www.kahikateafarm.co.nz Food Forest Plants & more!

Hi, I'm Jo Duff, My family and I live on Kahikatea Farm, 16 beautiful acres in the Hawke's Bay, on the East coast of New Zealand's North Island. Since school days i have been an passionate environmentalist, but it was the Permaculture Magazine in the UK which introduced me to the actual concept of permaculture (yay, relief - there are others doing this thing!).

My background is in language teaching but when I moved to Hawke's Bay in 2005 I started teaching sustainability and permaculture courses and set up a local permaculture group. I was awarded New Zealand Gardener Magazine's 2007 Hawkes Bay Gardener of the Year award for my courses.

At Kahikatea Farm we are developing a 2 acre food forest/forest garden (I call it 'multi-storey' farming or gardening) with another 5 acres planned. We have 3 acres of regenerating natural wetlands, and a large home garden with demonstrations of techniques appropriate to urban sites. Our house has many eco features such as grey water recycling, compost toilet, natural home made plaster and paint.

We are also home to Hawke's Bay's only certified organic seedling nursery where we grow about 100 types of vegetable seedlings and over 100 other plants - medicinal herbs, beneficial insect attractors, plants for fertilisers, dyes, basketry etc. suitable for 'permaculture' plantings.

We run 28 hour Introduction to Permaculture Courses as well as other gardening workshops, and are available for consultancy work. We currently advise and supply plants to a community garden on a marae, and to a local winery.