Local Focus: Former Green candidate fighting climate change one coffee at a time

Rotorua's newest cafe is the culmination of a lengthy journey by a family who love to cook and bond together.

A member of that family is Kaya Sparke, who was a Green party candidate in last year's election and ran for council the year before. Sparke's latest project is different to electioneering though it's still close to her heart - the new cafe she's opened is totally vegan.

"I went vegan about seven years ago and a lot of my family members went vegan after I made the decision," Sparke said.

"When we went vegan, we started trialling new plant-based kai because, obviously, we wanted to eat the same food we'd always eaten, but we needed to spruce it up and make it vegan."

The business model has a strong focus on sustainable practices as more people become conscious of what they eat and its impact on the environment.

"We know that dairy is really harmful to the environment and a lot of people are trying to stay away from dairy products and are trying some of the alternatives.

"Plant-based food is getting really popular because we know that eating a plant-based diet is not only healthier for ourselves but it's better for the environment.

"It's really cool to be able to offer people the opportunity to eat healthy but to also eat with a conscience," she said.

FTP Vegan Cafe is on Te Arawa St and is open from Wednesday to Saturday.

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