Common Unity Grow Kit

Common Unity is dedicated to food. Growing it, cooking it, and sharing it by feeding as many people in our community as we can. Before we get into the ‘how’ of setting up an urban kai farm, this session talks about the ‘why’, as it’s a vital question to answer. Thanks for learning with us.

At Common Unity, our mission is to enable as much intensive urban food growing across the Hutt Valley as possible. This session discusses what an urban kai farm is, the types of urban kai farms we run here at Common Unity, and an overview of all the upcoming sessions.

Common Unity doesn't just have urban kai farms, we have an entire food hub. There is no right or wrong way, but this is the approach works for us. In this session we explain our operating model and why it is important to have one.

Running a food hub isn’t cheap and there are all kinds of costs to think about. In this session, we discuss the all important question - how we generate the income we needed, especially in the beginning.

In this session, we discuss the significance of the land, or Papatūānuku in traditional Maori culture, and also cover off the important factors to consider when looking for appropriate urban farming land.

Here at Common Unity we don't just grow food, we also grow people. In this session we discuss how we manage and support our amazing team of whānau and volunteers.

Here at Common Unity, we are pushing for positive change in our community. It’s tricky and requires effective leadership. In this session, we talk about our governance structure, and the role of our board.

As your food hub grows, you are going to need more and more administrator support. In this session we take you through some important administration considerations.

We have set up 12 urban kai farms across the Hutt valley so planting is a vital consideration. We are not currently farming in all of these farms. In this session we discuss crop plans, soil, succession planting, crop rotation and pest control amongst other topics.

Here at Common Unity, we see waste as a valuable resource. In this session we talk about our unique approach to waste.

Here at Common Unity, we’re building a food safety culture. This session covers some vital food safety topics, including a Food Control Plan.

This is the final summary session. We genuinely hope you have been inspired to create your own urban kai farm. We are really hoping our food production journey can help your in your own neighbourhood. We would love to hear about your experiences and know that the call to action of growing carrots together also makes other magic grow. As we tend the soil, we are nourished in return. Kia kaha Aotearoa, please keep in touch with us!