Kai Ora Fund 2026 · Application Kai-083
The Uey Kai Garden
A community kai garden on the Uey — the central reserve in the heart of Donnellys Crossing.
Build a garden for ourselves that feeds us, feeds our connections to the land, our connections to each other, and our connections to the local iwi.
On the surface this is a community garden. Underneath it is the kick-start of something larger: a small remote rural community remembering how to be one, with food as the reason for gathering and Māori principles as part of the frame from the beginning.
What we're building
Raised beds
Steel, food-safe, built to last 25+ years.
Community food stand
Anyone can take what they need.
Kids' plot
The local school invited to grow alongside.
Fruit trees & bananas
Citrus, feijoa, plum, peach, cold-hardy banana.
Soil & compost
Grandpa's Garden Mix from Kaipara.
Signage
The kaupapa, and acknowledging Kai Ora.
The Uey is already used and looked after by DCCG — we hold market days there and built the BBQ shelter. The food stand running a few hundred metres down the road moves up to join it.
What it will do
- Put spray-free, organic, locally grown food in reach of every Donnellys Crossing resident.
- Unlock decades of gardening, preserving, cooking, building and craft knowledge currently siloed across households.
- Engage children directly through a kids' plot and an invitation to the local school.
- Build a learning relationship with Waikarā Marae, three years into their own papakāinga gardens.
- Grow in right relationship with mana whenua — carrying the blessing of Te Roroa's Matua Snow Tane.
- Return the annual community picnic sports day to the gardens after a two-year hiatus.
Who's involved
Donnellys Crossing Community Group (≈22 active volunteers, lead organisation); Te Roroa; Waikarā Marae; the experienced gardeners of Donnellys Crossing; local knowledge holders — preservers, cooks, builders, woodworkers, engineers, farmers; the local school; and Kaipara Landscape Supplies in Dargaville.
The Application
Kai Ora Fund 2026 · Application No. Kai-083 · submitted 17 May 2026.
What we're planning to do
We're building a community kai garden on the Uey — the central reserve in the heart of Donnellys Crossing: six raised garden beds, a community food stand, and storage, on a site we already maintain and use. We hope it will be the kick-start of something larger — our remote rural community remembering how to be, with food as the reason for gathering and indigenous principles as part of the frame from the beginning rather than as an add-on.
The things
- Six raised garden beds (originally 2.4m × 1.2m × 0.4m, H4 treated pine)
- A community food stand
- A kids' plot, with the local school invited to be part of it
- Soil and compost from local suppliers
- Signage acknowledging Kai Ora and naming the kaupapa
Timeframe
Bed construction autumn 2026 · soil delivery within two weeks of build · first planting autumn 2026 · food stand operational by spring · the annual community picnic sports day (dormant two years) returns next year, hosted at the gardens.
What we've already done
DCCG has run as the village's community organisation for years. We maintain the Uey and built the BBQ shelter on it. The site is in active community use — we've held three successful market days there in two years. A community food stand already operates a few hundred metres down the road; we'll move it to the Uey. In adjacent work, DCCG recently led a fire-preparedness initiative (extinguishers and blankets distributed, safety burn kits planned, a Fire Service workshop confirmed). The food-security thinking behind this application sits within a wider DCCG focus on rural resilience.
What difference it will make
Donnellys Crossing is a small remote rural community on the Kauri Coast. The nearest supermarket is in Dargaville, half an hour away. Fuel costs, the rising cost of living, and distance from supply all press on household budgets. Some here run low on food. They shouldn't.
This project puts food in reach — spray-free, organic, grown here, available at a community food stand where anyone can take what they need. It unlocks knowledge that has always been here, gives it a reason to come into the same place and be passed on. It engages children directly through a kids' plot and school involvement. It builds relationship with mana whenua. It gives DCCG a credibility moment. And it will be well documented, so other small rural communities can borrow what works.
Results expected in the first eighteen months
- Six productive beds producing kai consistently
- A community food stand stocked regularly
- A working group of six to eight lead gardeners with named roles and a maintenance rhythm
- Twenty-plus residents who can point at a bed and say "I'm growing that"
- An ongoing relationship with Waikarā Marae
- A children's plot active across the school year
- The picnic sports day re-established at the gardens
Alignment
The project is a Maara Kai (food garden) with education/wānanga and environmental stewardship dimensions. It aligns with all of Kai Ora's mission statements — oranga, rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and mātauranga, whanaungatanga, and regional economic development — and with the priorities of whanaketanga, equity, whakapapa, and sustainability. First-time applicant. Located in the Kaipara district.
Costings
Quotes & Prices Pack · prepared 29 May 2026. Total ask to Kai Ora unchanged at $4,530.
Since the application was submitted on 17 May, several lines were refined as supplier conversations progressed. The biggest change: moving from DIY timber raised beds to Steelmates aluminium-coated zinc beds — four funded by Kai Ora, plus a separate speculative application for two more via Steelmates' We Give Back programme (not confirmed; the project doesn't depend on it).
Budget reconciliation
Original application budget (17 May) vs revised position after supplier engagement. Total to Kai Ora is unchanged.
| Line item | Original | Revised | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raised garden beds | $1,400.00 | $1,312.00 | −$88.00 |
| Soil & compost | $900.00 | $1,148.80 | +$248.80 |
| Community food stand | $450.00 | $450.00 | $0.00 |
| Seeds & seedlings | $200.00 | $185.00 | −$15.00 |
| Signage | $250.00 | $160.00 | −$90.00 |
| Diesel & fuel | $400.00 | $400.00 | $0.00 |
| Fruit trees | $450.00 | $450.00 | $0.00 |
| Banana plants | $150.00 | $138.00 | −$12.00 |
| Tree support & mulch | $180.00 | $136.00 | −$44.00 |
| Contingency | $150.00 | $150.00 | $0.00 |
| Total to Kai Ora | $4,530.00 | $4,530.00 | $0.00 |
Underspends on beds, signage, seeds, bananas and tree support (≈$249) cover the soil-delivery increase exactly, keeping the total at $4,530. A $0.20 rounding difference is absorbed in contingency.
The key change — raised beds
Two days after submitting, DCCG members visited Waikarā Marae's papakāinga gardens (three years ahead of us). A clear message: timber beds in Northland's humid climate rot far sooner than people expect, and repairs come out of the same volunteer pool trying to grow food. We switched to Steelmates aluminium-coated zinc beds — 25+ year lifespan vs 7–10 for timber, food-safe (no preservative leaching), no rot repairs, made in NZ.
| Raised beds — Steelmates | Beds | Cost to Kai Ora | In-kind value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Ora funded (end kit + extension panels) | 4 | $1,312.00 | — |
| We Give Back (donated, not confirmed) | 2 | $0.00 | $656.00 |
| Total delivered | 6 | $1,312.00 | $656.00 |
If We Give Back is declined, the garden launches with four beds and the Kai Ora ask is unchanged. Each bed: 0.82m × 2.42m footprint, 0.63m high (workable standing), food-safe coating, flat-pack with 4 corner bolts.
Soil & compost
Supplier: Kaipara Landscape Supplies (Dargaville). Quote for 5 m³ of Grandpa's Garden Mix @ $140/m³ = $700.00, plus delivery to Donnellys Crossing $448.80 — $1,148.80 incl. GST. Mulch was dropped from the KLS order (a separate $448.80 truck delivery) and will instead come from sheep-wool dags (in-kind, local farms), local Forest Floor pickups, or woodchip as a fallback.
Other lines
- Community food stand — $450. Community-built, weatherproof roadside stand; carried at the application figure.
- Seeds & seedlings — $185. Kūanga heritage seeds + Kings Seeds + Awapuni, sized for six beds plus the kids' plot.
- Signage — $160. Community-built; materials only.
- Diesel & fuel — $400. An estimate, carried at the application figure.
- Fruit trees — $450. Six trees (lemon, mandarin, 2 feijoa, plum, peach): ≈$265 trees + ≈$185 shipping across three Northland suppliers.
- Banana plants — $138. 2× Misi Luki + 1× Goldfinger from Flying Dragon; cold-tolerant, productive within 12–18 months.
- Tree support & mulch — $136. Stakes and ties from a local supplier; mulch supplemented by sheep-wool dags (in-kind).
- Contingency — $150 (≈5%), plus reallocated underspends.
In-kind contributions (not funded by Kai Ora)
- Steelmates We Give Back — 2 additional beds (applied for, not confirmed) — $656 if granted
- DCCG volunteer labour — build, planting, working bees
- Local equipment access — diggers, trucks, tractors, mowers
- Sheep-wool dags from local farms for mulch
- Bamboo stakes from Donnellys Crossing for tree support
- Bed labels & "what's in season" board — offcuts and community stock
Discussion
A shared thread for the community — questions, ideas, and offers of help about the Uey Kai Garden.
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