Kia ora, welcome to the Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter loomio space.

Thanks Dan.

So is what you are suggesting that if Michael is keen to do some work leading up to the next election - in light of this group/network being in it's infancy - that a specific piece of policy is taken to potentially open eared politician (supporting farmers transition to regenerative practices... or whatever he's keen to promote) and then seeks support from individuals from the group to give weight to his pitch? This may be more successful in engaging a politician than a whole charter. I know we've lobbied in the photography industry before to try to protect ourselves against corporate rights grabbing, and politicians really aren't interested in small groups with no economic power of voter pull. Simple seems sensible.

I think we probably have some discussions to have, face to face as suggested at the end of the year, to establish what people really see as the fundamental cause of a charter. Is it a commons? Is it to bring together a grassroots network of like minded people in support of each others efforts and the building of local resilience? Is it focused on grassroots action? Local government lobbying? Central government lobbying?... etc etc.

I'll start this conversation in another thread.

I hope everybody managed to have a few moments of calm in the last few weeks.

Cheers,
Aaron

Sorry for the lag on this reply - my thoughts on this are still forming, but I personally feel like there’s a lot of work to be done before any coordinated political push from this ‘group’. One way to get around this that’s cropped up in another activist group I’m a part of is that instead of using the group’s name, those who are keen and have capacity to agitate should use the network of people here to find collaborators and co-signs on an ‘opt-in’ basis, then list each person who agrees to back that work and their respective credentials etc. In our experience this allows things like letters to the editor or politicians to have more force than when they’re from a single voice while avoiding the sticky wicket of claiming to speak for others or presenting a unified face when in reality none exists... so perhaps that kind of thing could be used here? For example, if people have a concrete action they want to instigate, they can start a thread here to develop it collaboratively or they can post it completed and invite support before going public. Probably not posting this in the right space - sorry! Lol but keen to hear other people’s thoughts on this x

Love it @Dan K ...yes.
I am hoping that places like The Organic College (formerly The BHU) will be places that can step into that space of training, as well as spaces like Cultivate Christchurch.

This is something that I can passionately get behind and campaign for...

I believe that, re:the general election, if there were 6 points that were generally accepted by this group that could be communicated publicly and used to engage politicians...then that could be enough. Or we could look to how Gen Zero have engaged politicians through both general and local elections over the past few years...?!?

Hi Michael, I've also been following the food insecurity stuff, and am keen to advocate (in an organised sense if possible) that some of the funding aimed to address this be targeted towards training young farmers and building the local infrastructure for them to provide their own communities with food – more in the attachment but thought I'd float it here as well :)

I have been recently contacted by Sophie Carty, who is based in Dunedin, and interested in the Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter being the basis for a National Policy Statement on Food. Sophie has also mentioned that there is an opportunity here to use this charter within the media and political realms in the lead up to the general election next year.

We really need to invite a change around the food system...I am not sure if anyone read this today..(https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/public-health-crisis-city-mission-calls-food-insecurity-measure-understand-issue-poverty)

Food insecurity and poverty is really being highlighted in the media at the moment....

I am feeling a desire to get a lot more organised with the charter.

Kia ora rā koutou katoa! Ko Philippa Jamieson toku ikoa; no Ōtepōti ahau. I've been involved in organic food and growing for several decades, as a home gardener on a steep clay slope, forager, and member of an organic co-op that morphed into Dunedin's organic shop. At 13 I became a vegetarian and was blown away by the book Diet for a Small Planet. Now I eat some meat if it's organic or wild.

I've been the editor of Organic NZ magazine since 2008 https://organicnz.org.nz/ - published by the Soil & Health Association, founded 1941, with a motto that says "Oranga nuku - oranga kai - oranga tāngata" "Healthy soil - healthy food - healthy people". I have written widely about organics and environmental issues. My book, The Wild Green Yonder, is about my 2.5 year wwoofing adventure in Aotearoa NZ.

I'm a member of the local Transition Towns group and my focus there is on our community orchard (see https://www.facebook.com/groups/111817088840873/).

Keen to connect, learn, share and celebrate. :-)

Ae I'm interested, a big Tick to all of the above.

Kia ora.

I'm going to move this conversation over into the 'engagement process' thread if that's cool Michael.

A little update as to what is going on in my world....a new adventure :)

I have just announced to the world today that I am striking out on my own as a food system change catalyst...essentially working on systems change, community engagement, and running events & projects that invite us further down the road of regenerative practice :)
Part of the reasoning behind this move is that I have experienced how creating bureaucratic organisations can stymie efforts to create impact through absorbing energy and resources....by acting independently in collaboration with others we can retain the ability to be responsive/nimble....
https://www.facebook.com/foodsystemchangecatalyst/

I have been keen for sometime to host regional gatherings with this Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter as a key discussion piece...whilst also understanding what are the issues at play in different parts of our nation.
I would be keen on some feedback on the regional discussion idea and suggestions as to how we could, as a community, make this happen :)

I am really excited!!!!

Arohanui...
Michael

Morena, he kai kei aku ringa, there is food at the end of my hands. My husband Jeremy and I run The People's Bread Co. based at Hawea Flat, near Wanaka. I've been engaged in self-sufficiency via food production all my life and particularly organic agriculture for the last 15 years by way of trading with farmers for their grain which we do on a commercial scale now to mill batch by batch and offer a product and feed people in our community with a local staple food supporting sustainable NZ agriculture in a bigger picture. We make real bread that contradicts the commercial bread system at large which places profit before people's health and well-being.
With beliefs (verging on idealism in this economy and housing market) surrounding subsistence, we make enough to get by with our 4 kids in tow and within our capacity and means to do so. We run permaculture gardens alongside. Have felt inspired and at home with like-minded thinking folk via Stone Soup mag - thank you Aaron - and all the stories and culture bring created through that, it feels awesome to be a part of it all. Cheers! Ruth.

HEY EVERYONE!!!! first of all Thank you so much for allowing us to be apart of this awesomeness!
we are a small artisanal fishing Business operating from the very bottom of the south Island (Bluff)! specialising in Harvesting whole fish caught using Hook&Line with a mammoth focus on being as ethical & sustainable as we possible Can in an attempt to protect & preserve our wild fish stocks in our back yard!
on the subject of Back yards we are also very passionate about Growing our own food! we are currently using the biointensive method of Gardening along with biodynamic composting & have been achieving greater yield each year enabling us to be self sufficient for a large part of it. our vision is to be able to pass on this Knowledge to others so they can do the same! there is a real buzz that comes with knowing we don't have to rely on the wheels of mass production to survive!! any way i've got some double digging to do so i'll leave it there, I'll be at the food Hui 2019 on the 4th if your there make yourself known i'm always down for a High five/ Yarn!!

Tim....are you ever in Christchurch?
I would be keen to meet up or failing that....could you email me at [email protected] please?
There is a conversation that we can share :)

Cheers Michael, we are still in the development stage, but hoping something builds from the initiative. I think the move toward a more regenerative type model is building momentum for sure.

Kia ora Tim, great to have you on the platform and for sharing your journey! I've also been doing some work on regenerative agriculture, along with Fiona Young and some colleagues - looking to help the communication piece between farmers/policy/consumer. You're right that there's so much happening in Aotearoa on this right now. Be great to chat more with you about your work. The great thing about an open platform looking at food reslience and going nationwide is that there are so many people working on the ground on the topic they're passionate about, it's really great to learn about all the other aspects of the food system and what they're working on.

Tena koutou.This is one of the most interesting reads I have encountered so far. That isn't to say that other contributors are not.

Just the thought of pausing, reflecting before providing this response.

Regards Te Rangikaheke

Trust me, we're trying! And I was exactly like your son, I had the same vision. I have been working in farming for a very long time (I just have a young face!) Sam Lang is the one to initiate change in NZ and it is changing. There is a facebook group of farmers and practioners that has swelled to 800 members in the space of a year. I was vegetarian for 6 months, just because I couldn't access my own meat. Pop down to Greylynn Butchers and ask for some Beef from Mangarara ask about the story behind the beef - I would be keen to hear there messaging!. We are trying to get this message out.

Have you looked at my website yet? Its an ever evolving piece - much like regenerative farming.

This piece that has been published from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has only been released two days prior and is a complete game changer, validating the anecdotal evidence of past wisdom.

Page 41 reads - 'Regenerative agriculture represents the greatest opportunity to turn the food system from a major contributor to climate change to a major actor in the solution. The broad definition of regenerative farming is growing food in ways that improve soil health, agro biodiversity, and local ecosystems. How this is done in practice depends on the context, scale, and other factors. However, all approaches share a mindset that views the farm as part of a larger mutually supportive ecosystem, as well as the critical importance of building soil organic content...'

This is my goal - to educate those who don't eat meat from an environmental perspective, but are happy to eat foods laced with palm oil which destroys animal habitat... I totally get it from a death/welfare perspective and seeing what I have seen I would concur. I did a graduate management traineeship at Silver Fern Farms for 6 months. It wasn't much fun!

Don’t apologise. This space is intended to facilitate dialogue.
My son is vegan and we discuss farming systems a lot….or at least I try to. I’m conscious that we cannot have a truly sustainable system without animals. For him, looking at the adult management of his future, it’s is something tangible he can do to minimise his footprint, and is 100% a reaction to the industrial system. It’s 'American style' feedlots and abattoir that fuel the anger. I’d argue it’s up to agriculture to remedy that issue, because in relation to the existing system (the majority of existing farming to various degrees) he’s right. Which is why in our household we no longer purchase any meat or dairy from the industrial system. But as you articulated last night, that leaves us pretty close to veganism ourselves. We do manage to source raw milk from an organic farm through a co-op, and organic butter from the farmers market, but in the city we cannot easily go and shoot a dear for the freezer….

https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/completing-the-picture-climate-change - page 41 basically clarify's what we have known and practiced for many years. The owner of this farm I manage, was trying to get this message out 10 - 12 years ago. Christine Jones put a paper out on it in 2008.

I think thats a great idea. My take on this, and forgive me if I am wrong, which I discussed with Darren Doherty (Regrarians) and he seemed to concur, was that the vegan movement, within an environmental reasoning context, not animal welfare based concern, has stemmed from industrial agriculture fuelling the fire so to speak.

As of two days ago, there has been a paper released by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on Circular economies... I think it might be a game changer in this respect as it proves our case, that in a fully functioning grassland system, ruminant animals are the most effective and efficient way of capturing carbon and sinking it through deep into the soil, where, so long as the land remains until, it will last for millennia.

If we can prove that a 'regenerative' production system has the power to capture carbon, increase diversity, increase water quality, increase human health, increase resilience to the effects of an unreliable growing environment, then they are no longer required. And they're scared.

The potential of a regenerative system is huge.

The concept is simple systems ecology.

So yes, it is completely about our relationship with nature, the soil, the atmosphere, and re-engaging with our food system.

Apologies - it was a long day yesterday! And I am not used to these sorts of forums!

I'm fascinated that regeneration would be so specifically about veganism. The most common choice on Dan's poll has been the word 'Regenerative', I wonder whether this provides a space for all of those who have voted Regenerative as a core value to congregate around to elaborate on what the word means for them?

For me it's about our relationship with nature, the soil and the atmosphere. And it's about generating resilient human communities and networks of care beyond market and State.

Kia ora Aaron, and others if they're interested! - my passion is about initiating change within the food sector, by way of honest, intelligent discourse, I am trying to establish a platform to counter the environmental vegan movement within the UK... the website is www.thepastoralcollective.com (password is regenerate). I maybe a bit cynical, but I always feel that the NZ system is always focused on production and not on health and working within the industry creates despondency - but then I go back to the UK and the weather does the same! I am working with a group of top top producers who supply the best restaurants in London, they want to initiate change by leveraging off their reputations - ie Dan Cox has a fantastic model at Crocadon Farm. But the issue will always be, for the meat industry anyway, access to processors. I have done a bit of high end direct marketing in the UK and I could take a 5 year old English Longhorn 'Heifer' in to our local abattoir, just 20 minutes up the road, chat with the butcher/slaughterman/yardman (who was the same guy) and tell him exactly what I wanted. You just don't have that level of closeness to the process in NZ. That to me, has always been an issue. Particularly around animal welfare, and tbh, if you witness some of the trucking firms, they not great animal handlers. Anyway I digress! But a lack of small scale facilities and poor transport handling will always hinder the quality of local market meat. And will also help drive the vegan agenda in terms of an animal welfare perspective and I would concur with that.

Kia ora Tim. Welcome. Look forward to hearing about the UK work, no reason there won't be value in that thinking here.

Kia ora Tim :)
I am certainly interested in hearing more about your project...however..you are most welcome in this space to share and contribute :)

Kia ora all, I'm Tim, a humble farmer from Fairlie, now in a position to initiate great change within the regenerative context, working on building a network of likeminded individuals who want to initiate change, but are agnostic in their regenerative approach. I think Stone Soup is the best publication I have ever read. I am working on a project to be released in the UK sector early next year. I'm not sure the project model would work within the NZ context, but lets see what change we can bring!

Kia ora

Kia ora Lionel!

Kia ora Lionel. Welcome. It's very nice to have you with us. It would be awesome if we could have more of your Hua Parakore whanau here too. Please extend an invitation to them. Ngā mihi, Aaron

Ko Lionel Hotene ahau
Tena tatou te Whanau arohamai Tureiti au time management is challenging for me Free spirit lol.Not enough hours in a day as we embrace the mauri of koanga while the Summer maiden Hine Raumati waits for Tamanuitera the SUN GODs Affection and comfort to escourt her through Te TaiAo the physical world Of Maara Kai.. for us at Papatuanuku marae this is a new or not so new format of sharing and caring i love it Nga mihi kia koutou te Kai Whakahaere o tenei Kaupapa Tino whakahirahira mo nga Tangata katoa o te motu nei mauri ora.
E kore te kumara e korero ana ki tana reka.
Sth Auckland Mangere Papatuanuku kokiri Marae 141r Robertson rd, nau mai piki mai haere mai.

Hi everyone 😊
My name is Shannon and I am a Lecturer in the School of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University. Among others I teach a paper called Food Landscapes which is a multi-disciplinary summer school paper that considers issues that surround food and the landscape at multiple scales. I am also working with the Future Productive Landscapes Centre of Excellence here at Lincoln researching in the area of Agricultural Urbanism. Thanks for inviting me to be part of this group and these important discussions.

Julio, perhaps you could help to add on the ground groups in those communities to this platform and korero so they have a direct voice in this space?

Kia ora Julio 😊

Kia ora koutou, I am Julio. Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, found my spiritual connection to Aotearoa 30 years ago. Hauraki Gulf is where my wai-ora is sourced and Waiheke Island is where my mauri stone lies.
My work at The Southern Initiative (Auckland Council) and Healthy Families NZ is mostly focused in policy and behaviour changes to tackle food insecurity in our communities.
I believe that food can help fixing a dysfunctional system, that it's a catalyst for change…but also understand that complexities and challenges are part of the journey. It is exciting to see a group of passionate individuals getting together to co-create in this space.
Great initiative, thank you! Look forward to exploring the power of our common unity.

Kia ora Huia, great to meet you on here, I used to do a lot of work with Nina when she was there in the early days when I facilitated the National Good Food Network. Perhaps you could link some of the groups and people you work with on the ground directly into the korero here? Be great to meet them and hear their stories.

Kia ora Koutou! Ko Taranaki te maunga, ko Wharekauri te motu, Ko Ngati Mutunga te iwi, ko Huia Lambie tōku ingoa. Kia ora everyone - I'm Huia Lambie and live in Ōtautahi Christchurch. My mahi/work in the world is as a connector for impact projects and this is one of those! My mahi currently is as a Systems Innovator with Healthy Families Ōtautahi Christchurch with a focus on positive disruption of Kai and Wai systems. I'm focussed along with other amazing people in Ōtautahi Christchurch to nurture the conditions for a thriving food resilient city. Loving this kaupapa Michael and keen to help it flourish. I'm also one of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) team so often connecting awesome people into our story in Aotearoa. Look forward to moving together on this.

Kia ora tātou.

I’m Tim Packer from Wellington. I’m really humbled to be in the company of so many down-to-earth and knowledgeable practitioners. I really look forward to learning from you and am thankful to be part of this initiative.

For the last 12 years, I’ve spent most of my weekends at Innermost Community Gardens, which is right in the heart of Wellington City. We deliver community benefit through community hands in the soil. It's a nice regenerative place that’s treasured by many individuals and groups. We use permaculture ethics and principles as the backbone for how we work and make decisions.

Recently, we’ve been a part of the formation of a working group to capture the quantitative and qualitative benefits of community gardens so they become more of a priority for city communities and city planners. Our group is made up of Innermosters, Wellington City Council members, and interested academics from Victoria University

In terms of other relevant experience for this initiative I’m trained in permaculture, organics, biodynamics and conventional farm nutrient management. I’ve also made tonnes of mistakes! So a few years’ back, I wrote a book about my mistakes as part of a permaculture diploma. If you’re interested in having a read, the ‘Sacred Groves of Aotearoa’ can be downloaded freely (divided into 8 journals) under a creative commons license from this site: www.piginthemud.com.

Professionally, in recent years, I’ve worked in the primary industries applying precision agriculture to help Dairy Farmers to sustainably manage effluent, water and nutrients. More recently I played a role in the emerging practice known as Smart Cities, effectively helping cities take advantage of existing and emerging technologies to make more informed and more collaborative decisions.

Nga mihi nui,
Tim

I am feeling so honoured to be in the presence of so many grounded and passionate people from across our glorious Aotearoa.
Thank you to all of you for taking the time to jump into the beginning of what I wish to be a nourishing experience of connection to each other and to the mother of all life, papatuanuku.
I am feeling really energised and eager to get some ideas flowing....

Kia ora Tracy :-)

Hi Everyone. I am Tracy. I am a lecturer at AUT and teach in the areas of food politics and culture and food. I am deeply passionate about food and its role in culture and society, creating sustainable and resilient food systems and the foods from our beautiful Aotearoa. I look forward to many interesting and constructive discussions!

Tēnā tātau, ko Dan Kelly tōku ingoa - I’m a writer, researcher, and gardener based in Tāmaki Mākaurau. It’s often hard to trace an exact path to the present, but my interest in growing goes back at least to my undergraduate days and all the learning done there about climate change, energy dynamics and the political processes that determine who gets what when [I did a BSc/LLB(Hons) at the University of Auckland, writing my dissertation on environmental rights in the context of our non-existent constitution]. Various periods of despair accompanied this research and the work that followed it, but I found solace and indeed strength in the humble process of gardening, my burgeoning interest here seeing me combine travel with WWOOFING in France, Maine, and Detroit, allowing me to engage with the different narrative that food can provide - recasting humanity as stewards who heal, restore and care, serving the greater web of life as well as ourselves. To these practical skills I added academic ones, reading widely about not just food, but the broader systems of power in which production plays out. In doing so I have come to see not just how our modern food systems mirror the top-down ‘control’ model so central to modernity, but also the ways in which the extractivism on which it turns can be traced back to colonialism and the taking of land that forms the basis of modern settler nations like New Zealand. As I have learnt it, regenerative agriculture stands in opposition to these modes, not blindly taking for short term profit, but situating its production within a holistic system - growing for the many different lives upon which we depend, not the few who profit and destroy. And just as regenerative ag engages a different mode of farming, it’s my opinion that we need to engage ‘different’ modes of organising within our human sphere, ensuring that work here is transparent, consensus-based, and inclusive: ascertaining and then centring our values, allowing any interested voices to speak and be heard - to have the conversation shaped by the values we hold as its core but still welcoming difference in. That is, not just saying different things to the dominant narrative which we oppose but - in order to be truely counter-colonial - doing them in a different way too. To this end, I envision a food charter for New Zealand that manages the tension between unity and difference, providing a place of solidarity from which we might organise and advocate for broad systemic changes while still leaving space for the flexibility that self-determination and localism requires. No doubt such a task is a tricky one, made more so by the inescapable reality of colonisation and the land upon which farming relies. But it is eminently possible, and meets a powerful need, promising a transformation of our world as our lives. It is for this reason that Raj Patel writes, despite a focus on the tangible, food sovereignty ultimately turns on a “radical egalitarianism... [challenging] the equality-distorting effects of sexism, patriarchy, racism and class power.” Which is to say, I’m not just here for the food.

Many thanks to Aaron for helping convene this digital space, and for all the hours you and all the others here have put into this kaupapa. I remain both inspired and nourished by the growing movement in Aotearoa, and look forward to seeing where this charter might go and what we might achieve with the collective strength gathered in here. Ka huri - nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa. I see and acknowledge you all x

Kia ora Carrie, sounds amazing, would also love to have a read :-) perhaps you can link in some other people that you've worked with on that who have a direct interest in this korero so we can hear their voice too (if relevant for your mahi).

Tēnā koe Carrie, would love to read your LLM if u have a link or are game to share? x

Tēnā tatou katoa, Ko Carrie Stoddart-Smith tōku ingoa. No Ngāpuhi me Ngāti Whatua ahau. I did my LLM on food sovereignty and am currently doing a Māori & Indigenous Leadership masters, where one of my projects will look at food sovereignty. Looking forward to engaging more on this kaupapa!!

Hi all, my name is Katrina,
I have a social enterprise called Blue Borage: https://www.blueborage.co.nz/
I'm passionate about food resilience and currently involved with a few community projects. I live in Titirangi, West Auckland and am the gardening teacher at the Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School. I also teach edible gardening in Green Bay at the Community House, composting at the Green Bay Primary School, I do voluntary gardening in Grey Lynn for the Auckland Women's Centre and am building a few online courses and doing my utmost to make ends meet through foodscaping consultations.
I truly believe that gardening is a survival skill for people on low incomes, and have experienced this for myself since leaving full-time work - initially on stress leave and then resigning at employment mediation two years ago. I have huge admiration for WINZ staff and am grateful for the support they gave me starting my business.
My other passion is social role valorisation, with a particular emphasis on creating work opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities.
I'd love to connect with anyone promoting Biodynamics or Anthroposophy in their work, and hope a spiritual basis can be laid for our future food resilience in Aotearoa.
Ngā mihi,
Katrina
https://www.blueborage.co.nz/

Kia ora Te Miri,

Thank you and welcome. It's fantastic to have you in this tent.
It was a pleasure and a privilage to invite you, although I must say I'm just one in a group who've started this mahi, and now it's up to all of us here, and those yet to join.

Ngā mihi,
Aaron

Tēnā koutou katoa.

He uri tēnei o Te Arawa me Tainui waka e karanga ake nei. He hekenga nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa ōku. Ko Te Miri Rangi taku ingoa, kāti, ka mihi ki a koutou ka tika.

My name is Te Miri Rangi, I primarily work in the public health sector and have a real keen interest in re-invigorating Māori values, knowledge, and practices to reclaim our right to good health and well-being, together with a mauri that is flourishing. I have to acknowledge Aaron McLean for his leadership with this mahi and extending the invite to me to contribute.

Look forward to being involved in the discussion.

Kia Ora Emily - awesome not far from us! Get in touch when you are home next :)

Kia ora Aroha, ko Taranaki toku maunga, Okato, is where my whānau is based. :heart:

Kia Ora Aroha,
An inspiration in a sea of dairy. Thank you for sharing your story. Welcome.
Ngā mihi,
Aaron

Kia Ora everyone 👋
Ko Aroha raua ko Tihikura oku ingoa, no Taranaki au.
Our whaanau are kaitiaki of our small coastal papakainga, Teikaroa near Parihaka. We maintain a lifestyle that allows us to uphold the traditions of our tuupuna and our tino rangatiratanga. We ave just started a small whaanau tourism enterprise 'Purakau Taranaki' which is about sharing our stories that are centered around kai - traditional maara kai, mahinga kai, te hii ika and maataitai from our rohe. The stories we share are that of self-governance, prosperity and self-sufficiency - kai sovereignty. The whenua that we live on, was once was a busy fishing village with extensive kumara gardens, is now home to only three Maaori households and the rest of which is surrounded by dairy farms. However despite this we still produce over 80% of our own food of mainly traditional Maaori kai. We fish for kahawai off the reef and fish for piharau, tuna & inanga from the awa.
We care deeply about passing on this maatauranga to our tamariki & mokopuna.
Awesome to see you all here.. great to see some familiar names too.
Ngaa mihi

Tena koe Niva. Nice. Enjoy hearing what you are doing especially with the community.

Kia ora tatou,
I am Niva of Pakaraka Permaculture. We are an organic and regenerative farm with a no-till market garden and an education centre for sustainable living.
We (my partner Yotam and I ) are very passionate about food resilience and teaching people how to grow food for themselves and their communities.

Kia ora tatou,

I'm Sheldon Levet - composter, budding gardener, activist, programmer, systems thinker, trouble maker. I'm one of the contributing members of Kaicycle in Poneke. Kaicycle is a bike powered community composting hub and urban farm situated on Hospital Road in Newtown. We are one of the contributing projects to the Urban Farmers Alliance, and are working on the development of a decentralized community composting network within the city. We currently process ~40T of foodwaste a year.
After leaving university with a pharmacology degree I was pretty disenfranchised with the world, particularly the gross disparities between wealth and communities, and the intentional blindness of our institutions. I floundered around alot trying to find my way and was asked to help co-create the kaicycle composting systems. I can truly say that my integration into that project, and subsequent re-connection to soil changed alot about who I am.
This project brings me alot of excitement and hope - a blatant calling out of the systems which are killing our communities and planet. Food is the bridge for so many kaupapa,

Look forward to meeting you all kanohi ki te kanohi
Ngā mihi,
Sheldon

Thank you Michael for being instrumental in getting getting this conversation started, which is bringing us together.

Kia ora tatou...
My name is Michael Reynolds...alongside Aaron I was one of the instigators on getting the Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter going...with the first draft of the charter being written on the afternoon of the mosque shootings here in ChCh. It was my coping strategy for dealing with the brokenness of our world...to create something that brings us together 💚

I work in a few different ways in the food resilience scene down here in Christchurch. I am currently contracted to the Food Resilience Network as a Network Manager but see myself more as a Community Builder. Working to connext more people around the idea of a food resilient future and how we might be to get there...plus a bunch of other things.
I also run a community based project called Roimata Food Commons. A commoning project in Woolston based around ecological regeneration and localised food system, but we are currently looking at bringing other commoning/circular economy aspects into the same framework.
I am dedicated and passionate about working in this space to create energy that will manifest in ways thatvcreate positive changes at a systemic level.

Thank you all for jumping into this space...you are all doing epic mahi ❤

I look forward to some deep and nourishing conversations with you all 🙏

HI I am Sarah Smuts-Kennedy - artist biodynamic gardener at Maunga Kereru 10 acres 45 north of AK and vision holder of For the Love of Bees an out platform to connect those who want to learn about regenerating ecosystems that are safe for everyone , using bees well being as an indicator of success. www.fortheloveofbees.co.nz. We are now co-creating another platform with like minded regenerators called Urban Farmers Alliance a peer to peer mentoring network to help food producers measure their success not only by dollars extracted per square meter but also climate change mitigation per square meter. Its in its early days with early farms including FTLOB colab OMG - organic market garden ( 600 square meters in Symonds Street) AK, Kai Cycle - wgtn, Cultivate Christchurch and others. We are already mentoring urban farmers on our OMG site and are about to being a local living compost hub managers program. Our dream is to be part of helping cities develop capacities to grow a hyper local urban farm / local living compost hub culture . Its an open forum being co-created and we invited you all to join in and help create it

Kia ora koutou, I'm Emily King. Some of you I know and others I'm meeting :-) I live on Waiheke with my husband and son and we are trying our best to live as lightly through food as we can. I grew up working and living on a dairy farm in Taranaki, worked as an environmental lawyer for a while and then 10 years ago re focused my career solely to help solve issues in our food system. Since then it's been a long and exciting journey working around the world and for the last five years, here in New Zealand with food businesses, health organisations, councils, Healthy Families, and lots of people in between on how we can tackle issues of sustainability and resilience in our food system. I run my business Spira, working on that, but I'm here in the Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter to help and support and be involved on a personal level, not to wear the expert hat or consultant one. Here as me. Looking forward to working with you all. Mauri Ora!

Kia ora koutou. I'm Tamsin Wilson, owner of The Secret Garden in Patumahoe. We've been growing edible flowers and garnish leaves for restaurants for the past six years. We're passionate about regenerative agriculture, hungry to learn more and excited for its potential on a larger scale. We're situated in the heart of one of NZ's commercial vegetable growing areas and are delighted to have found a group of like-minded people on this forum. Great to 'meet' you all!

ka mau te wehi, great to see how far this has come, from early days of hui in Rotorua

Ae Emily, tena ano hoki koe. Jasmin and I were at Kaharoa School this afternoon where we are working with them developing a block that we will plant kumara this coming season. Exciting. Yes I will pass your greetings to her.

We are about 50 minutes north of Christchurch. Come up and say hello, if you have time! My sister is visiting from overseas with her toddler so we will mostly be hanging out here.

Kia ora Te Rangikaheke, please say hi to Jasmin from me :-) we've done some neat work together in the past on food.

Morena everyone. Am enjoying reading everyone's backstories and relevant information. My colleague Jasmin Jackson and I are in Christchurch between 2 and 4 September attending the OCEANIA Forum at Ridges Hotel if any Stone Soup members live there and would like to catch up for a coffee and chat

Regards Te Rangikaheke

I"m in Ashhurst and get around a fair bit of the lower NI.

Kia ora Phil!
Where in NZ are you based? I just had a robust discussion about regenerative agriculture with the board of Federated Farmers yesterday!

Kia ora koutou. I'm Phil Stevens, longtime grower and eater born with dirt under my fingernails. I've been involved in numerous aspects of food's relationship with us, our treatment of the land and water and everything that inhabits it, and the social structures that we have built around our most basic means of sustenance.

In recent years I have participated in movements and actions related to food sovereignty, notably around trade agreements, regulatory processes, public awareness and familiarity with growing food at a household and community level. My work at present revolves around carbon, climate, soil and water health, and making regenerative agriculture the norm.

Looking forward to connecting as well. Like very much what you are saying.

Kia ora koutou,

I am Angela Clifford. I grow food with my family on The Food Farm and help drive Eat New Zealand. Doing my best to connect people with their food to build resilient communities and better environmental outcomes.

Kia ora AaronPlease include Dr Hugh Jellie in these co.munications. Hugh is a member and advisor to Kai Rotorua.

Regards Te Rangikaheke

Tena koutou.

My name is Aaron McLean. I’ve been steeping in food for a long time. I went straight from school into restaurants, starting in the sink and ending up running the floor. Then with the arrival of children I moved into food publishing as a photographer. Shoot what you love they say...

With many years working in the food media I was very frustrated by the lack of presence of the 'food movement’ and the almost total absence of content about the social and environmental issues which surround food. So about four years ago, I instigated the founding of Stone Soup Syndicate. A bi-annual, crowdfunded, collaborative, free, print and online publication which ‘looks at the world through the lens of food’.

I am a keen urban agrarian and an aspiring peasant. I produce as much food as I possibly can on my small inner city plot to feed my family safe nutrient dense food, and I am a keen participant (more often with a camera than a fork at this stage) at OMG Organic Market Garden in central Auckland.

I'm very enthusiastic about the intersecting issues that inevitably flow from any discussions around food resilience and sovereignty: Physical and spiritual connection and commitment to our life giving earth, food security, gender equality, decolonisation, land reform, the commons, sharing / cooperation / generosity, community, local markets, genuinely participatory democracy, regenerative agricultural practices and carbon sequestration…..

I’m hoping through this charter we can help bring these issues and ideas to light as a guiding principle for many in Aotearoa and as a piece of the puzzle of collaborating towards a better future.

Yes Angela. Looking forward to it too Exciting. I am bringing my colleague Jasmin Jackson along to meet with you as well.

Regards Te Rangikaheke

Kia ora Te Rangikaheke, looking forward to catching up with you in Sept! Angela, Eat New Zealand.

Tena koutou. I have just joined the Charter. My name is Te Rangikaheke. Our organisation is Kai Rotorua a non-profit volunteer. Our Vision is a resilient, well-nourished, well-connected community. Our Purpose is recennecting us to Papatuanuku through Kai