By Zoe Barbenel
Zoe manages Waewae Permaculture’s Otago Farmers Market Stall on a beautiful Saturday morning.
Come the end of semester two in November, an important race starts for students: the search for a good summer job. After having spent the previous year's summer in front of a computer doing research, I was especially excited to hear about Village Agrarians. I got in touch through a friend, MJ Grove, who Rebecca and Hollie had offered a position as a pilot internship research assistant. I was offered the same role and was placed at Waewae Permaculture over a few weeks in January. Waewae Permaculture was started in 2019 by Fiona Collings and Lian Redding and is situated near Osborne, just outside of Dunedin; there, they operate a market garden following regenerative and organic principles. I was welcomed with open arms and helped with the daily runnings of the farm, from weeding and preparing beds to seeding, harvesting and preparing products for sale at the farmers market. I learnt about soil, composting and the regenerative methods used by Lian and Fiona; of most interest to me, I got to see what running a market garden is like, and the amount of work (and reward!) that goes into it. In addition to my work at Waewae Permaculture, the Village Agrarian internship aims to facilitate workshops around the topic of small-scale and respectful production. In that context, I attended a cheese-making workshop where I was taught how to make halloumi, from milking the cow to preparing a delicious bite of food. Finally, the last part of my work was to discuss with Rebecca and Hollie and give feedback on the internship. It was a rewarding process to be part of, and I am excited to see initiatives like these being built - I look forward to seeing Village Agrarians grow!
