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Valley Girls

Words: Richard Morgan

In the past, most people’s idea of rural New Zealand was gentlemen farmers and burley shearers in black singlets and gumboots, with the farmer’s wife living quietly behind the scenes. Today’s reality couldn’t be further from this, as rural women are no longer content to sit quietly in the background. Today the women of rural New Zealand are now more often than not at the forefront of rural life.

The Waipara Valley region is among one of New Zealand’s fastest growing food and wine regions, with award winning wineries, restaurants and growing numbers of rural entrepreneurs – many of them women. Angela Clifford, Michele Cherry, Gail Morgan, Margot Korhonen and Kate McMillan are five such individuals; these Valley Girls are making names for themselves as business savvy Entrepreneurs and community leaders.

Angela Clifford is the personification of the Waipara region’s ethos; her family brought the first sheep into the district about 160 years ago. While studying in Australia she met her husband Nick Gill and they worked in the Australian wine industry for the next 12 years, establishing the Barossa Farmers Market along the way. They returned to Canterbury and the Valley seven years ago when Nick was given the chance to set up the Greystone Vineyard, and they now have three children.

Angela helped out in the early days of the Waipara Valley Farmers Market and was also Vice-Chair of the NZ Farmers Market Association for a while. She also worked for Greystone Wines for five years getting involved in wine and food events such as ‘In Praise of Riesling’ and the ‘Taste New Zealand Farmers Market Awards’.
Angela couldn’t believe how under-done the region was with regards to a wine and food profile.
“It was as if someone had provided the ingredients and we’d forgotten to bake the cake. The region has all the best bits of some of the best wine regions in the world, the potential is just staggering.”
More recently Angela has worked with others in the community to establish Waipara Valley NZ (www.waiparavalleynz.com), a collaborative group that promotes the Valley, her wines and food. The group has 25 members including 21 local wineries. They’ve adopted the tag-line ‘The most exciting wine and food region in New Zealand’ and she believes this to be true – not the biggest or the best known, but without a doubt the most exciting.
Angela is passionate about the Valley and will happily promote it given half a chance.
“You can grow just about anything here, and I’m a big believer and supporter of local food and local food producers. So many unsung heroes, people who believe in this place where they live. So many of us, our businesses or personally, have been affected by events of the last 12 months but it just seems to have strengthened the sense of community and the importance of being together. It’s all right there in front of us, we just need to grab it. Sometimes we’re not so good at stepping up, reaching out and grabbing things. Sometimes you have to go away to realise the value of where you are from. This is a really special place. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to call it home.”

Michele Cherry and her partner, John Grater own and run Stonecircle Organics, a certified organic vegetable farm just outside of Amberley, the gateway to the Waipara Valley. They sell at the local farmers market as well as supplying to individuals and businesses in the Christchurch area.
Michele, a former midwife, came to the Amberley area six years ago after returning from a life-changing OE with John. Michele and John initially wanted to farm on Banks Peninsula but this was not to be. Feeling disappointed as they had missed out on some land there, Michele was pulled kicking and screaming to Amberley to have a look at yet another property for sale. Needless to say it was perfect and she fell in love with it instantly.

Within a few months of returning to New Zealand, and contrary to all advice given by family and friends who thought they were just plum crazy, Michele and John bought a lifestyle block, moved in and with not a shred of experience or expertise in commercial organic growing started to farm.

Giving up delivering babies Michele moved to delivering cabbages and Stonecircle has grown from virtually nothing to a viable business supplying families with a wide range of certified organic veggies and herbs. It's been a near vertical learning curve, but one driven by a very real love and passion for growing veggies, working with mother nature and sharing the miracle of life and growth.

Michele loves living in a rural community.

“Since shifting here we have met such wonderful people and feel a keen sense of belonging. I love feeling acceptable when I dash into the village with gummies on, and I love the notices on shop windows asking to ‘please remove muddy boots’. I love the land here, absorbing its beauty like a sponge, and I feel incredibly privileged to be its guardian at this time of my life.
There's no other place I'd rather be or anything else I'd rather be doing.”

With strong ties to the community Michele is a founding member of Food for Thought, a local group that runs monthly information and education evenings on issues relating to building a sustainable future for the region. She believes that the region needs to become more aware of its local resources. She is a caring and compassionate person who supports many people offering encouragement and a hug when needed.

Gail Morgan and her husband relocated to the Waipara region three years ago with their three young boys after realising that they wanted to provide their children with a more natural and cleaner environment in which to grow and develop. After discovering that two of their boys were having reactions to the artificial colourings and preservatives used in many foods, they decided to make changes to the food they were eating. This ideal and an over-abundant crop of tomatoes led to the creation of The Green Man, which Gail has worked hard to transform into a small but growing business that sells from the local Waipara Valley Farmers Market, as well as starting to expand into delivering further afield. Gail hopes to have their website up and running by December. The Green Man produces organically made Artisan Preserves and Condiments, primarily using fruits and vegetables grown from their own gardens and local certified organic growers such as Stonecircle Organics (Gail and Michele have neighbouring stalls at the local Waipara Valley Farmers Market).

The entire product range of up to 30 seasonal products, are gluten free and contain no artificial colours, chemicals or preservatives.

Gail has come to love living in the Valley. “I love the diversity of its terrain, one minute you can be gazing up at rugged cliffs, the next watching row upon row of olives and grapes spreading out across the gently sloping valley behind our property. Thanks to the area’s wonderful micro-climate, there is so much variety of food, wine and people and in such abundance, each with their own special character – it’s become a real home for us.”

The only thing Gail says she would change is how the region is managed. “This is such a God-given beautiful area with fantastic resources, and as its guardians we should take more care of how and when we use them.”

Gail is the President of the local Plunket branch, donating her time to coordinating the Branch’s activities, running a parents coffee group and taking a special interest in families in need. Gail also organised and delivered supplies to Christchurch families during Christchurch’s recent disasters, adding to the efforts of many others around the Canterbury region. She is also one of a very dedicated group of ladies on the Amberley School PTA, who actively fundraises to support both the teachers and children.

Margot Korhonen runs a graphic design business called MK Graphic Solutions, and has just welcomed daughter number three to her brood. She and her family moved to the Waipara region 18 months ago from Brisbane, Australia. Margot’s business philosophy has always included a strong focus on social responsibility. MK Graphic Solutions and Margot were a corporate partner and marketing manager to the Zig Zag Foundation, an Australian national children’s charity that raises funds for sick, underprivileged and at risk children. Margot also worked within her local area on the committee of their community bank, publishing a quarterly community newsletter and worked with her local community centre.

When Margot and her family arrived in New Zealand they had a desire to live in a house comprised of natural materials. It was during this quest that they visited the Waipara region and were instantly struck by the area’s beautiful countryside, its warm welcoming community and the region’s incredible range of fresh food and wine. Its proximity to Christchurch and the Canterbury region as a whole was also a draw card.
Margo says, “It’s such a wonderful area with great potential,” and she wishes that everyone in New Zealand could see it through her eyes and make more use of its fantastic array of resources.”
In New Zealand Margot again enjoys working within her community, she enjoys her commitment to the Leithfield Playcentre where she is soon to become president. She’s also very passionate about her involvement with Food for Thought.
Margot’s business has also worked on a project to help promote the businesses of the nearby town of Kaiapoi recently, assisting them in the recovery following the disastrous earthquakes in the Canterbury region. Like all the Valley Girls, Margo is dedicated to the region and looks forward to raising her family there.
Kate McMillan is a local girl made good! Kate grew up on an organic beef and fine wool sheep farm in the Waipara/Hurunui region where hunting and gathering was part of daily life. Her 13 year career in the food industry has included opening and running the kitchen at Te Whau Vineyard Restaurant on Waiheke Island.

Kate and her partner travelled extensively overseas where she was able to work for some time in London as a private chef to a cousin of Queen Elizabeth. They then travelled throughout Europe working and experiencing a wide range of different local food cultures.
Perhaps her most memorable working holiday was living with a family who ran an exclusive small-scale hotel in Andalucia, Spain that also offered a cooking school for 5-10 people. The meals they cooked were truly an expression of the region, and she came away from it convinced that this was really the way food should be sourced and prepared.
This experience inspired Kate to return home and set up a catering business based on these principles in a New Zealand context. The business, established in her hometown Waikari started from a desire to create delicious food from the abundance of quality, seasonal local produce and products available in this very special area.
Kate strives to use products supplied by local growers and producers, as she believes this creates an economically viable network of other small business owners, which helps to develop healthy, sustainable communities. In essence, Kate wants to share her passion for local, seasonal food prepared and presented with an uncomplicated approach to catering with the people of the Hurunui region.
”I believe this region has yet to reach its full potential as a centre of fine food and wine production, and I am excited about being part of its future growth,” Kate says.
“I now feel I have come full circle in returning home to this area to raise my family in a similar location and lifestyle to my early years.”
Richard Morgan
www.stonecircleorgnics.co.nz, www.mkgraphicsolutions.com, kate@wakari.co.nz