Awhi Mai Te Atatū: Growing as a community

Behind a church in Te Atatū Peninsula, the site of an old unused playground is being transformed into a productive māra kai (food garden) for the community with funding from the Auckland Climate Grant.

Thanks to different community groups working together, including Te Atatū Peninsula Community Trust and Te Atatū Marae, garden coordinators Lila Kuka and Dalton Neho were offered the space by Pastor Brian Spicer. Since April, two lots of cover crops have been grown in the soil in order to regenerate it and make it fertile.

“We want to show that even marginal land can be turned into food-growing space, and that we can do it collectively,” says Lila. “We would like to see māra kai everywhere because there are so many benefits – for the environment, our wallets, our mental health, our physical health. It’s food sovereignty.”

Every Friday volunteers come and work in the garden, carrying out a range of tasks from weeding to planting seedlings that Lila grows in a tunnel house Dalton made from upcycled materials.

“We always start with a karakia (prayer), we whanaungatanga (create a sense of belonging through connection), we do the mahi, and then we always eat together. That’s part of showing the value of manaakitanga (hospitality) and looking after people,” says Lila.

While the kai grown will eventually go wherever it’s needed in the community, at this stage it will be shared with local social service agency Care Waitākere Trust which offers counselling services to the community free of charge and advocates for people in financial strife, including providing a food bank. The rest of the food produced goes to the kaimahi (workers) who come along and help.

Te Atatū local AJ has been helped out by Care Waitākere during a time of financial hardship and has used their food bank a couple of times. Now he’s helping out as a volunteer in the māra kai. “I want to give back to the community I’ve received so much from, because karma goes around.”

If you're interested in growing food with your community you may want to consider applying for an Auckland Climate Grant.
Information on upcoming funding rounds is available here.