The weather forecast for last weekend here in Wellington wasn't great so I didn't plan ahead any activities for us. I thought to myself if it was raining all day, then we would just stay home and do some deep cleaning for the flat. Fortunately, I woke up a bit early on Saturday while lying on bed and enjoying the sound of the rain outside I started browsing my Facebook for local events. I was so thrilled to discover Crop Swap, a community event where people can meet and share what they have from their garden or kitchen surplus.
I'm always interested in the ideas of sharing food with neighbours. That's what I grew up with. My village is a close-nit community and we always received fruits and vegies from our neighbours. For me it is so beautiful and I miss it so much. I used to think that I didn't have a proper garden so I couldn't do it here. However, this event changed my mind and I am so glad to be part of this community now.
The event started at 10:30 am. I aimed to be there on time, however, it was our first time so I missed one bus stop and we had to walk back. It was not too far from the community garden anyway. When we arrived, it was not easy to find people as there is no information at the entrance of the garden. At first, I didn't want to just walk in but then decided to try, at least we can have a look at the garden.
Indeed, people are gathering at the back of the garden and having a cuppa and sharing some kai (food). It is always awkard for me this moment when you are new with something. But quickly, I had a chance to talk with Rebecca - one of the two hosts of this event and she told me what going to happen next. She said we had couples of minutes to go around the garden then back for a quick introduction about the event. Afther that, we each introduce who we are and what we brought.
The garden looks amazing on a beautiful autumn day
Look at this giant Courgette, I think it must weigh around 2kg, probably the farm keeps it to get seeds for next year
As I mentioned we didn't have a proper garden so we didn't bring anything from our garden. Fortunately, I have a friend who gave me a whole bag of choko so I thought it would be great to share. Others brought apples, pears, seedlings and plants, home-made apple jam, indoor plants and dry-seeweed to share. And we were so lucky the farm manager decided to give away all the small autumn plants they don't use.
All of the small plants on the table is for the event and we can take whatever we want. Too bad we don't have space to bring them home but I did get some small plants below to grow in front of our place.
Everyone in this community has good knowledge of gardening so it would be great for me to learn from them, get ready to start my own garden one day. I made a connection with a manager of Kaicycle urban farm and let her know that I am interested in the volunteer work in the garden. I am keen to learn from them and it would be great to have sometimes in their garden.
Rebecca is organising a group of volunteers who can go and pick fruits from trees in residential areas. she said the owner then can decide what they want and then the rest we will bring for people in need. It is a great thought and I want to get involved as well. I told her I used to pick fruits from orchards so I am willing to help.
I am so glad I discovered this community event. I am an introvert so meeting new people is not really my thing. But I realise when you meet people with the same vibes, that's what matter most. You will stick with them and have a good time together. Just like you guys here in HiveGarden, I am talking about you too so cheers to us and even though we can't physically share food to each others, we sharing our moments and knowledge too.
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