Fourteen people. One hour. One swale bed. It might sound like a small start, but it is helping lay the groundwork for something much bigger in Ōtara.
At a working bee this month, community members and local partners came together to create the first swale bed at the Te Pae o Manukau Food Forest, being developed by Pacific Vision Aotearoa (PVA) – a Pacific-led environmental and community organisation focused on connecting Pacific communities with sustainable and regenerative ways of living.
The hands-on mahi, with the help of funding and support from the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, is already bringing people together to grow kai, share knowledge and care for the whenua, with more working bees planned.
The food forest, blessed in May, is part of PVA’s wider KaiWaka kaupapa, which brings together food growing, seed saving, growing new plants from seeds and cuttings, composting and food preservation. Its seed sanctuary, Ko’anga nursery, and Whenua to Whenua composting work create a cycle from seed to soil to kai (food).
But the goal is bigger than growing fruit and vegetables.
For PVA, food resilience means making locally grown kai more accessible, sharing knowledge, caring for the whenua and building skills that communities can rely on.
PVA environmental navigator Therese Mangos says: “It’s all about returning to an abundance mindset, and the plants that our tupuna / ancestors brought with them on their waka / canoe. We are not only growing food. We are growing resources for our community to weave, beat, carve and create into taonga / treasure.”
That community-led approach is supported by the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board and Auckland Council. The local board allocated $55,520 in 2024/25 to support the KaiWaka project, which includes the development of a community food forest at Te Pae o Manukau on Boundary Road.
Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Chair Apulu Reece Autagavaia says: “In these turbulent times, with international fuel crisis, pressure on supply lines, and the domino effect on food prices and the cost of living, this project is an attempt to bring food security and food sovereignty to our locals. I also understand when mana whenua gifted the name, Te Pae o Manukau, for the Manukau Sports Bowl, they highlighted the trail through the Manukau Heights hills that mana whenua would use to locate food."This project is right at home, exactly where it should be.”
"This project is right at home, exactly where it should be.”
The food forest is one part of the local board’s wider investment in environmental action.
In 2025/26, the local board committed $382,955 across nine environmental initiatives, including the $55,520 for KaiWaka, $38,000 for Eco-Neighbourhoods, $117,000 for stream restoration and community engagement, and $71,000 for Pest Free South Auckland.
Local councillor Lotu Fuli says: “This is an initiative where Auckland Council, along with the local board, have supported the Roots Collective to deliver over time, as part of Transform Manukau. It’s great to see all that mahi come together and the initiative now come to life.”
The Roots Collective is grassroots community development organisation who share the same space at Boundary with PVA.
Together, these projects show what environmental action can look like when it is local, practical and led by the people who live there.
And that is why Te Pae o Manukau matters.
Find it: Te Pae o Manukau Food Forest behind 41 Boundary Road, Clover Park.
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