Organic, locally-grown food for everyone – regardless of your income. Seven Sharp's Lucas de Jong gets an insight into the dream behind a new Ōtaki market garden collaboration that’s changing how people access fresh produce.
Hidden behind a shelterbelt between orchards, it’s easy to assume Crooked Vege’s neatly lined rows of vegetables have been here for years. Tomatoes and capsicums ripen in the Kapiti Coast’s mid-summer sun as bok choy and leafy greens call out to be harvested.
Jonathan Mines and Tea Luke-Hurley hurriedly made their way around the long vegetable beds. There are always jobs to do — especially when only a year ago all they had was an idea and a bare patch of land.
“There are lots of really good organic farms, but most of the products available are at really expensive organic stores," said Mines.
"If we have to grow food more sustainably, which I think most people agree we do, that has to be for everyone. That idea was probably what started this farm."
So, with very little money and no land, they put out a call to New Zealand’s organic community asking for a place to grow food.
“We got in touch with the organic farm network. I don't know, I think within a day, I had like 30 missed phone calls and a bunch of emails," Mines said.
Once they had the land, they then needed the money. Again the community stepped up. The pair raised $34,000 through a crowdfunding campaign.
So, they had money, they had land and they had an idea. They then needed a partner.
'The kids are the rent'
Behind Ōtaki College there’s a hidden horticulture block called Ahoaho brimming with food. For decades the mature fruit trees have given students a place to escape amongst the bees, established hot houses and well-equipped sheds.
It’s a market gardeners' dream location — a place that Jack Leason gets to use for free.
While chatting with the principal, they came to an agreement: “He kind of said 'Oh well, the kids are the rent'," said Leason.
Now he’s as much a teacher as he is a grower of food. Kids will spend their lunch hour relaxing under the trees and enjoying fresh fruit. Labour is always on hand and formal qualifications are available for students who take a particular shine to growing things.
Better together
Crooked Vege and Ahoaho provide the same products to a small community. They should be competitors but instead, they’re working together.
“You know, we could have set up our own different things and competed against each other, but I think we're far stronger to be working together,” said Mines.
If you ask Mines, other small-scale gardeners aren’t the competition – big supermarket chains are.
Instead, the passionate gardeners run a 50/50 partnership that creates a more resilient supply chain. When cucumbers failed at Crooked Vege, they were supplied by Ahoaho.
But instead of the usual market stalls or honesty boxes, they opted for a “community support agriculture” model.
“It's a model where people subscribe to a share of the farmer's crop. It's smaller scale, it's more direct. It's close to people. So it's super local," said Leason.
Every Saturday, locals arrive to gather the week's produce. It’s a lucky dip of organic seasonal produce valued at thirty dollars but that’s not what people pay.
Pay what you can
Each family pays what they can afford. For some, that's as little as ten dollars – others will pay more than the recommended amount. A pay-it-forward gift to help out a fellow Ōtaki resident.
All of it is built and based on honesty.
“We just have gone with an ethic of trust. That was important for us as we didn't want people to feel means tested. That strips people of mana.” said Mines.
So far the unique financial model is paying off. The farmers say the scales have tipped towards the green and they’re looking to expand from their current 30 bags to 50.
Although all the garden’s profit is right now being reinvested back into the garden.
“We're not earning a wage at the moment, everything that we're selling is going back into infrastructure to make this place more efficient and sustainable,” said Mines.
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