It Takes a Village

Mangaroa Farms will be featured on Country Calendar tomorrow night, New Zealand’s longest running and highest-rated television series, celebrating rural life and land. Country Calendar is an iconic institution, so it feels like we’re getting our five minutes of fame.

I haven’t seen the episode yet, but first and foremost, I hope it portrays the farm transformation that Jules Matthews led in her three years as the Mangaroa farm manager. Starting with a more conventional dairy block and some worn down infrastructure, Jules brought in a regenerative agriculture lens and playbook - with a focus on soil, water, and living systems - and has helped Mangaroa / Whitemans Valley establish a thriving local food hub, with robust market gardens, a Kete Kai farm shop, healthy and delicious cows and sheep, significant riparian restoration, and much greater community resilience. 
Watching this transformation gives me hope that we can quickly evolve agriculture and build bioregional food systems, especially with the right mindsets, gumption, and bit of luck.

A good story requires a cast of characters, so Country Calendar will probably feature those of us who are most visible within the project. I am proud of the catalytic role that the Monahan family (Brian, Catlin, Denise, and myself) have played in the Mangaroa Farms journey. But the truth is, we’re just a small part of this dynamic team and fledgling village. And I don’t just mean that because we aren’t the farmers. (We’re not.) 

The Mangaroa Farms project goes beyond market gardens and regenerative grazing. Most of the land is actually in pine plantation forestry, which means we’re tackling the generational task of conversion to permanent native ngāhere (forests). A lot of our focus is on building an education centre for all ages, so that we can learn (and unlearn) what it means to live well in the Anthropocene. We hope to provide an inspiring and practical learning environment, for our surrounding community, and the wider Hutt Valley and Wellington region.

If you watch the Country Calendar episode, you may not hear much about Raelene and Brooke. They live down the street and have been diligently looking after the Mangaroa Farms residences and facilities for over a decade. Or Murray, another pillar of our team, who manages invasive species trapping and keeps up the Woodcote grounds.

Sergio is a master of the gardens. Tyler too, not to mention his world-renowned* Garlic Aioli. The gardens and shop wouldn’t function without team members like Ashleigh, Eva, and Kari. The farm and gardens have received love from many earlier collaborators as well, like Jacqui, Lydia, Bianca, Laureen, Erica, Mike, Sam-the-grow-lord, and more. Dan has laid many kilometers of fencing to care for the mighty Mangaroa River; Rebecca is the reason we have hens and eggs.

Valley residents and neighbors are our most loyal customers, and they are also most affected by our missteps, whether it’s a poorly designed septic system, left open gate, or an event that got unruly. 🙏 Even when we screw up, we’ve been lucky to receive encouragement from folks like Angela and Mary Beth to keep at it.

We benefit from the generous wisdom of advisors who have looked after us, like Gary Williams with his permaculture teachings, Jodi Roebuck the market garden guru, Kay Baxter and Koanga Institute’s regenerative example, Jessica Hutchings and the Hua Parakore movement, and Ian Muir, the first Kiwi to take a leap of faith (or maybe pity) on Brian and me when we rocked up in 2011. We derive heaps of inspiration from other land projects in Aotearoa, and our global friends and guests. 

Like any group of collaborators, we each find our ecological niche at Mangaroa Farms. Gav looks after the animals, Amy is setting up workshops and hospitality, Olivia is our resident tree planter, Casey and Paul can build anything, Graedon holds down design and communications, Billy is our media maker, JV codes up systems, Nat is developing housing solutions, Tania keeps us well nourished, Carlos brings beats and BBQ, Tams is birthing the apothecary, Yoseph and Songyi link us to international opportunities, Kathleen balances the books, Brian and Cat guide the vision. Mama/Grandma Neci fills us with love, puns, and cookies.

We’re witnessing the development of next generation farm leaders, like Riley, Braxton, and Mitchell. Newer valley arrivals like Zeb, Halina, Di, Rosenda, Tom and Laura are already making a huge impact on our regenerative education ambitions. 

We aspire to be good Tiriti allies, recognising colonial context and history, and are grateful for mana whenua Te Atiawa, the guidance of Jan Hania and Jess, cultural workshops from Matiu, and periodic visits to Orongomai and Waiwhetū Marae.

In the last couple years, we’ve been lucky to find great leaders like Cam Dixon, who oversees the gardens, and Chris Upton, our relentlessly cheerful Chief Executive who manages to pull everything together and keep the waka on track. 

Family is central to our rural lifestyles, and there are many spouses and partners unnamed above who are every bit as important to the farm function and village wellbeing. The growing gaggle of valley munchkins and young people give us our clearest purpose and source of strength. Oh, and the dogs! 

Not only does it take a village - it takes a network. An under-appreciated aspect of what makes Mangaroa Farms special is its partnership-centric approach, working with expert groups like Green Valley Gardening, Agricontracts on landscaping, Natural Habitats on tree planting, PeopleEx on HR, Groundtruth on forests, Bob Hanlon on electric, WombatNET on WiFi, Dough Bakery on fresh bread, Henk Otte on plumbing, RB Civil on tracks, He Puawai Trust on community needs, Beca and Urban Edge on planning, Forest & Bird on conservation, Fraemohs Wellington, and many others. Resilience is about relationships, not about doing everything yourself. And of course, we’re only as strong as the support from Upper Hutt Council, Wellington Regional Council, and our various government partners.

I also want to acknowledge our finance, legal, and philanthropic partners, where I’ve been focused. Craig Riddle at Equals, Nat Keenan, Linda at Talon, Team EY, Bill Kermode at CSP, Jan Hania, Andre Bate, and The Gift Trust have accompanied us over the years in transforming from a family-owned farm to a community-stewarded nonprofit, and have enabled spreading our wings further with Biome Trust.

It’s an ongoing journey. We certainly don’t have it figured out. But we’ll keep putting one foot in front of another, and try to share our learnings along the way. 

You’re invited to come visit the farm. The best ways to do so are by picking up some produce at the Kete Kai farm shop, joining an educational workshop, signing up for a tour, or participating in one of our volunteer days (like tree planting in a few weeks). We’re about 10 minutes over the hill from Upper Hutt or 35 minutes from the capital. You can stay in the loop through our community newsletter, and also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Country Calendar, Season 2024 Episode 21
7pm Sunday, 21st July - Channel 1
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/country-calendar

Thanks Howard and team for sharing our story and making us Kiwi famous, at least for a few days.

Ngā mihi
Matthew Monahan

* Okay maybe the Aioli isn’t world-renowned yet, but it should be. We can’t seem to keep it in stock. Explore our full Mangaroa Made collection.