Localising Food is a project of The Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa. As well as documentary production, Earthcare offers local food resilient workshops, permaculture design courses, community development consultancies and sustainability education resource materials.
The project came about in 2012, as a response to the rapid decline in food security, escalating costs of food, and the increase in natural disasters, especially earthquakes and floods which have devastated some bioregions in Aotearoa.
Mission:
To inspire, empower and educate communities towards greater local food resilience.
Vision:
To empower communities in local food resilience, creating healthy, enriching local food cultures throughout NZ
To facilitate a national movement which enriches local food resilience and empowers communities
Actions:
The delivery of local community resilience workshops and resources
Providing inspiring educational films and short stories which document community initiatives already happening around Aotearoa
National networking between food activists, organisations, growers and distributors
To engage with local communities, we offer a series of interactive workshops to develop food resilience action plans and teach hands-on skills. In these participatory workshops, engaging facilitated activities include: building co-operation amongst food systems players, creating local seasonal calendars, establishing a bioregional food resource inventory, strategising food security action plans and generating local food economies. As a result of these workshops, many local food networks have been formed, home growers upskilled and properties transformed into food havens. In addition, thousands of home-saved heirloom seeds have been exchanged, school seedbanks formed and food gardens established.
With such a large scope, we created it’s very own website: www.localisingfood.com.
Our videos
A quiet revolution is taking root in streets, schools, and parks around Aotearoa, New Zealand; seeding long-term, multi-generational solutions for our food.
Edible Paradise travels to the four corners of Aotearoa to meet with local food campaigners instrumental in creating community orchard and multilayered perennial 'Food Forest' projects in their patch.
These practical and inspiring examples define community in action, and have seen the establishment of food forest projects that will be a legacy for future generations.
An overview of inspirational seed saving initiatives happening throughout Aotearoa-New Zealand, which can be replicated and adapted anywhere.
An insight into the impact of industrialised food monopolies and why our very food security is now reliant upon local community-scale seed systems.
Instructional documentary ‘Hands-on Seed Saving’, where experts from around New Zealand share how they go about growing and saving seed.
They guide you step by step in how to select your best plants for seed, how to harvest, process, label and store your seed. This documentary is full of tips for you to embark on simple seed saving – now! We encourage you to share it around.
The ‘Growing Schools’ series will help expand the school garden culture in New Zealand and support children to establish a life-long connection with their food. It’s comprised of 4 focussed films:
The Localising Food team toured the country and witnessed many exciting child-led initiatives to grow, process and preserve and share their kai. ‘Growing Schools’ tells the beautiful story of children discovering where their food 'really' comes from. It explores the benefits of school gardens for children’s’ social, academic, mental health and physical wellbeing.
This documentary series will help expand the school garden culture in New Zealand and support children to establish a life-long connection with their food.
