Growing Kai and Community

Earlier this year, Year 9’ Dreamers from Tikipunga High School participated in the Mahi Maara kaupapa with their Navigator Marcia Aperahama and our friends at WithIN NATURE. The kaupapa encourages rangatiratanga (empowerment) and connection to the whenua (land) through the maara (garden). Kiaani Mei and the WithIN NATURE team lead them through hands-on skills like growing, foraging, and preparing healthy kai. Kiaani Mei is also normalising the maramataka and helping them to develop their emotional literacy each week. The group also discusses wider social issues like food sovereignty and the cost of living.

The programme took place in some amazing places. WithIN NATURE is based at the Maunu community gardens with an outdoor classroom, kitchen and greenhouse facilities all onsite. Term two also includes sessions at Pehiāweri Marae in and around the maara kai, awa and whenua there. It has been appropriate to be based at Pehiaweri as many of our community whakapapa to Pehiaweri Marae. It is also the home of I Have a Dream Whangārei where the kaupapa was first based and grew from.

Charles from Soil of Cultures explains how their urban garden is helping feed the community.

The group also got to explore the urban oasis of Soil of Cultures in Te Kamo, co-founded by Charles and Grace Bariso Buenconsejo. Their property stands as a perfect example of a well-established maara using sustainable techniques in an urban environment. Charles and Grace introduced Dreamers to the rich biodiversity of their urban paradise, highlighting unique species like moringa. Charles explained that in his homeland of the Philippines, moringa is used as a powerful medicinal plant, much like kawakawa is used here in Aotearoa.

“People, especially grandmothers, live closer to 100 years because of its powers,” Charles shared, recalling how as a child, he would rub the plant’s leaves onto wounds as a natural bandaid to help them heal.

Dreamers also learned all about the traditional SALT (Sloping Agricultural Land Technology) planting technique, which naturally prevents soil erosion and retains moisture during dry summers. It carries a unique aesthetic, following the organic, undulating contours of the land rather than rigid, straight lines. Alongside SALT, the couple practices companion planting structured around space and time, treating the garden like a dynamic 3D puzzle. By mixing plants of varying heights and root depths, they maximize physical dimensions and significantly boost food yields within the exact same footprint of soil throughout the year. For example, Charles recommends using lemongrass as a natural perimeter barrier because it is not only highly useful in cooking, but doubles as an excellent repellent for pesky insects.

During the summer peak, Charles happily dedicates 8 to 12 hours a day to the land, and he loves every minute.

“Summer is completely different because everything is just beautiful and lush,” says Charles, who brings his background as an artist to the soil. “I feel like I’m painting this garden, sculpting it all the time. You’re painting it with food. To me, this is a living sculpture, one that feeds people.”

The garden’s diversity is staggering, featuring everything from turmeric, pineapples, bananas, and taro to traditional staples like cabbage, kumara, and carrots. At the end of the session, Dreamers bundled together the fresh produce they helped harvest to take home, wrapped in bouquets bound with flax and banana leaves.

When Charles and Grace bought the 600m2 plus property four years ago, it was nothing but a bare lawn. Today, it stands as a thriving model of urban agroecology that produces a massive amount of kai for the community. As a collective of cultural workers and community organisers, Soil of Cultures advocates for food sovereignty both locally in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, empowering communities to reclaim control over their food systems through collective action, storytelling, and art.

The learning didn’t stop when the tools were put away. At the end of each session, Dreamers got to treat their tastebuds to authentic Filipino kai made straight from the garden’s harvest.

During one of the visits, Grace, who also works for the Electoral Commission, turned kai time into a lesson on democracy. She challenged three people in the group to debate why their peers should vote for their favourite dish. After a short, spirited deliberation, the democratic process spoke: Biko (rice cakes) won the vote, and was served up to the hungry gardeners on their final day in Grace and Charles’ incredible, edible garden.