About

Koanga is Non Profit organisation registered with the New Zealand Charity Commission. 

Our History

Historically the Koanga institute and its founders have focused on saving our heritage food plants, including vegetable seeds and fruit trees. As a result, the Institute and its founders have brought together, New Zealand’s largest collection of NZ heritage  vegetable seeds (800+), and a northern bio-regional heritage fruit tree and national berries collection (400+) over a 30 year period.

 It has also become one of the leading practitioners, researcher and teacher of bio-intensive gardening and nutrient dense food production for home gardeners, and has  developed a wide range of educational courses in self-reliance and ecological design which attracts students from around the world. 

 The Future

What has become increasingly obvious to Koanga’s founders, is that seed saving and heritage tree growing is only the first link in the food and human ecology chain, it is time for this vision to evolve. Throughout the world, ‘seed savers’,  and many others, have come to the wider realisation that it is not just the ecology of our food that has been compromised by industrialization. We now understand that many other aspects of our “human ecology” have likewise been compromised, and we can’t address single issues (e.g. seed saving) in isolation. Seed saving is just one aspect of the broader need to address our “human ecology” within an industrial culture.

The Koanga Institute is moving its focus towards becoming  a leading centre for regenerative living.

 The Institute has committed to developing a campus at 96 Kotare Road dedicated to:

•  holding our heritage food plant collections
•  research into all aspects of regenerative* living
•  sharing our experience and knowledge

 Through this, we aim to ensure the long-term sustainability, and regeneration of New Zealand’s bio-diversity heritage, and to contribute towards transformation in the wider community.

 The Village Model- encompassing environment, community, people and economy

In addition to this we have decided to place the campus within a wider  self-reliant village of approximately 150 people.  This village will

•       Be an inspirational model of 21st century ecological philosophy, practice and       transformation in a rural environment.
•       Support a co-operative entrepreneurial economy
•       Support a balance of individualism and interdependence
•       Support the campus with staff and student housing
•       Be an inspirational and educational resource for the campus.
•       Be developed symbiotically with the campus

*  “The term “regenerative” describes processes that restore, renew or revitalize their own sources of  energy and materials, creating sustainable systems that integrate the needs of society with the integrity of nature “ –  Wikipedia

Vision statement

Our Vision is that through our research, living experience, and service, we are able to strengthen people’s ability to create regenerative environments and self-reliant cultures

Mission statement

The Mission of the Koanga Institute is to inspire, encourage and support regenerative self-reliant communities by:

1. protecting, developing and sharing our NZ heritage food plants
2. researching, experiencing and sharing knowledge on regenerative systems

3. engaging with others to facilitate the adoption of a regenerative culture