Running on Sunshine - Pakaraka Permaculture Organic Market Garden

By Niva & Yotam Kay

NZ $21,385 pledged


231 people pledged


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NZ $20,000 minimum target


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This campaign was successful and closed on 30/04/2017 at 9:00 PM.

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About

Running On Sunshine - Pakaraka Permaculture Organic Market Garden

Project 2017-03-02 14:24:02 +1300

  Already we grow over 8,000kg of organic produce a season, without using any tractors or heavy machinery, just hand tools. And all that on a quarter acre of land.

Sun

Reducing our ecological footprint is a defining aspect of our life choices. We want to continue to inspire gardeners and foodies in New Zealand, by using the energy of the sun to grow the produce, chill it and get it to market.

 

 To keep our produce at a premium quality, and eliminate waste, we need to run a cool room, and we want to do this on solar, which means upgrading our system to handle the load. We want to do this without fossil fuels which are causing climate change so we have chosen clean, renewable solar energy.

By charging an electric delivery car, our vegetables will be delivered in the same way that they are grown – with care for the earth, sunshine and love.

 

 

 Front End Solar Technologies is using our farm as a model of off-grid sustainability and will be monitoring our system which will be the first of it kind in NZ. They have sponsored us with $8,500, but we need your support to gather the rest.

 All the money will go to the solar system purchase and installation cover fees.

  There is heaps of goodness to give you in return for your contribution to this incredibly meaningful project so have a look and pick your pledge!

 

 

 

We are growing intensively year round on a ¼ acre and producing over 8,000kg of food a season. Making us one of New Zealand's most productive diversified horticultural operation per acre. We specialise in growing fresh seasonal vegetables, microgreens, herbs, strawberries and salads. We believe the future of food is in small scale diverse and local production. We are very passionate about growing real food for our community.

Our gardens are certified organic by OFNZ. We are located within Pakaraka Farm, which has been organic for over 20 years. We are a heap stricter than what the organic code allows, and we don’t use any commercial herbicides, pesticides or fungicides at all. The gardens are spring fed from a water source located 250 meters in the bush above the gardens.

Using permaculture ethics and principles in the design and implementation of our gardens, our market garden operation is both efficient and regenerative. By implementing a sustainable soil fertility program, we are increasing the life in the soil, building organic matter in the soil and mineralizing the soil with natural macro and micro nutrients.

 

  Yotam and Niva Kay joined Pakaraka Farm in 2014 and established Pakaraka Permaculture market garden as their family project, with the burning desire to feed our community with the best food we can grow. 

Yotam loves growing things and sharing his passion for it. He has been living & teaching Permaculture since 2005. Holds a Diploma in Permaculture Design. He had been working on a wide range of projects; leading community garden projects, establishing food gardens & sustainability programs in schools, to managing organic commercial gardens in New Zealand.

 Niva Kay studied interdisciplinary environmental studies and continued into Permaculture design. She had many hands-on experiences around the globe, growing, building and creating while searching for practical sustainable solutions to our global environmental crises. Niva and Yotam taught 5 Permaculture design courses together.

 

 

Front End Solar proposed a completely off-grid renewable electricity system which comprises a ground mounted 5kW Photovoltaic system connected to an integrated, state-of-the-technology inverter/storage/control system that provides 9kWh of fully controllable storage capacity and interfaces to the site electrical distribution.

The energy management control system is made by Ampere Energy and is manufactured in Spain. It is able to monitor instantaneous and accumulated inputs and outputs and controls import of electricity directly from PV array or battery. Further, it has a one-day forward forecast of inputs and storage capacity, allowing informed decision making by the user regarding meeting loads or load shifting.

The 5kW PV array is made by CSUN and is manufactured in Turkey. These panels have excellent performance under weak light conditions, which is an important feature for the Coromandel. As one of the leading PV enterprises in the world, CSUN delivered more than 1.4GW solar products, to residential, commercial, utility and off-grid projects.

 

 

For a pledge of $5, you will become a supporter of the campaign and will receive all of the campaign updates.

For a pledge of $10, we will email you a personal specially designed e-card to express our love and appreciation. We will send you this within 1 week from the end of the campaign.

For a pledge of $25, we will plant a tree in your name and send you a personal thank you email with your name on a rock next to the tree we planted for you. The trees will be planted in a mixed orchard, food forest style, on the south-west border of the gardens. The trees will provide wind protection to the gardens, and will increase the area under production, to grow even more food for our community!

For a pledge of $25, You will get a Niwashi also known as Japanese Torsion Sickle- This little tool is one of the most popular tools in the NZ gardeners tool bag! Can be used as a hoe, a weeder, a path cleaner, a soil breaker, and a trowel just to name a few uses. Thanks to The Garden Tool Store for the generous donation.

For a pledge of $25, You will get a special Lettuce seed bundle which includes the varieties: Tree, Speckled and Odell's Mignonette. NZ wide shipping included. Generously donated by Setha's Seeds.

For a pledge of $30, You will get a special Tomato seed bundle which includes the varieties: Henry's Dwarf Bush Cherry, Tommy Toe, Yellow Current & Scoresby Dwarf. NZ wide shipping included. Generously donated by Setha's Seeds.

For a pledge of $30, you will be invited to join us on an exclusive tour of the gardens, to celebrate the installation of the new solar system. Yummy morning tea included. The invitation will be sent to you two weeks prior to the day of the tour. The date will depend on the complete installation of the system.

For a pledge of $40, a 5kg bag of our farm's organic certified chestnuts will be sent to you, to a New Zealand address of your choice. This reward will be sent to you within a week from the end of the campaign.

For a pledge of $40, join our 108 Sun Salutations event for winter solstice hosted by OM Yoga Studio in Auckland and led by 2 amazing Yoga teachers: Sandey Hoskin and Connie Causa. Suitable for all levels of practice, together we will complete 108 sun salutations and enjoy refreshments from Pakaraka Permaculture, and we'll power up with a Good Buzz kombucha.
Date: 25th June 2017, 11.30am start

For a pledge of $40, you would get 1 * 500gm Sunwarrior Classic Plus of a flavour of your choice: Chocolate, Vanilla or Natural. Includes shipping NZ wide. "Sunwarrior Classic Plus is a Certified Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder.  Five amazing amino acid balancing ingredients make one deliciously powerful protein. Organic sprouted wholegrain Brown Rice, Chia, Pea, Quinoa & Amaranth.  No chemicals, No GMO's, No fillers or artificial ingredients, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free & soy-free, recyclable BPA-free packaging." Generously donated by Sunwarrior Aotearoa.

 

For a pledge of $45, you will receive a bundle of 20 strawberry runners, bare rooted Camarosa variety, for you to plant in your garden this winter. They will be sent to you, to a New Zealand address of your choice, when we can guarantee that the runners are healthy, strong and ready for transplanting. We estimate they will be sent during June or July.

For a Pledge of $50, you will receive a $50 voucher to use at the Thunderpants online store. Thanks to the generous donation from Thunderpants. They are our favourite undies, comfortable, NZ made & organic. We will email a $50 voucher to use on Thunderpants' website. Insiders scoop - hold on to this voucher until June for a special vege line that's coming up.

For a pledge of $50, Pakaraka Farm tour come to the farm and see what we are up to. We will visit the market garden, the olive & chestnuts orchards, and the home fruit orchards.
The animals: cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, worms and bees.
Other projects: Harry Parke and Jeanette Fitzsimons’ passive solar house, off grid solar and hydro systems, firewood management, timber plantations and regenerating bush. Meeting at the farm, tour duration 3 hours, Including morning tea. Sunday 24th September 9:00 - 12:00. In case of severe weather, the tour will be postponed. In that case the event will be postponed to the following week.

For a pledge of $75, Farm to table dinner at little bird Unbakery- Come and celebrate autumnal produce with an organic plant based dining experience at the awards winning Little Bird Unbakery. This 4 course menu will be crafted by Megan May and inspired by the organic produce from Pakaraka Permaculture. Generously donated by Little Bird Organics. Date: May 25th, at Little Bird Unbakery, Auckland. We have been supplying Little Bird Unbakery since our very start in October 2014 with weekly deliveries of microgreens, salads, edible flowers and seasonal veggies. We love what they do with our produce and are very excited to provide for this event.

For a pledge of $75 A 45 minutes Skype consultation with either Yotam or Niva Kay. Burning question about your garden systems? This is a great opportunity to talk about gardens, business and lifestyle. Send us your 5 most burning questions and we will continue from there! We will send you an email at the end of the campaign to schedule the consultation and for you to pre-send us any questions or topics you would like our help with.

For a pledge of $80 Become a Pakaraka Permaculture member and receive a 10% discount on your purchases at our farmer markets stalls and on workshops through our website. A perfect pledge for Auckland & Thames residents who stock up (or wish to start) on our veggies on a regular basis. You will receive your member card in the mail. valid for two years! Includes a bag of our Rainbow Microgreens Mix with your first purchase. We will send you an email to notify you about the start of the market season, which will approximately run through mid October to March every year.

For a pledge of $100, Farm to table dinner at Pakaraka Farm- Join us for this very special dinner made with love by your farmers, and enjoy a lovely late spring evening with fantastic food straight from the gardens. As real food loving farmers, we will serve a full course dinner inspired by our travelling around the world and our passion for wild fermentation. Includes a tour of the gardens! Date: 3rd November 2017. Time: Tour starts at 5:30 pm and dinner at 7 pm. In case of severe weather, the dinner will be postponed. In that case, the event will be postponed to the following week.

For a pledge of $140, Choose any one of our fantastic workshops from the list including:

 13th May, 7th October - Beginners Home Gardening Workshop.

Learn how to grow nutritious food for you and your family in your backyard. In this comprehensive workshop, we will cover many essential topics that will help you grow a productive garden, that is capable of feeding you and your family throughout the year.

  • 14th May, 8th October - Advanced Home Gardening Workshop.

To have a super productive garden is to do a lot of small things very well. Come and sharpen your skills in this comprehensive workshop, aimed for experienced growers*. Learn advanced skills about how to grow nutritious food for you and your family in your backyard or small plot. We will cover many essential topics that will help you grow an even more productive garden, that is capable of feeding you and your family throughout the year.

  • 20th May, 5th August - Organic Market Gardening Workshop.

Market gardening is not an easy job, but it is a dream for many. In this comprehensive workshop, you will familiarise yourself with what it takes to run a successful market garden, and learn how to do it!

Learn how to grow superb salad mixes, microgreens, seasonal vegetables and edible flowers!

If you are dreaming, interested or already growing food for market in your backyard or farm, you will surely get inspired and equipped to doing it better!

  • 28th May, 1st Oct - Towards Self-Sufficiency Workshop.

Skills for your ¼ acre urban section and your lifestyle block. You have got your new piece of land or you are looking for one, the first decisions you make will guide you through for many years. Come and learn from the experience gathered in Pakaraka Farm how to put your dreams into practice.

In this workshop we will introduce you to Permaculture property design, growing fruit trees for year-round harvest, small commercial orchard, keeping a house cow and a few sheep, keeping poultry, keeping bees, firewood management, and food preserving methods.

  • 3rd June - Ferment, Preserve, Pickle.

Come and learn what we do in our kitchens. It ‘s all about nutritious foods, made with love. Come and learn how we preserve and ferment the foods that come out of the farm and gardens.

We ferment, preserve and pickle the produce we grow on the farm, but you will gain the same valuable experience from the workshop if you live in the city. Eating live probiotic foods is really important while buying it is so expensive. It is easy and inexpensive to make your own, we will show you how.

  • 10th June - Grow Your Own Microgreens.

In this workshop, you will learn how to grow microgreens year-round to feed you family with the most nourishing foods!

We will cover all the basic information there is to know and much more:

Choosing trays, where to grow, simple structures, growing medium,  sourcing seeds, seeding rates, health and safety, watering, harvesting, post-harvesting, expected yield, disease prevention, pest management and more.

The workshop includes a detailed demonstration of seeding and harvesting microgreens.

And you will be sowing two trays for you to take home and get stuck right into it!

We will provide tastings of many different verities of microgreens for real celebration of colour and taste.

  • 27th August - Livestock on a small block.

What you need to know in order to produce your own milk and meat.

You have more space than you can use for veggies and fruit trees and chooks and are keen to have some livestock. This workshop gives you the tools to manage a few sheep, a house cow, and her calf.

For a pledge of $200, You will get a pair of Even, the world's first earphones that adapt to the unique way you hear. The earphones feature the EarPrint technology and state of the art design that provides superlative comfort and styling combined with unmatched sound personalization in real time. Generously donated by Even. NZ wide shipping included.

For a pledge of $250, Join any 2 of our fantastic workshops or bring a friend with you for only $250. Valid for 2 years.

For a pledge of $325, Join our Organic Gardening Course, starting 5th October 2017 to 7th December 2017 or 1st February 2018 to 5th April 2018. 10 sessions, 3 hours each, on Tuesdays 9:00 – 12:00.

 

 

Class Topics

Planned Activities

1

Introduction, Permaculture and making most of your gardening site

Garden tour

2

Deep soil creation and making soil alive

Bed preparation

3

Propagation and understanding plants needs

Sowing in trays, pricking out

4

Compost, improving soil fertility and using foliar sprays

Building a compost pile, foliar feeding

5

Best planting practices, direct sowing and companion planting

Transplanting

6

Maintaining a productive garden, managing pest and diseases, and irrigation systems

Weeding, tool sharpening, and installing drip irrigation

7

Crop support structures, season extension and managing a small tunnel house

Creating support systems, setting out cloches

8

Harvesting tips, saving seeds

Tree planting, collecting seeds

9

Growing microgreens and salads

Microgreens sowing and harvesting, harvesting and preparing fine leaf salads

10

Crop planning for a year round harvest, tree planting and care

Using bio intensive master charts, tree planting

 

 

For a pledge of $400, 6 x 45m skype consultations for a great price. Valid for 2 years. Let us help you grow.

For a pledge of $450 Invite Yotam for a personal consultation visit to your property. This is a great chance to get 3 hours of professional input for your lifestyle block, community garden, market garden or veggie patch. Travel included, limited to Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty. Please contact us for a potential consultation visit at other areas in NZ.

For a pledge of $1000, Join us for a full 6 days of our farming life. This is a real life learning opportunity. We will spend the days together, tending the gardens, eat together, You will get full explanations about the things we do. You will camp next to the river at our campsite. Timeframe: spring or summer. Perfect for an aspiring farmer.

For a pledge of $2500, Yotam offers to come to your home, community gardens or market garden, to teach a customized full day workshop for up to 25 people. Available NZ wide and includes travel expenses.

For a pledge of $3000, We will advertise your name or your company’s logo on our electric car under the writing "Running On Sunshine Thanks To ...". Minimum of 5 years, or until we change car- whichever is longer. Terms and Conditions apply, please contact us at [email protected]

 
 

Contact us

Please contact us for any inquiries!

[email protected]

www.instagram.com/pakaraka_permaculture/

www.facebook.com/PakarakaPermaculture/

0210-2327059 & 07-8685526

We would like to give a huge thank you for our supporters in this campaign:

Comments

Updates 14

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A month had passed

31/05/2017 at 2:55 PM

A month had passed and we have been really busy delivering rewards! Over half of the rewards had been fulfilled and more are coming out every week. Next Monday the first lot of strawberry runners will be sent out (please fill in this strawberry form if you haven't already). The 108 Sun Salutation event is happing this month, if you want to register or know someone who loves yoga you can still register here.

Front End Solar is going to start the installation of the system around mid to end of July and we can't wait to be running on sunshine!

Check out our collaboration with Thunderpants that is happening right now. Veggie underwears! Aren't they beautiful? and every purchase goes to supporting community gardens in NZ.

Lots of love,

Niva & Yotam.

 

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We will be Running on Sunshine!

30/04/2017 at 10:27 PM

What an incredible experience this was!! We are so overwhelmed with gratitude to everyone who pitched in and supported this project! The power of community really showed itself here!

In the next 3 days, we will get the full pledgers list from PledgeMe. So expect to get an email from us by the end of the week checking in on your preferences (if applicable). In any case, we will keep you updated about your rewards details and progress.

Front End Solar were so happy to see the fantastic support you gave us! We will keep you update with the progress and installation of the solar system.

We have upgraded our website and it is now a lot more user-friendly, check it out. That is where you can register to all of our workshops, farm events and purchase farm products.

For those of you who pledged for a Farm Tour, we wanted to let you know there is an option to come for the tour this coming weekend, the 7th May (which was scheduled for April but was postponed due to the cyclone). Otherwise, we will see you on the 24th September. We will send you more information about it in a few days.

Well, that is the end of this chapter, and a new one begins.

Thank you soooo much everyone for your help in making this possible, it goes to show that dreams do come true.

Love,

Niva & Yotam.

Wooo hooo!! We made it!! You made it!! THANK YOU!!!!!

28/04/2017 at 10:01 AM

We Made It!!!

 

 

This morning we passed our $20,000 goal that will enable us to set up a solar system that will support our organic market gardens to be fully Running on Sunshine!!!

 

Thank you, everyone, for making this possible! For pledging, sharing, and supporting us and this project.

The first winner of the Ecostore hand care pack is-  Juliette Gottlieb, congratulations! We will email you for a mailing address when the campaign ends!

 

There are two days left, the chestnuts are still falling from the trees, and you can pledge $40 and get 5kg of fresh chestnuts delivered to your home. And there is heaps of other goodies left to claim! Any pledges made from this point on, will help us continue our mission to become even more sustainable.

 

By setting up a backup micro-hydro system for those rainy grey days to integrate with the solar system.

 

By planting more trees and developing our new food forest.

 

By pairing the electric car with an insulated trailer.

 

Any money pledged from this point on will support us to achieve these goals.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Niva & Yotam.

 

Thank you Giveaway

27/04/2017 at 4:51 PM

These are the 3 last days of the campaign, we are 93% funded, and we have a special treat for you dear pledgers. For the next three evenings we will be drawing a name and will be giving away an Ecostore Gift Pack. We have 3 packs to give to 3 of you amazing pledgers! Donated by Ecostore in support of Running on Sunshine.

We wanted to take this opportunity and give a huge loving shoutout to all the amazing companies who have been supporting our project! Thanks to you we will be Running on Sunshine!

 

 

5 Days to go and 85% funded!

25/04/2017 at 10:08 PM

 

Hey!

5 days to go and we are now 85% funded!! The campaign is doing sooo well, and it is all thanks to you!!

We had put out this little video to tell you how great you are and how important it is that you continue to spread the word.

Love,

Niva & Yotam.

 

We are in the Sunday Star Times!

16/04/2017 at 9:08 AM

Hi everyone!

We’re now on Day 18 of the campaign and we’ve raised $11,786 of our $20,000 goal!
That’s a whopping 59% from our 134 awesome backers so far!

Lynda Hallinan took the time to write about our gardens for the Sunday Sun Times. We wanted you to get a chance to read about it. Here is the link to the article on Stuff.

We are also excited to announce that we launched a new modular Organic Gardening Course! and it is now available as a reward.

Thanks so much for your support – only 15 days to go!
Niva & Yotam.

New reward: Sunwarrior Classic Plus

14/04/2017 at 2:43 PM

We are happy to announce of a new reward: 5 * 500g of Sunwarrior Classic Plus, in 3 flavour choices: Chocolate, Vanilla and Natural. Yum!

Generously donated by our friends at Sunwarrior Aotearoa, to help us be Running on Sunshine.

 

 

Extractigator Giveaway

12/04/2017 at 6:44 PM

Hooray! Over $10,000 had been pledged to the campaign, Thank you all so much!!

To celebrate, our friends from Extractigators NZ are giving away one extractigator + bigfoot accessory worth $300!!!
We have two extractigators on the farm, as it is the best gorse buster out there.

To enter the giveaway:
1. Make a pledge on our campaign, one entry per pledger >> pldg.me/pakaraka
2. Go to Extractigators NZ and like their page.

This giveaway includes all of you who had already pledged on our campaign! Just remember 'like' the Extractigators NZ page on facebook.

The winner will be announced once we receive the pledgers list from PledgeMe.. Around the first week of May. Open for New Zealand & Australia residents only

 

20,000 Video views and new heirloom seeds rewards

03/04/2017 at 10:22 PM

 

We wanted to give a huge shoutout to all the amazing people who donated their time, talent and creativity to help make the campaign video!

 

Thank you Richard Janutka, our video producer for your excellent work! The video speaks for itself and this is his Upwork link.

 

Thank you Keren Kay for the ideation and support! Check out her new project http://www.innovesta.co/

 

Thank you Robin Nathan for the brilliant narration! Check her brilliant music http://www.fleabite.co.nz.php56-22.dfw3-1.websitetestlink.com/

 

Thank you Curtis Stone for the incredible drone footage and inspiration! Check his work at the Urban Farmer

 

Thank you photographers John Cowan and Katie Huisman for the beautiful stills images. John's Linkedin profile and Katie's website.

 


 

NEW REWARDS!! Two awesome seed bundles thanks for the generous donation of Setha's Seeds.

 

 

5 special seed bundles generously donated by Setha's Seeds. It includes Henry's Dwarf Bush Cherry, Tommy Toe, Yellow Current and Scoresby Dwarf. NZ wide shipping included.

 

 

5 special seed bundles generously donated by Setha's Seeds. It includes the varieties: Tree, Speckled and Odell's Mignonette. NZ wide shipping included.

 

No automatic alt text available.

 

 

 

What an amazing beginning

01/04/2017 at 6:59 PM

24 hours into the project we reached our 10% goal and we are now 48 hours in with 20% and over $4000 contributed!!

The support the project gained over these two days had been incredible, and this is thanks to you!

With over 11,000 people watching the video and about 200 shares, our message is spreading fast. If you haven't already, please please share this with your networks to help us reach more supporters.

We are at the Go Green Expo in Auckland today and tomorrow, so come and say hi if you are around. 

Much love,

Niva & Yotam.

    Pledgers 231

    Che O'Neill
    30/04/2017 at 10:17am
    Che O'Neill
    30/04/2017 at 10:15am
    Shaya Cohen-syrkin
    30/04/2017 at 8:30am

    "Love To Kay Kay family"

    Tabitha Parker
    29/04/2017 at 10:58pm
    Tabitha Parker
    29/04/2017 at 10:57pm
    Trish Hatfield
    29/04/2017 at 10:18pm

    "Yay you guys rock!"

    Linda Darbyshire
    29/04/2017 at 1:35pm
    Kharen Hope
    29/04/2017 at 12:49pm

    "Saw you at the Permaculture Conference. Love the video and your energy"

    Robert Burke
    29/04/2017 at 12:11pm

    "fantastic work"

    Fiona White
    28/04/2017 at 9:30pm

    "Fiona, Martin, Vanessa and Shaun White"

    Ben Castelow
    28/04/2017 at 5:30pm
    Jennifer
    28/04/2017 at 2:37pm

    "Please ship lettuce I pledged earlier today to this address. Ship lettuce & chestnuts together (if timing works). Congratulations!"

    Jennifer
    28/04/2017 at 1:45pm
    shelley Carr
    28/04/2017 at 10:26am
    Anonymous pledger
    28/04/2017 at 10:25am

    "Good on you for this fantastic project!"

    Anonymous pledger
    28/04/2017 at 10:24am

    "Good on you for this fantastic project!"

    shelley Carr
    28/04/2017 at 10:23am
    jerome
    28/04/2017 at 8:15am

    "All the best on this journey Yotam, Niva, and family!"

    roni syrkin
    28/04/2017 at 5:36am

    "good luck"

    Rebecca Ranum
    27/04/2017 at 11:05pm
    Kim Parker
    27/04/2017 at 10:08pm
    Kim Parker
    27/04/2017 at 10:06pm
    Kya Farquhar
    27/04/2017 at 9:27pm
    Jenny Lux
    27/04/2017 at 9:02pm

    "Yay, I wanna do 108 sun salutations for this cause!"

    Anonymous pledger
    27/04/2017 at 8:37pm
    Charlie Baggins
    27/04/2017 at 8:26pm
    Matthew Monahan
    27/04/2017 at 6:38pm
    Wendy Keall
    27/04/2017 at 5:24pm

    "I have a course on 18 May that would be difficult to miss but hoping we can do on another day."

    Anonymous pledger
    27/04/2017 at 5:02pm
    Melanie Burch
    27/04/2017 at 4:59pm

    "I love what you guys are doing!"

    Followers 3

    Followers of Running on Sunshine - Pakaraka Permaculture Organic Market Garden

    Running On Sunshine - Pakaraka Permaculture Organic Market Garden

    Project 2017-03-02 14:24:02 +1300

      Already we grow over 8,000kg of organic produce a season, without using any tractors or heavy machinery, just hand tools. And all that on a quarter acre of land.

    Sun

    Reducing our ecological footprint is a defining aspect of our life choices. We want to continue to inspire gardeners and foodies in New Zealand, by using the energy of the sun to grow the produce, chill it and get it to market.

     

     To keep our produce at a premium quality, and eliminate waste, we need to run a cool room, and we want to do this on solar, which means upgrading our system to handle the load. We want to do this without fossil fuels which are causing climate change so we have chosen clean, renewable solar energy.

    By charging an electric delivery car, our vegetables will be delivered in the same way that they are grown – with care for the earth, sunshine and love.

     

     

     Front End Solar Technologies is using our farm as a model of off-grid sustainability and will be monitoring our system which will be the first of it kind in NZ. They have sponsored us with $8,500, but we need your support to gather the rest.

     All the money will go to the solar system purchase and installation cover fees.

      There is heaps of goodness to give you in return for your contribution to this incredibly meaningful project so have a look and pick your pledge!

     

     

     

    We are growing intensively year round on a ¼ acre and producing over 8,000kg of food a season. Making us one of New Zealand's most productive diversified horticultural operation per acre. We specialise in growing fresh seasonal vegetables, microgreens, herbs, strawberries and salads. We believe the future of food is in small scale diverse and local production. We are very passionate about growing real food for our community.

    Our gardens are certified organic by OFNZ. We are located within Pakaraka Farm, which has been organic for over 20 years. We are a heap stricter than what the organic code allows, and we don’t use any commercial herbicides, pesticides or fungicides at all. The gardens are spring fed from a water source located 250 meters in the bush above the gardens.

    Using permaculture ethics and principles in the design and implementation of our gardens, our market garden operation is both efficient and regenerative. By implementing a sustainable soil fertility program, we are increasing the life in the soil, building organic matter in the soil and mineralizing the soil with natural macro and micro nutrients.

     

      Yotam and Niva Kay joined Pakaraka Farm in 2014 and established Pakaraka Permaculture market garden as their family project, with the burning desire to feed our community with the best food we can grow. 

    Yotam loves growing things and sharing his passion for it. He has been living & teaching Permaculture since 2005. Holds a Diploma in Permaculture Design. He had been working on a wide range of projects; leading community garden projects, establishing food gardens & sustainability programs in schools, to managing organic commercial gardens in New Zealand.

     Niva Kay studied interdisciplinary environmental studies and continued into Permaculture design. She had many hands-on experiences around the globe, growing, building and creating while searching for practical sustainable solutions to our global environmental crises. Niva and Yotam taught 5 Permaculture design courses together.

     

     

    Front End Solar proposed a completely off-grid renewable electricity system which comprises a ground mounted 5kW Photovoltaic system connected to an integrated, state-of-the-technology inverter/storage/control system that provides 9kWh of fully controllable storage capacity and interfaces to the site electrical distribution.

    The energy management control system is made by Ampere Energy and is manufactured in Spain. It is able to monitor instantaneous and accumulated inputs and outputs and controls import of electricity directly from PV array or battery. Further, it has a one-day forward forecast of inputs and storage capacity, allowing informed decision making by the user regarding meeting loads or load shifting.

    The 5kW PV array is made by CSUN and is manufactured in Turkey. These panels have excellent performance under weak light conditions, which is an important feature for the Coromandel. As one of the leading PV enterprises in the world, CSUN delivered more than 1.4GW solar products, to residential, commercial, utility and off-grid projects.

     

     

    For a pledge of $5, you will become a supporter of the campaign and will receive all of the campaign updates.

    For a pledge of $10, we will email you a personal specially designed e-card to express our love and appreciation. We will send you this within 1 week from the end of the campaign.

    For a pledge of $25, we will plant a tree in your name and send you a personal thank you email with your name on a rock next to the tree we planted for you. The trees will be planted in a mixed orchard, food forest style, on the south-west border of the gardens. The trees will provide wind protection to the gardens, and will increase the area under production, to grow even more food for our community!

    For a pledge of $25, You will get a Niwashi also known as Japanese Torsion Sickle- This little tool is one of the most popular tools in the NZ gardeners tool bag! Can be used as a hoe, a weeder, a path cleaner, a soil breaker, and a trowel just to name a few uses. Thanks to The Garden Tool Store for the generous donation.

    For a pledge of $25, You will get a special Lettuce seed bundle which includes the varieties: Tree, Speckled and Odell's Mignonette. NZ wide shipping included. Generously donated by Setha's Seeds.

    For a pledge of $30, You will get a special Tomato seed bundle which includes the varieties: Henry's Dwarf Bush Cherry, Tommy Toe, Yellow Current & Scoresby Dwarf. NZ wide shipping included. Generously donated by Setha's Seeds.

    For a pledge of $30, you will be invited to join us on an exclusive tour of the gardens, to celebrate the installation of the new solar system. Yummy morning tea included. The invitation will be sent to you two weeks prior to the day of the tour. The date will depend on the complete installation of the system.

    For a pledge of $40, a 5kg bag of our farm's organic certified chestnuts will be sent to you, to a New Zealand address of your choice. This reward will be sent to you within a week from the end of the campaign.

    For a pledge of $40, join our 108 Sun Salutations event for winter solstice hosted by OM Yoga Studio in Auckland and led by 2 amazing Yoga teachers: Sandey Hoskin and Connie Causa. Suitable for all levels of practice, together we will complete 108 sun salutations and enjoy refreshments from Pakaraka Permaculture, and we'll power up with a Good Buzz kombucha.
    Date: 25th June 2017, 11.30am start

    For a pledge of $40, you would get 1 * 500gm Sunwarrior Classic Plus of a flavour of your choice: Chocolate, Vanilla or Natural. Includes shipping NZ wide. "Sunwarrior Classic Plus is a Certified Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder.  Five amazing amino acid balancing ingredients make one deliciously powerful protein. Organic sprouted wholegrain Brown Rice, Chia, Pea, Quinoa & Amaranth.  No chemicals, No GMO's, No fillers or artificial ingredients, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free & soy-free, recyclable BPA-free packaging." Generously donated by Sunwarrior Aotearoa.

     

    For a pledge of $45, you will receive a bundle of 20 strawberry runners, bare rooted Camarosa variety, for you to plant in your garden this winter. They will be sent to you, to a New Zealand address of your choice, when we can guarantee that the runners are healthy, strong and ready for transplanting. We estimate they will be sent during June or July.

    For a Pledge of $50, you will receive a $50 voucher to use at the Thunderpants online store. Thanks to the generous donation from Thunderpants. They are our favourite undies, comfortable, NZ made & organic. We will email a $50 voucher to use on Thunderpants' website. Insiders scoop - hold on to this voucher until June for a special vege line that's coming up.

    For a pledge of $50, Pakaraka Farm tour come to the farm and see what we are up to. We will visit the market garden, the olive & chestnuts orchards, and the home fruit orchards.
    The animals: cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, worms and bees.
    Other projects: Harry Parke and Jeanette Fitzsimons’ passive solar house, off grid solar and hydro systems, firewood management, timber plantations and regenerating bush. Meeting at the farm, tour duration 3 hours, Including morning tea. Sunday 24th September 9:00 - 12:00. In case of severe weather, the tour will be postponed. In that case the event will be postponed to the following week.

    For a pledge of $75, Farm to table dinner at little bird Unbakery- Come and celebrate autumnal produce with an organic plant based dining experience at the awards winning Little Bird Unbakery. This 4 course menu will be crafted by Megan May and inspired by the organic produce from Pakaraka Permaculture. Generously donated by Little Bird Organics. Date: May 25th, at Little Bird Unbakery, Auckland. We have been supplying Little Bird Unbakery since our very start in October 2014 with weekly deliveries of microgreens, salads, edible flowers and seasonal veggies. We love what they do with our produce and are very excited to provide for this event.

    For a pledge of $75 A 45 minutes Skype consultation with either Yotam or Niva Kay. Burning question about your garden systems? This is a great opportunity to talk about gardens, business and lifestyle. Send us your 5 most burning questions and we will continue from there! We will send you an email at the end of the campaign to schedule the consultation and for you to pre-send us any questions or topics you would like our help with.

    For a pledge of $80 Become a Pakaraka Permaculture member and receive a 10% discount on your purchases at our farmer markets stalls and on workshops through our website. A perfect pledge for Auckland & Thames residents who stock up (or wish to start) on our veggies on a regular basis. You will receive your member card in the mail. valid for two years! Includes a bag of our Rainbow Microgreens Mix with your first purchase. We will send you an email to notify you about the start of the market season, which will approximately run through mid October to March every year.

    For a pledge of $100, Farm to table dinner at Pakaraka Farm- Join us for this very special dinner made with love by your farmers, and enjoy a lovely late spring evening with fantastic food straight from the gardens. As real food loving farmers, we will serve a full course dinner inspired by our travelling around the world and our passion for wild fermentation. Includes a tour of the gardens! Date: 3rd November 2017. Time: Tour starts at 5:30 pm and dinner at 7 pm. In case of severe weather, the dinner will be postponed. In that case, the event will be postponed to the following week.

    For a pledge of $140, Choose any one of our fantastic workshops from the list including:

     13th May, 7th October - Beginners Home Gardening Workshop.

    Learn how to grow nutritious food for you and your family in your backyard. In this comprehensive workshop, we will cover many essential topics that will help you grow a productive garden, that is capable of feeding you and your family throughout the year.

    • 14th May, 8th October - Advanced Home Gardening Workshop.

    To have a super productive garden is to do a lot of small things very well. Come and sharpen your skills in this comprehensive workshop, aimed for experienced growers*. Learn advanced skills about how to grow nutritious food for you and your family in your backyard or small plot. We will cover many essential topics that will help you grow an even more productive garden, that is capable of feeding you and your family throughout the year.

    • 20th May, 5th August - Organic Market Gardening Workshop.

    Market gardening is not an easy job, but it is a dream for many. In this comprehensive workshop, you will familiarise yourself with what it takes to run a successful market garden, and learn how to do it!

    Learn how to grow superb salad mixes, microgreens, seasonal vegetables and edible flowers!

    If you are dreaming, interested or already growing food for market in your backyard or farm, you will surely get inspired and equipped to doing it better!

    • 28th May, 1st Oct - Towards Self-Sufficiency Workshop.

    Skills for your ¼ acre urban section and your lifestyle block. You have got your new piece of land or you are looking for one, the first decisions you make will guide you through for many years. Come and learn from the experience gathered in Pakaraka Farm how to put your dreams into practice.

    In this workshop we will introduce you to Permaculture property design, growing fruit trees for year-round harvest, small commercial orchard, keeping a house cow and a few sheep, keeping poultry, keeping bees, firewood management, and food preserving methods.

    • 3rd June - Ferment, Preserve, Pickle.

    Come and learn what we do in our kitchens. It ‘s all about nutritious foods, made with love. Come and learn how we preserve and ferment the foods that come out of the farm and gardens.

    We ferment, preserve and pickle the produce we grow on the farm, but you will gain the same valuable experience from the workshop if you live in the city. Eating live probiotic foods is really important while buying it is so expensive. It is easy and inexpensive to make your own, we will show you how.

    • 10th June - Grow Your Own Microgreens.

    In this workshop, you will learn how to grow microgreens year-round to feed you family with the most nourishing foods!

    We will cover all the basic information there is to know and much more:

    Choosing trays, where to grow, simple structures, growing medium,  sourcing seeds, seeding rates, health and safety, watering, harvesting, post-harvesting, expected yield, disease prevention, pest management and more.

    The workshop includes a detailed demonstration of seeding and harvesting microgreens.

    And you will be sowing two trays for you to take home and get stuck right into it!

    We will provide tastings of many different verities of microgreens for real celebration of colour and taste.

    • 27th August - Livestock on a small block.

    What you need to know in order to produce your own milk and meat.

    You have more space than you can use for veggies and fruit trees and chooks and are keen to have some livestock. This workshop gives you the tools to manage a few sheep, a house cow, and her calf.

    For a pledge of $200, You will get a pair of Even, the world's first earphones that adapt to the unique way you hear. The earphones feature the EarPrint technology and state of the art design that provides superlative comfort and styling combined with unmatched sound personalization in real time. Generously donated by Even. NZ wide shipping included.

    For a pledge of $250, Join any 2 of our fantastic workshops or bring a friend with you for only $250. Valid for 2 years.

    For a pledge of $325, Join our Organic Gardening Course, starting 5th October 2017 to 7th December 2017 or 1st February 2018 to 5th April 2018. 10 sessions, 3 hours each, on Tuesdays 9:00 – 12:00.

     

     

    Class Topics

    Planned Activities

    1

    Introduction, Permaculture and making most of your gardening site

    Garden tour

    2

    Deep soil creation and making soil alive

    Bed preparation

    3

    Propagation and understanding plants needs

    Sowing in trays, pricking out

    4

    Compost, improving soil fertility and using foliar sprays

    Building a compost pile, foliar feeding

    5

    Best planting practices, direct sowing and companion planting

    Transplanting

    6

    Maintaining a productive garden, managing pest and diseases, and irrigation systems

    Weeding, tool sharpening, and installing drip irrigation

    7

    Crop support structures, season extension and managing a small tunnel house

    Creating support systems, setting out cloches

    8

    Harvesting tips, saving seeds

    Tree planting, collecting seeds

    9

    Growing microgreens and salads

    Microgreens sowing and harvesting, harvesting and preparing fine leaf salads

    10

    Crop planning for a year round harvest, tree planting and care

    Using bio intensive master charts, tree planting

     

     

    For a pledge of $400, 6 x 45m skype consultations for a great price. Valid for 2 years. Let us help you grow.

    For a pledge of $450 Invite Yotam for a personal consultation visit to your property. This is a great chance to get 3 hours of professional input for your lifestyle block, community garden, market garden or veggie patch. Travel included, limited to Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty. Please contact us for a potential consultation visit at other areas in NZ.

    For a pledge of $1000, Join us for a full 6 days of our farming life. This is a real life learning opportunity. We will spend the days together, tending the gardens, eat together, You will get full explanations about the things we do. You will camp next to the river at our campsite. Timeframe: spring or summer. Perfect for an aspiring farmer.

    For a pledge of $2500, Yotam offers to come to your home, community gardens or market garden, to teach a customized full day workshop for up to 25 people. Available NZ wide and includes travel expenses.

    For a pledge of $3000, We will advertise your name or your company’s logo on our electric car under the writing "Running On Sunshine Thanks To ...". Minimum of 5 years, or until we change car- whichever is longer. Terms and Conditions apply, please contact us at [email protected]

     
     

    Contact us

    Please contact us for any inquiries!

    [email protected]

    www.instagram.com/pakaraka_permaculture/

    www.facebook.com/PakarakaPermaculture/

    0210-2327059 & 07-8685526

    We would like to give a huge thank you for our supporters in this campaign:

    Comments

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    A month had passed

    31/05/2017 at 2:55 PM

    A month had passed and we have been really busy delivering rewards! Over half of the rewards had been fulfilled and more are coming out every week. Next Monday the first lot of strawberry runners will be sent out (please fill in this strawberry form if you haven't already). The 108 Sun Salutation event is happing this month, if you want to register or know someone who loves yoga you can still register here.

    Front End Solar is going to start the installation of the system around mid to end of July and we can't wait to be running on sunshine!

    Check out our collaboration with Thunderpants that is happening right now. Veggie underwears! Aren't they beautiful? and every purchase goes to supporting community gardens in NZ.

    Lots of love,

    Niva & Yotam.

     

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    We will be Running on Sunshine!

    30/04/2017 at 10:27 PM

    What an incredible experience this was!! We are so overwhelmed with gratitude to everyone who pitched in and supported this project! The power of community really showed itself here!

    In the next 3 days, we will get the full pledgers list from PledgeMe. So expect to get an email from us by the end of the week checking in on your preferences (if applicable). In any case, we will keep you updated about your rewards details and progress.

    Front End Solar were so happy to see the fantastic support you gave us! We will keep you update with the progress and installation of the solar system.

    We have upgraded our website and it is now a lot more user-friendly, check it out. That is where you can register to all of our workshops, farm events and purchase farm products.

    For those of you who pledged for a Farm Tour, we wanted to let you know there is an option to come for the tour this coming weekend, the 7th May (which was scheduled for April but was postponed due to the cyclone). Otherwise, we will see you on the 24th September. We will send you more information about it in a few days.

    Well, that is the end of this chapter, and a new one begins.

    Thank you soooo much everyone for your help in making this possible, it goes to show that dreams do come true.

    Love,

    Niva & Yotam.

    Wooo hooo!! We made it!! You made it!! THANK YOU!!!!!

    28/04/2017 at 10:01 AM

    We Made It!!!

     

     

    This morning we passed our $20,000 goal that will enable us to set up a solar system that will support our organic market gardens to be fully Running on Sunshine!!!

     

    Thank you, everyone, for making this possible! For pledging, sharing, and supporting us and this project.

    The first winner of the Ecostore hand care pack is-  Juliette Gottlieb, congratulations! We will email you for a mailing address when the campaign ends!

     

    There are two days left, the chestnuts are still falling from the trees, and you can pledge $40 and get 5kg of fresh chestnuts delivered to your home. And there is heaps of other goodies left to claim! Any pledges made from this point on, will help us continue our mission to become even more sustainable.

     

    By setting up a backup micro-hydro system for those rainy grey days to integrate with the solar system.

     

    By planting more trees and developing our new food forest.

     

    By pairing the electric car with an insulated trailer.

     

    Any money pledged from this point on will support us to achieve these goals.

     

    With love and gratitude,

     

    Niva & Yotam.

     

    Thank you Giveaway

    27/04/2017 at 4:51 PM

    These are the 3 last days of the campaign, we are 93% funded, and we have a special treat for you dear pledgers. For the next three evenings we will be drawing a name and will be giving away an Ecostore Gift Pack. We have 3 packs to give to 3 of you amazing pledgers! Donated by Ecostore in support of Running on Sunshine.

    We wanted to take this opportunity and give a huge loving shoutout to all the amazing companies who have been supporting our project! Thanks to you we will be Running on Sunshine!

     

     

    5 Days to go and 85% funded!

    25/04/2017 at 10:08 PM

     

    Hey!

    5 days to go and we are now 85% funded!! The campaign is doing sooo well, and it is all thanks to you!!

    We had put out this little video to tell you how great you are and how important it is that you continue to spread the word.

    Love,

    Niva & Yotam.

     

    We are in the Sunday Star Times!

    16/04/2017 at 9:08 AM

    Hi everyone!

    We’re now on Day 18 of the campaign and we’ve raised $11,786 of our $20,000 goal!
    That’s a whopping 59% from our 134 awesome backers so far!

    Lynda Hallinan took the time to write about our gardens for the Sunday Sun Times. We wanted you to get a chance to read about it. Here is the link to the article on Stuff.

    We are also excited to announce that we launched a new modular Organic Gardening Course! and it is now available as a reward.

    Thanks so much for your support – only 15 days to go!
    Niva & Yotam.

    New reward: Sunwarrior Classic Plus

    14/04/2017 at 2:43 PM

    We are happy to announce of a new reward: 5 * 500g of Sunwarrior Classic Plus, in 3 flavour choices: Chocolate, Vanilla and Natural. Yum!

    Generously donated by our friends at Sunwarrior Aotearoa, to help us be Running on Sunshine.

     

     

    Extractigator Giveaway

    12/04/2017 at 6:44 PM

    Hooray! Over $10,000 had been pledged to the campaign, Thank you all so much!!

    To celebrate, our friends from Extractigators NZ are giving away one extractigator + bigfoot accessory worth $300!!!
    We have two extractigators on the farm, as it is the best gorse buster out there.

    To enter the giveaway:
    1. Make a pledge on our campaign, one entry per pledger >> pldg.me/pakaraka
    2. Go to Extractigators NZ and like their page.

    This giveaway includes all of you who had already pledged on our campaign! Just remember 'like' the Extractigators NZ page on facebook.

    The winner will be announced once we receive the pledgers list from PledgeMe.. Around the first week of May. Open for New Zealand & Australia residents only

     

    20,000 Video views and new heirloom seeds rewards

    03/04/2017 at 10:22 PM

     

    We wanted to give a huge shoutout to all the amazing people who donated their time, talent and creativity to help make the campaign video!

     

    Thank you Richard Janutka, our video producer for your excellent work! The video speaks for itself and this is his Upwork link.

     

    Thank you Keren Kay for the ideation and support! Check out her new project http://www.innovesta.co/

     

    Thank you Robin Nathan for the brilliant narration! Check her brilliant music http://www.fleabite.co.nz.php56-22.dfw3-1.websitetestlink.com/

     

    Thank you Curtis Stone for the incredible drone footage and inspiration! Check his work at the Urban Farmer

     

    Thank you photographers John Cowan and Katie Huisman for the beautiful stills images. John's Linkedin profile and Katie's website.

     


     

    NEW REWARDS!! Two awesome seed bundles thanks for the generous donation of Setha's Seeds.

     

     

    5 special seed bundles generously donated by Setha's Seeds. It includes Henry's Dwarf Bush Cherry, Tommy Toe, Yellow Current and Scoresby Dwarf. NZ wide shipping included.

     

     

    5 special seed bundles generously donated by Setha's Seeds. It includes the varieties: Tree, Speckled and Odell's Mignonette. NZ wide shipping included.

     

    No automatic alt text available.

     

     

     

    What an amazing beginning

    01/04/2017 at 6:59 PM

    24 hours into the project we reached our 10% goal and we are now 48 hours in with 20% and over $4000 contributed!!

    The support the project gained over these two days had been incredible, and this is thanks to you!

    With over 11,000 people watching the video and about 200 shares, our message is spreading fast. If you haven't already, please please share this with your networks to help us reach more supporters.

    We are at the Go Green Expo in Auckland today and tomorrow, so come and say hi if you are around. 

    Much love,

    Niva & Yotam.

      Che O'Neill
      30/04/2017 at 10:17am
      Che O'Neill
      30/04/2017 at 10:15am
      Shaya Cohen-syrkin
      30/04/2017 at 8:30am

      "Love To Kay Kay family"

      Tabitha Parker
      29/04/2017 at 10:58pm
      Tabitha Parker
      29/04/2017 at 10:57pm
      Trish Hatfield
      29/04/2017 at 10:18pm

      "Yay you guys rock!"

      Linda Darbyshire
      29/04/2017 at 1:35pm
      Kharen Hope
      29/04/2017 at 12:49pm

      "Saw you at the Permaculture Conference. Love the video and your energy"

      Robert Burke
      29/04/2017 at 12:11pm

      "fantastic work"

      Fiona White
      28/04/2017 at 9:30pm

      "Fiona, Martin, Vanessa and Shaun White"

      Ben Castelow
      28/04/2017 at 5:30pm
      Jennifer
      28/04/2017 at 2:37pm

      "Please ship lettuce I pledged earlier today to this address. Ship lettuce & chestnuts together (if timing works). Congratulations!"

      Jennifer
      28/04/2017 at 1:45pm
      shelley Carr
      28/04/2017 at 10:26am
      Anonymous pledger
      28/04/2017 at 10:25am

      "Good on you for this fantastic project!"

      Anonymous pledger
      28/04/2017 at 10:24am

      "Good on you for this fantastic project!"

      shelley Carr
      28/04/2017 at 10:23am
      jerome
      28/04/2017 at 8:15am

      "All the best on this journey Yotam, Niva, and family!"

      roni syrkin
      28/04/2017 at 5:36am

      "good luck"

      Rebecca Ranum
      27/04/2017 at 11:05pm
      Kim Parker
      27/04/2017 at 10:08pm
      Kim Parker
      27/04/2017 at 10:06pm
      Kya Farquhar
      27/04/2017 at 9:27pm
      Jenny Lux
      27/04/2017 at 9:02pm

      "Yay, I wanna do 108 sun salutations for this cause!"

      Anonymous pledger
      27/04/2017 at 8:37pm
      Charlie Baggins
      27/04/2017 at 8:26pm
      Matthew Monahan
      27/04/2017 at 6:38pm
      Wendy Keall
      27/04/2017 at 5:24pm

      "I have a course on 18 May that would be difficult to miss but hoping we can do on another day."

      Anonymous pledger
      27/04/2017 at 5:02pm
      Melanie Burch
      27/04/2017 at 4:59pm

      "I love what you guys are doing!"

      Followers of Running on Sunshine - Pakaraka Permaculture Organic Market Garden

      This campaign was successful and got its funding on 30/04/2017 at 9:00 PM.