I heard they teach you not to talk politics to anyone in the hairdressing seat ? So why is one of Welly’s most experienced hairdressers creating a hair salon that is doing just that? In this interview we talk to Jason Muir about his new pop-up venture , and why he is not afraid to take his craft to the street.
Aro Valley is quickly taking the title of Eco Valley, as recently resident Julia Stace, Te Aro School and the Aro Valley Community Center have all had solar panels installed, which will produce their own renewable power. This will add to the valley’s legacy of already being a leader in community action.
In this two part series these Aro Valley initiators talk about what they think contributes to Aro Valleys constant action towards positive environmental change.
In part 1 resident Julia Stace ( far left) on why she installed photo Voltaic cells on her home and Charles Barrie (centre) from Aro Valley’s community gardens on the surprising benefits of the community gardens and his idea on a vision for Aro Valley.
In Part two Louise Sherrell of , (represented by other Aro Solar project team members Miranda Voke 2nd right and Ollie 2nd left), resident Karen MacIntyre ( centre back) on some valley history that changed it forever and community coordinator Kelvin Aris talks about community resilience.
A must listen for all communities and neighborhoods trying to kick start change.
Part 1
Part 2
Thanks to Virginia Woods Jack for the photo.
Not only is the smiling face that greets you upon entry to Welly’s most fun restaurant , she is the author of a book of memoirs about her time as a human rights lawyer in war torn Afghanistan, a Yoga Guide, and she is about take on a new role as change maker with .
Part 1 – Before she hits the ground with this next project, I wanted to ask her about her life and death experiences in Afghanistan, how she got through this time and why she came back to Wellington.
Part 2 – chats about the effects of the organic tequila at her restaurant LaBocaLoca, her new role at ActionStation and some wonderful insights into what she thinks is important right now, especially for women in our community.
Lu Davidson tells of the determination of the Inspiring Stories Trust in getting around New Zealand schools to encourage and challenge our young people to “Make a Difference” with their film competition. They then go back and show these films to schools creating a self perpetuating system for positive change. Incredible. Lu also talks about her own journey in film and how she is now using these skills to inspire and teach our young people this valuable tool to have a voice as well.
Rose Mensah, a cocoa bean farmer from Ghana came to Wellington to kick off Fair Trade Fortnight and share her story about how being in a fair trade co-op benefit’s her community.
Hearing her story lead me to ask Wellington fair trade stalwarts, Christian from Trade Aid , Matt and Kate from and Rochelle from about the effects on their suppliers and their products from committing their businesses to being fair trade.
I also chat to Pravin Sawmy of about NZ’s astounding growth in Fair trade products is in just 9 years.
Every now and again you meet someone who makes you want to change your life, this happened to me while interviewing Kay Baxter of the . It seems Kay was destined to become our national seed saver and spread a not new philosophy that skipped a generation which makes so much sense for our health now and for our future generations.
If you have any inkling of being a gardener, or constant health issues or just interested in the bigger picture do not miss an opportunity to hear her speak.
James Shaw, our Wellington Central Candidate for the talks about the things that led him to into the world of politics. He also reveals the issue that is really important to him and therefore really important to all of us.