Addington Farm, Christchurch

THIS NOT-FOR-PROFIT URBAN MARKET GARDEN NOT ONLY PRODUCES FRESH AND LOCAL VEGES FOR THE NEIGHBOURHOOD, IT PROVIDES SPACE FOR EVERYONE IN ITS COMMUNITY TO FLOURISH AND GROW.

Five years ago a bunch of friends who lived in and around Addington, a large, busy and diverse suburb not far from the Christchurch CBD, were having a yarn about this and that. “And a few people were talking about how life can be quite lonely, especially during the day if you are not working or between jobs,” says one of that original gang, Wilby Le Heux. “So we got talking about what we could do to change that. We decided to do a community survey. We asked local people what would they like to see change or see happen and what did they already really love about Addington. And from emerged this real hunger from the community for a space which gave people something meaningful to do during the daytime, somewhere everyone belonged and anyone could just show up and participate and make friends. And a community garden seemed to really fit the bill.”

And so began the urban market garden Addington Farm: a productive space of 300sqm (the farm itself) plus four nearby gardens that weren’t being tended so which have been lent to the farm to give them more growing space (the homeowners get veges in exchange). Some of what is grown is sold through a Community Supported Agriculture programme, which allows local people to support the farm’s kaupapa even if they haven’t got the time to contribute in person right now. “We got a few startup grants in the beginning, which allowed us to pay for the walk-in chiller and a couple of tunnelhouses,” says Wilby, who is now the farm’s manager. “However, since then we have been able to cover our costs through the CSA which is what allows us to continue doing what we do.” What is grown is also shared with the volunteers who contribute their time and labour and distributed, via the local school, to members of the community in need.

But this farm is about more than growing food.

It is delivering on that original goal of growing community too. It provides a space for local people to connect, learn and grow, Wilby says.

“There is some pretty high density development in Addington,” Wilby says. “From one of our māra kai, I would be able to see at least 10 three-storey buildings where people are living with maybe just a tiny patio where they could just have a couple of pots.

“And we hear from dozens and dozens of locals who share that common kōrero, that they would like to have a backyard plot or a little allotment. And it’s exciting to hear those dreams. But our hope is they don’t remain dreams. We want to make them a reality.”

“One of our core values is naming the good. We want to acknowledge that everyone has mana, everyone has skills. And everyone wants to contribute.”