I managed to catch up with Jackie Pihama. I had felt she might have few resources to organise fencing and at my visit yesterday she showed me bits of chicken wire, some scrunched, rusty and broken she had scavenged and was trying to make work. I told her we had received a little extra funding and we had earmarked it to help with fencing and I’d like to offer it to her. She was over the moon.
Jackie is a worthy recipient if we look at the ‘hand up’ rather than ‘hand out’ concept. You’ll see her vege garden in the back corner which is kamokamo and pumpkin self seeded along with tomatoes, silverbeet etc. She explained she cleared the whole back yard of bamboo along with the help of Kainga Ora, and did a garden course with someone just before lock down where they got the square bed in the LHS of first pic, along with soil and seeds and this started her off. She now has lettuces and seedlings of anything she can get her hands on, growing in any pots or tubs she finds. She had lettuce growing in polystyrene tubs and it was doing so well she had been bagging it up and putting it on grapevine for people to come and get, and offered me some.
She had bokashi bins in use and knew what she was doing when I questioned her. She has a lot of experience that is now serving her well. I was very impressed by her efforts. She has a grandchild and a son living with her. I’ll look forward to seeing how the chickens go with her.
Rākau Tautoko 