Koanga Institute

Kia Ora

We've now been collecting and growing old fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers for 25 years. As we've come to know, and love them we have become aware of their importance and their value in our lives and our future. They are the strongest seeds we have, with the widest genetic diversity, and have been developed over thousands of years to sustain and support human life. In particular the seeds we have been saving are our own New Zealand Heirlooms, the seeds that have been saved by our own grandparents, in the soil and climatic conditions of this land. These seeds are us.

Since 1920 we have lost around 90% of our vegetable seed, around 85% of the fruit varieties and our flowers are going fast. They are extinct, irretrievable. We are so concerned about this we have established a Charitable Trust called The Koanga Institute to find, save our remaining heritage seeds and trees, and make them available to all New Zealanders.

Much of the Koanga Institute’s work was in response to the fact that over the last 100 years, much of the genetic diversity in food plants, all over the world, has disappeared as a result of the industrialisation of our food production.

In the process of ‘saving the seed’, all those involved have come to the wider realisation that just as the ecology of our ‘food evolution’ has been compromised by industrialisation, many other aspects of our ‘human ecology’ have likewise been compromised, and we can’t address one issue (e.g. seed saving) in isolation. Seed saving is one aspect of the broader need to address our ‘human ecology’.

Thus, while an immediate priority for the Institute is seed protection and conservation, it is also committed to contributing towards practical wholistic solutions in the wider fields of sustainable living.

           Arohanui Kay Baxter
           Managing Director - Koanga Institute Inc.

Koanga Institute exists to inspire and support 'sustainable living' in New Zealand through:

• Protection, conservation and development of NZ's genetic and cultural heritage
• Investigating the nutritional and health benefits of selected plants in our collection
• Exploring the benefits of heritage plants and animals in 'organic' production systems
• Research and development in the fields of 'sustainable living'
• Educational programmes and advocacy

Current Areas of Focus

• The maintenance of our fruit tree collection
• Continuing to grow out the herbs, flowers and vegetables from our 'national' collection.
• Supporting, and liaising with, other individuals and 'seed saving' groups in NZ to encourage regional seed saving, and public access to that material
• Investigating the nutritional and health benefits of selected plants in our collection.
• Research into Light Earthbuilding techniques
• Research into the design and use of appropriate technology (solar food drying, non-electric cool storage, rocket stoves) and making that information available through our Institute booklets
• Research into community land trusts and lifeboat communities.. and sharing what we learn through website and catalogues
• Development of programmes for interns and apprentices (in gardening, Permaculture design and appropriate technology)
• Education ... we teach workshops, give talks and discussions, teach Permaculture Design Courses with a focus on training new designers.. and run an interactive website where there is much to be learnt