In March 2024 Yuan Tze drafted a document to assist the transformation from a traditional New Zealand dairy farm into a Ren Xue Farm.
Read about Ren Xue agriculture.
Set on a 186-hectare former dairy farm, the Farm is now practicing sustainable regenerative agriculture and permaculture principles. The project includes diverse orchards, food forests, and extensive native planting, with a strong focus on soil health and biodiversity.
In 2020, Ren Xue Australasia Charitable Trust agreed to purchase the farm, and in 2022, it was gifted land in Onekakā Golden Bay/Mohua to develop the Ren Xue Centre Australasia and Farm.
There are 5 waterways and a tidal estuary on the Farm, so water quality is important. Using the Maori philosophy of "ki uta ki tai" (mountains to sea), water is managed in an integrated way that considers the effects of the use and development of land on a whole-of-catchment basis, including the effects on receiving environments. This protects our beautiful rivers and ocean and the myriad of life it supports.
Regular environmental monitoring and partnerships with local organisations and universities support the Farm. Links with the local and wider community are also important, including the development of social enterprises and a planned community garden and cycleway.
The Farm has a working research relationship with Lincoln University, which started with soil sampling work in April 2022.
Planting of fruit trees in front of the farmhouse with farmyard buildings and native tree nursery shade house in the background. Noting the people on the roof of the shed are replacing lead-headed nails with steel screws, an initiative to prevent Kea, a native bird, from being poisoned. A community project led by The Kea Conservation Trust.
Social enterprise OK Grow Nursery operates from the land and the now retired milking shed. The family-run nursery was established to trade in wholesale and retail native plants. Growing locally sourced plants for restoration and revegetation projects on farms, along streams and in wetlands.
If you would like a tour of the Farm or would like to know more, please contact Steve Lee at steve.lee@renxueaustralasia.org
The Ren Xue Centre Australasia Project sits under the umbrella of Ren Xue Australasia, & has links throughout the global Ren Xue community.
