Ko te whenua te toto o te tangata"
As water is the blood of the land
So the land is the blood of humanity
History
We began from an amazing group of 30 locals with a passion for local, nourishing, sustainably produced food. However, as we have grown, our strength has come from our ability to draw in individuals who previously did not consider themselves, foodies, greenies, or health conscious people. Everybody eats, and we believe we can bring out passion for good food in anyone we come across.
We are using a multi-pronged approach to address the food security and food system problems, a key component of which is focusing on traditional food crops.
Our journey began in July 2016 as the Rotorua Local Food Network.
The aim of the network was to make healthy, locally grown food affordable and accessible for our whole community, and to support sustainable, local food business & farming to thrive.
We are passionate about food. Good healthy, nutritional food that is. Why? Because our food chain is broken. The quality of our food, is seriously compromised with countless fast food outlets, processed food and food wrapped in plastic.
“Many of us today are disconnected from our food – we eat out of supermarkets and cafes and put our trust in these business to provide us with good food. Many common food production methods in use today are not sustainable long term, and the food choices we make every day can help deliver the change needed”.
Jasmin Jackson
Nutritionist and Kai Rotorua founder
Vision, Purpose and Values
Our Vision
A resilient, well-nourished, well-connected community.Our Purpose
Reconnecting us to Papatūānuku.Our Values
We embody a sense of extended family and close community ties. Members work together to achieve our shared outcomes.
Our diverse heritage includes Māori, Pakeha, Japanese, Persian, Swedish and Zimbabwean. Maintaining cultural awareness is important to us.
We help educate our young to support our community and gain knowledge and understanding of food (including nutrition, growing and cooking).
We are guardians, not owners, of the land. We aim to give back to the richness of the soil within the limits of our climate and environment.
As best expressed by the late Kīingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII: “Together, kotahitanga is the wind in our sails”.