Our community gets quality veggies for a lower cost when they do the picking. Twenty bucks, fill a crate, take it home.

48 families came along, half of them new. Seventeen came back again. We're growing PYO into a full season, October 2026 to April 2027.

Growing intensively puts pressure on soil, so half the job is making sure the ground improves rather than depletes.

We feed the biology, not the plant: compost extracts, microbial drenches, cover crops, mulch, minimal disturbance. Organic certification starts with microgreens in FY27.

528 sheep and 333 cattle across 576 hectares, born here and living their whole lives on pasture that grows without irrigation or imported feed. No antibiotics, GMOs or synthetic hormones.

Halter's virtual collars guide the herd by GPS, moving stock off wet ground and out of waterways without a physical fence.

Five 100-metre rows of trees, continually testing what grows best in this valley and its changing climate. The first fruits have arrived, and this area has the highest worm count in the valley. Brought to life with gifted plants and volunteer labour.

From October to March we audited every item that left the shop without a transaction, totalling $9,814 of retail value. Ōrongomai Marae took our greens almost every week of the high season, and returned it by sharing hāngī with our visitors at Harvest Festival. Another 35 kg of venison from our own hunting went to the Upper Hutt Foodbank.

The Farm Shop aims to support local, with over half of our suppliers from the Wellington region. Buying local at this quality carries a premium retail price, and closing that gap is a core focus for FY27.

Jason and Sarah's hens are up Blue Mountains Road. Their business No Boundaries eggs was our biggest external vendor of the year. Nine of our 101 suppliers come from Mangaroa and Whitemans Valley, a number we'd love to grow.

We've got honest neighbours. The fridge runs on an unstaffed honesty system, holding eggs and veges. People get what they need, leaving cash or making a bank transfer.

Nine homes across the farm house staff and community members, keeping the people who work this land living on it. [Placeholder — team to add: tenancy mix, affordability approach, upgrades this year.]

NZ Garden Trust is a nationwide network of quality-assessed gardens of significance throughout the country. Our flagship event space received a 4 star rating for the blend of native and exotic species, as well as a focus on biodiversity and long-term resilience.

[Placeholder — team to supply: how we've grown the valley's affordable housing stock, number of tenancies, and how rents sit against market.]

[Placeholder — team to supply: zoning work with local council, landscaping and garden projects around homes, and how residential character is kept alongside landscape-scale restoration.]

Between Earth School Aotearoa and the schools who visit us, 130 learners spent more than four hours on the farm this year, 15 spent more than fifty hours, and 9 learners spent over two hundred hours.

Forty-one hands-on sessions, from earth building to home herbalism, averaging about fifteen people each. Nearly two thirds ran free or sponsored, and four in five were built for schools and community groups rather than general ticket sales. We hosted three professional learning days for teachers on top of that.

Four under-17s worked alongside our farm manager this year: stock work, grazing, animal health, and jobs they had to finish alone.

One has gone on to a farming cadetship, another's building hours for Growing Future Farmers. Farming starts to look like a career worth having, especially for the young women.

40 learners from fourteen countries lived and worked with us. 68 volunteers came for planting days, and 5 households joined the Potato Growers Co-op. All came with skills and left with some wisdom.

Events are how people find this place. A lot of people just come once. Some come back every month. From farm to table dinners to breathwork journeys, technology gatherings and farm tours, these facilities have heard many different kōrero. 

BROS Aotearoa held their first two Masculine Vitality Experiences here, 30 men each, for challenge, connection and nourishment. In a country where men face stark mental-health statistics, connection is protective — and these gatherings build it. Mangaroa Farms provided the land and the kai.

Our biggest days of the year come in November and March, when we open the gates for a day of farm charm. 1,500 people gathered here each time for garden tours, Mangaroa kai, market stalls, live music, kids activities and more.

This year we hosted our first Earth Fellows cohort, with 10 leaders in food, farming, housing and landcare across Aotearoa. This work strengthens the relational bonds of Aotearoa's regenerative movement, and gives these leaders a chance to rest. The fellowship has given rise to further collaboration with Mangaroa Farms.