Featured posts.
By Ashleigh Payne
In late May I saw on her Instagram story that Monique Fiso’s mum had pre-ordered a copy of Hiakai — her daughter’s book, which had been three years in the making. Immediately—I mean immediately—I followed suit Full article “On Inspiration and personal journeys”
By Marty Jones
“Because I’m a badass”. That’s Ron Finley’s response as to how he ended up with his own entry in the online video seminar series, Masterclass. Full article “Ron Finley”
Katherine Descours visits Julia Milne of Common Unity, to see what’s been going on since Stone Soup was there last, in 2016. Full article “Together, we grow”
by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy
I am going to share something with you that changed my life and led me to create an artwork with a whole city. It’s a simple story about how plants and microbes work together to create a world where we all can thrive. Full article “Other ways of Talking”
He kai he rongoā, he rongoā he kai
Food is medicine, medicine is food
New Zealand was founded as an agricultural enterprise, by a people whose cosmology placed them outside of and above nature. Full article “Hua Parakore: A brief history”
By Te Miri Rangi
Tangaroa whakamau tai – Tangaroa the controller of the tides.
Tangaroa ara rau – Tangaroa of many paths.
Tangaroa te atua o te moana – Tangaroa the great lord of the sea. Full article “Tangaroa: the great lord of the sea”
It was a chef who rowed me out to the conversation and it was another who pushed me over the side of the boat when I refused to jump. But it was a fisherman who held me under, until the water filled my lungs and the shock of the truth dilated my pupils beyond recognition. Full article “Submerged”
Words & Images by Aaron McLean
Lionel Hotene (Ngāti Awa) emits a deep sadness when he speaks about the food options in his hood, a combination of confusion and anger. Fast food giants selling cheap hollow food on every corner, lamb flaps more affordable than kūmara, and a community who quite simply can’t afford to put real nutritious food on their tables. He’s quick to make the connection with the overflowing diabetes ward just down the road at Middlemore Hospital, and with depression and crime rates. “Our people get so down” he despairs, “there’s prejudice against us and we’re belittled. People think we’re no good; we’re lazy, we’re all on the benefit, we’re all in prison, we’re all fat. I’m over that.” Accompanying Lionel’s frustration is an infectious laugh, a spark in his eye and a readiness to “mahi up” and turn it all on its head. “We’re the total opposite of what you think we are,” he proudly states, and he’s proving it. Full article “Bring the kai back”
Words & Photography by Aaron McLean
There’s a lot of romance in being a pirate. Captaining a boat, risking your life with adventures on the high seas, long rum-soaked nights telling tall tales, challenging the powers that be… Nate Smith is a self proclaimed pirate — not here to conquer or steal, but through his enterprise, Gravity Fishing, he seeks to be part of the vanguard, modelling a path to artisanal, transparent and sustainable commercial fishing. Full article “New Horizons”
Back to my roots. Words and images by Charles Buenconsejo
I grew up in paradise, in a small town called Consolacion on the beautiful island of Cebu in the Philippines. Reminiscing about my roots, I can’t stop thinking about the way our entire community used to be and how beautiful the town was before progress arrived. Full article “My pinalanggang ginikanan”
Growing the future with Ella Rose Shnapp and Levi Brinsdon-Hall
In March 2017, just around the corner from Ripe delicatessen in Grey Lynn, we moved into an old villa that looked like it hadn’t changed since the fifties. All that was present in the yard was a large lawn space reminiscent of a public park Full article “Urban abundance”
Aaron McLean in conversation with Raj Patel; a writer, activist and academic whose work is centred around the global food system. Full article “Glorious Moments”
By Ralph Jenner
Charlie and I had been talking and dreaming about a Louisiana style crab boil for almost a year. One day last summer it all came together. We had an occasion, I had a morning off and Charlie wasn’t too busy to squeeze in an early morning mission to the home of all things fishy. Billingsgate Market. Full article “Summer seafood boil”
Will Bowman chats with James Millton
James and Annie Millton are biodynamic wine growers in Gisborne. Since the early 1980s they’ve been following their hearts, heads and hands, farming in a way that intrinsically respects the land they nurture. Full article “Head, hearts and hands”
Michael Reynolds explores food sovereignty and the potential of the commons.
The universality of food can invite a lot into our lives. When we take the time to think about the roles it can play – there are actually many! Full article “Weaving Community Through Food”
Hoko Loko’s origin story has its founders quite literally running down a new trail with a basketful of skills gleaned from the corporate world and insights from their travels. Full article “Digital meets local at Hoko Loko”
We like crowdsourcing information as well as funding at Stone Soup. And we like celebrating exceptional food as well as hidden gems. So we asked some questions of possibly the best source of information about where to eat, our country’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs. Full article “Where Restaurants Eat”
Avondale, originally called Te Whau, is famous among food lovers for its Sunday market, and in fact was the site of early Auckland’s market gardens. I recently visited Avondale old boy Tom Scott of Homebrew, @Peace and Average Rap Band fame. Tom’s music is full of cultural and social observation, Full article “Flat whites and white flats.”
by Nick Loosley
Ben Bostock is curious and infectiously energetic, he can’t sit still and paces as he talks on his phone which rings constantly. He is humble and totally transparent when explaining his work. This is refreshing in an industry that is notorious for keeping secrets, farm gates firmly closed to the media. His knack for keeping things simple and focusing on the crucial elements of his operation have seen Bostock’s Organic Free Range Chicken expand quickly. Ben makes a great farmer. Full article “Organics: Radical? Or just good business?”
“Shouldn’t every community be fed as much as possible, locally, by the people that live in that community?”
Interview and photography: Aaron McLean Full article “Community Unity”
What the city’s ex-refugees can teach us about the current migrant crisis
by Eve Watling
Photography: Aaron McLean
Full article “Celebrating the New Year with Auckland’s Cambodian community”
“..the penny dropped for me that food is seen as this really benign and irrelevant thing, but it’s actually everything. And it pertains to every aspect of life on this planet. The environment, politics, trade and economics, health and wellbeing, preservation of culture; food is pretty much the single most important issue.” Full article “Askew One”
“enhance the mana of those around you”
By Carrie Stoddart-Smith @Ellipsister
(Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tautahi, Ngāti Rehia) Full article “Manaakitanga”