The daily grind has taken a back seat this week for two Waipawa businessmen who are organising a rally in Waipukurau to support the proposed Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.
Gavin Streeter and Shane Heaton are directors of Isaac's Pumping and Electrical and have taken it upon themselves to show there is grassroots backing for the project.
"The project has been bashed to pieces in the media with the coverage focusing on the Environmental Protection Authority and how councillors are voting.
"We want to take a different approach - this is a rally by the people for the people - the entire Hawke's Bay community needs to get behind this and show their support in the face of the negative attention the process is receiving," Mr Streeter said.
Through their business they deal with farmers as customers and said there is a lot of positivity in the farming community about the project.