Poutiri Trust whānau ora navigator Paora Tuanau with Nicky Potene at one of the mana kai the trust has been providing.
There are so many reasons to grow your own fresh veg.
The obvious one is saving money - but it can also have health, educational, well-being and other benefits.
Te Puke’s Poutiri Trust has just finished the second round of its mara kai (food gardens) initiative - and around 300 people are now benefiting from having produce grown in their own backyards.
The initiative involves providing a kiwifruit bin, soil and plants to a family, backed up with ongoing support to make sure the growth is on the right track.
“We’re encouraging our community to grow mara kai to combat some of the problems out there that they are having like shortages of food and increases in inflation,” says whānau ora navigator Paora Tuanau.
“It’s a huge job but it’s rewarding because you get to go out there and grow with people who have never grown.”
Paora says he has come across anxiety stemming from a lack of knowledge about growing food.
“The thing I have noticed is that people lack the confidence and self-esteem starting out, so they have a lot of questions. It’s trying to give that support for them to encourage them that it’s okay to make mistakes - you’ve got to problem-solve.
“So it’s about educating people on how to grow from the basics.”
There is a Mahi Mara Kai page on Facebook - a closed group of about 70 members - where there are basic growing tips and instructional videos.
“But we have members who don’t have Facebook and a lot of people who don’t have the internet - that’s why I go out weekly to support them.”
Paora has created videos on growing seedlings, putting them in the ground and harvesting as well as what to do with what’s been grown.
“I love sharing and showing people - this is what you can do. If they know there is an end goal that encourages them to start properly, and ask questions - because a lot of people, if they have fears, they won’t ask.
“I’ll go to somebody’s garden and straight away I can see something’s not right - so when I have that conversation with them, it’s about encouraging them and saying it’s all right if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Paora’s knowledge comes from his parents and grandparents, from whom he learned the basics.
“Their gardens didn’t look a million dollars, but they just grew kai. They just grew food for the sole purpose of feeding themselves and our community.
“Moving on 50 years and our people struggle - not just our people, people in general - they struggle to grow anything because it’s all bought from supermarkets. “Our minds are trained because it’s easy and it’s accessible - or has been. But now prices are going up.
He says it is obvious to him that people aren’t eating well.
“But a lot of people are growing their own produce at home, going out to pick it and eating it, and that improves their wellbeing - and it’s better than going for takeaways.
He says through the simple act of spending an hour or two in the garden he can reconnect with Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).
“These sorts of things are where my journey is with mara kai - directing people and guiding people to get stuck in and do it.”
Mara kai’s first round started in April and growing began in 50 kiwifruit bins, plus a further 15 families growing in the ground who were supported with plants and compost. Paora estimates food is now being grown for 150 people from the first round and 75 children and 70 adults from the second, which saw a further 31 bins go to families.
Some families have decorated their kiwifruit bins, making them a feature of their garden, and the recent weather, with plenty of rain and sunshine, has provided good growing conditions.
“Then there is less anxiety because [plants] have grown and people are saying ‘look at them, this is cool’, and we have lots of photos showing people’s creativity - it’s just a kiwifruit bin, but they have built around it, and some have painted them as well - and the produce is coming out top notch.”
People from the area between Ōtamarākau and Te Puke can self-refer to ask to be part of the next rollout.