Raranga at the Earth Stewards Farm Shop in Hamilton

(draft placeholder - more photos coming soon)

Thanks to Elle and the team for making the Harakeke plants at Earth Stewards Farm a part of Blue Borage weaving studies.

We're planning a project to label the plants and make woven items available for sale in the farm shop so that you can go find the plant that created each item. A commission from each item goes straight to the farm and each sale helps to fund Katrina's Level 5 weaving studies with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa at the Raroera campus in Hamilton.

Items you'll see:

• Pōtae (sun hats)

• Kono (little baskets)

• Placemats

• Play ropes

Commissions: Commissions are welcome, and any orders placed through this blog post about Earth Stewards will earn a commission for the farm.

Email to discuss your requirements and budget: katrina@blueborage.co.nz, and do mention your connection with Earth Stewards Farm.

Caring for your own Harakeke plants: Lots of people think that Harakeke (NZ Flax) cannot be composted, and that's simply not true. Sure, the fibres are long and strong enough to damage (or destroy) commercial compost equipment, but this is where small scale, hand-made composting systems are the best composting solution.

Get in touch if you'd like some guidance with your own plants - either for keeping them tidy, keeping them healthy, or composting the prunings.
katrina@blueborage.co.nz

Note: I have a guide to composting Harakeke on my Ko-Fi shop, lots of ideas here for the DIY types.

https://ko-fi.com/s/05f12609d7

Composting with Ngā Tai E Rua Pā in Tuakau:

Some photos here of the Harakeke in the Rongoā garden at the Pā, along with a small kete I made from the plants to gift the group who invited me to be part of their composting project.

Riverside Restoration Project: I'm involved in a very exciting project based on the Waikato River, which includes elevating the status of Harakeke and Raranga.

Here's the Lapwood Road restoration project on the bank of the Waikato River in Tuakau:

And then here's a short video of the grove of Swamp Maire trees, also on Lapwood Road:

Sales of woven treasures help fund this community restoration work. Thank you for your support - it means a lot.

Follow Blue Borage on social media and hop on my email list to stay in the loop - there's an email sign-up box at the bottom of this screen wherever you are reading this blog post.

More photos coming soon.