who we are
Supporting agroecological, small-scale, community-focused food production in Aotearoa
Village
Noun - A small community or gathering of settled humans.
Agrarian
Adjective - relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land.
Noun - a person who advocates a redistribution of landed property.
Grounded in the sense of the noun agrarian and the community sentiment of a village, Village Agrarians are a community of passionate advocates for equitable land access. In the sense of the adjective agrarian, we have a specific focus on the agroecological use of land for food production.
As a grassroots network we aim to provide support to new and existing ecological, regenerative, and organic growers, producers and farmers in Aotearoa New Zealand, and build community and food resilience along the way.
There is a growing awareness that our modern industrial food system is both ecologically destructive and functionally fragile. Many people are seeking ways to feel connected to their food producers and environment, and to support practices that nurture and restore ecosystems and communities.
We recognise that there are significant barriers for small-scale and community-focussed growers, producers and farmers to overcome in both rural and urban environments in Aotearoa to be able to produce food. Our mission is to provide resources, advocacy and training to link arms with our food producers as we surpass and challenge barriers to land access, affordable training in agroecological methods, accessing mentorship and community, and providing food to their communities.
In doing so, we hope to build local food resilience by improving food access and food sovereignty for our communities. We hope to encourage diversification of the use of our landscape, to revitalise rural communities and to support land access for future growers. Ultimately, this will lead to stronger connections between people and their landscapes and their growers as together we reverse the ecological degradation that we see on our lands.
A resource network for connected and thriving communities
We are growing a community of organic growers, farmers, food processors, food activists, seed keepers, natural crafts people, and community gardeners in Aotearoa. Working together, we aim to grow local, ecological and equitable food systems that nurture and repair our lands.
Our resources include:
Land listings
With the price of land sky-high and still rising, we need alternative solutions to private land ownership that allow young and underrepresented food producers to access land for agroecological cultivation.
Through our land matching network, land holders can invite food producers to join them on their land, and land seekers can find a patch to start a land-based business or expand existing gardens. This land matching service is free for both land holders and land seekers. The current listings and online forms for placing a listing may be found here.
With the colonisation of Aotearoa came the concept of private land ownership. This shift, at odds with te ao Māori perspectives, resulted in the loss of access to land for resource gathering, cultivation, kaitiakitanga and everyday living for iwi, hapū and whānau. We recognise that the private ownership of this land today continues to create barriers to many types of community-oriented food production, for mana whenua, pākehā and other tauiwi.
We are developing a ‘land access handbook’ to explore and explain the different ways that land can be used, shared and cared for collectively in public and private ownership. A brief history of land-use in Aotearoa and indigenous land and food injustice will also be covered for context, along with international case studies.
The handbook will provide both land-holders and land-seekers with current information specific to the context of Aotearoa to support them to make informed decisions when negotiating land-sharing arrangements.
Lease templates to simplify the legal process of lease-based land-sharing will be developed in consultation with specialist lawyers and made available alongside the handbook on our website.
Job listings
We offer a space for listing jobs, internships or volunteer opportunities with ecological, regenerative and organic growers and businesses across Aotearoa
Member Directory
There are many growers, farmers and food producers around Aotearoa with a passion for providing good quality food for their communities whilst being gentle and supportive of natural ecosystems. As small businesses, local support is crucial to their success.
We have created a living directory of producers, growers, vendors and farmers who are contributing to the work that Village Agrarians is doing - both by supporting us as members and by helping to build a thriving food system.
The directory lists a profile for each business or organisation on our website, and places them on a map for visualisation of your local food network. Links to the growers and the retailers that they support/buy from will also feature so that you can go directly to their websites.
A place to start - hands on learning
In addition to the resource network, we are developing internship and education programmes to help equip young and new-entrant growers and farmers.
Our programmes are based on building community through education and events which focus on immersive learning and teaching. This allows supportive communities of practice to thrive, such that growers, gardeners, producers, and community members can succeed in building sustainable food systems.
In winter 2022, in partnership with the South Coast Environment Centre and the Longwood Loop, we co-ran a 5 month, community-focussed collaborate market garden training course. Our first Winter Training Programme saw 15 participants from across Western Southland learning all aspects of market gardening, from seeding to crop planning to marketing, all with a focus on how we can harness our collaborate potential to strengthen Southland’s food system.
Our next step is to develop an internship programme that can match new entrants to sustainable agriculture with experienced agroecological growers. Internships will be season-long, with the fixed length dependent on the individual situation. However, the programme will offer support and education beyond the growing season by holding workshops on topics from seed-saving to running a business, hosting gatherings, offering peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and connecting with sponsors to provide interns with tools and resources for their land-based work and scholarships.
We ran a pilot internship during Summer 2022/2023, and we will invite interns to pair with growers for our first cohort in Spring 2023.
If you would like to be part of developing this programme with us, please get in touch!
Open Source
We believe in open-source systems and co-operative communities - we are happy to share our systems and knowledge. Get in touch with us!
A registered charitable trust
Village Agrarians Charitable Trust is supported by a board of trustees alongside subject-matter experts, artists, writers, researchers, activists and growers.
Charities Number CC59219.
