Kia ora everyone. I see I haven’t written anything here for several months. My bad!

We can all acknowledge that 2025 was a hard year. Higher unemployment, civil unrest, persistent inflation and global uncertainty all contributed to it being tough and feeling tough. 2026 doesn’t look like it’s going to be any easier. The horrifying events in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, the other devastating landslips across the motu and the relentlessness of global folly has made for a sombre start to the year. It gets me thinking about what we can do in our local community to cheer us all up, make a difference and remind us that we’re all in it together.

So, based on things we offer, may I suggest a few options to help you feel connected, useful and positively engaged.

Come for a coffee. Treat Tuesday is on every week (on Tuesday!) at 10a.m. We offer barista-made coffee and cake and the chance to breathe, catch up with friends and see what else is going on around here. Gold coin koha appreciated but not demanded.

Recycle. We offer a number of recycling services to save you a trip to the Transfer Station (where a lot of recycling happens). We recycle your lids (metal and plastic), dental waste (toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes), coffee capsules and pill packets.

Get in the garden. We have a community garden and you can volunteer in there on Friday mornings, 9.30-12.30. It’s a fun time but you’ll also learn a lot working alongside some expert gardeners. We’ll even give you morning tea! Getting outside and into the natural world is so good for us in the digital age so come and join us.

Care for yourself. We can offer you yoga and sewing classes. We also host a Bollywood dancing class. Do you need a support group? We can put you in touch with various groups that can help support your hauora/wellbeing. We can help with kai. We have fruit and vege boxes to help you eat healthily within a budget, rescue food if you find yourself needing a top up most weeks and Foodbank support if you’re in real need.

Read a book. We sell books as a fundraising mechanism. $3 or 4 for $10 or cheaper for some of our children’s books. Come and browse and negotiate. We also have a little library. This is at the front of our garden area and you can swap and borrow for free from there. Reading slows me down in a busy world and maybe you need that to?

Get creative. If there’s something you’d like to teach or participate in we’d love to hear your ideas. We’re looking for new things to offer. It needs to be sustainable and work within the footprint of our whare but get creative and be in touch!

Life is better together so let’s look after each other out there. Celebrate the wins, grieve the losses, protest the injustices and do the next right thing.

Ngaa mihi

Rob