-Matau is also said to provide good luck as well as safe passage over water, for this reason it is often worn by travellers.