Whakawhanaungatanga / introductions

Kia ora tatou.... @Aaron McLean and @Dan K have done some amazing work putting together a primer to set the scene for what happens in this space and other spaces that you take this alliance :) Here is a link to the primer that can be commented on. I have also attached a pdf that you can download and digest in your own time...or potentially share with others.

How we would love to gently get the energy building in here...is for people to tell their stories :) We would love to hear what you are experiencing in your mahi, what has been joyful, what remains really challenging...what others could support you with and how you could potentially support others. We invite this in the spirit of you being seen for your contributions and also to only offer within your capacity. After all...the underlying intentions of this space are for it to be relational, to be held with care for yourself and others, to practice reciprocity within your means and to work in solidarity to witness more change with joyful hearts...

Kia ora Michael, thanks so much to you, and to Aaron and Dan for this initiative. I love the kaupapa of peer support, mutual aid and building an alliance of interdependent co-arising! I will add in some of my story/aspirations soon & look forward to hearing from others. Building community/food resilience can be lonely work at times so I love the idea of a place to go with issues, and also to find inspiration and share knowledge. Much gratitude. 🌻

Nau mai Helen...your mahi has been an inspiration to me over the last 2 years (?) of knowing each other. I look forward to hearing your stories and inspirations soon ❤️🙏

Morning to all clearing emails and seeing this pop up. I just want to clarify some of the above^ - the primer Michael has shared is a collaborative document that emerges from conversations had by Michael, Aaron and myself while reflecting on all the existing food action work that goes on here (but is often siloed/kept busy in its own place). Like many, we’re inspired by food’s potential for social change and wanted to help catalyse a space that might help others on the same page to be more effective in their goals while continuing to build our collective capacity and presence. As the primer hopefully explains, we come from a prefigurative position, in that we believe it’s important to practice key aspects of our future vision in the present - which is why the alliance won’t have any single leadership group but instead be a decentralised space where those who are interested in the broader kaupapa can suggest ideas and hopefully find support and feedback. This might seem hypocritical given that we’ve been audacious enough to write the primer ourselves, but I think our view is that writing the primer is itself a form of ‘food action’ and how it happened is one way that this space might function: ideas are proposed and tossed about, a point of cohesion is reached amongst those interested and they work together to put something out into the world. This is the agility of ‘action’ as a unifying frame and hopefully stops this place from being another group with meetings/other admin that will suck up already limited spare time - while also emphasising the importance of transparency and sharing what you’re up to so other can join in, comment, or critique. Ultimately our hope (as we’ve discussed it) is for this to be a space of connection, solidarity and possibility, drawing on and reinforcing all the people and work happening to make both food and our societies more just, whether here in Aotearoa NZ or around the world. Which is to say, the primer is just a start! It is all up for discussion; agency, connection and participation are the name of the game. So a big mihi to Michael for making this new thread; I look forward to hearing more of what each of yous are up to and hope to get out of a space like this as we go x

@Dan K and @Aaron McLean it's been really nourishing to converse over co-creating this first step...and I am excited to see what emerges in this space...🙏

Kia ora tatou. As has been mentioned above, I've been participant along with Michael and Dan in having a conversation which has led us to the attached document as an invitation to connection and action. For the moment that's probably enough from me, other than to say we'd love the participation of many others so that we may be better in action together in this food space.

I think I speak for Michael, Dan and myself in asking that those who are keen to participate in this dialogue and in shaping what a food action alliance might be, to jump in to this thread and introduce yourself, your mahi, your interests.... let's get to know each other if we don't already.

I'll follow your lead...

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Howard Zinn

Mōrena everyone. I've been involved in food, localisation, and community development projects for many years now and always glad to see ways of connecting those who hold the various visions with those who put their hands in the earth -- knowing full well that in most cases they're the same people.

I've been putting a lot of my personal energy into continued tweaks to the natural systems on our little bit of land, getting more diversity to increase the life in the soil and (hopefully) keep getting more food for ourselves and people around us. I've also been widening and deepening my network of connections in the region among farmers and growers who are finding ways to step off the treadmill of industrial production and focus more on te kaitiakitanga o te taiao.

I'm keen to hear more and learn about what others are up to in their patches. Where are the berm gardens going in? Who's been planting nut trees in the corners of urban parks? How are all the kai rescue operations going, and are the volunteers coping with the growing demand for what they do?

Kia ora Phil, thanks for sharing. It's nice to have you here amongst us.

I think it is fair to say that most organisations in this space are under some kind of pressure - whether that be growing pains or just a sense of being overwhelmed by the need/demand. We live in strange times....a great need for help and a struggle to corale the resources (human and otherwise) to be able to support our communities (and be well ourselves in the process)...but we are a determined lot!!