1st June: Now we have a farm! It's official!

• ​First and foremost, we took possession of the 186ha farm in Onekaka on 1st June. Hooray! This is a big moment for the

           project!! We look forward to having Steve Lee and Jackie Blunt move into the main farmhouse. There will be a number of
           events happening in June to celebrate this - if you’ve missed the details see the project website
           here: https://www.aotearoaretreatcentre.org/blog/june-celebrations-on-the-ren-xue-farm
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Check out the videos of the exciting entrance to the farm from the coastal dwellings on the morning of the 1st June. Our ford was flooded and we weren't able to cross it - so we put our 4WD vehicles to the test and went in the back way! A very exciting way for the kids to start their home-schooling day! 

•  We have already begun a research programme of sorts on the farm, with our goal being to regularly gather information

            for meaningful comparisons, and shared learning throughout the local and wider farming community. Our initial efforts
            are focussed around creating some baseline data - our starting point - in areas such as soil, water, climate and landscape.
            We are beginning to explore a working relationship with Lincoln University, led by our farm group member Rainer
            Hoffman, which thus far looks very promising. Our first adventures in this research realm came over Anzac weekend,
            with honours Lincoln student Lulu Jordan leading a team of keen helpers on a soil sampling expedition - see details on
             the project website:  https://www.aotearoaretreatcentre.org/blog/soil-sampling-and-other-fun-on-the-farm 
           Much learning and planning about the farm will take place over our first 6-12 months on the land, so watch this space as                we develop our ideas and look for input from the wider community.

• Secondly, the moment we take possession of the farm, our planning for an interim Healing Centre will begin. With the likelihood of a Stage One Retreat Centre still being several years away, we are looking to renovate the Old Villa, and the adjacent garage, to function as a “community house” where short term visitors and guests can stay, and a small healing clinic where local Ren Xue teachers can do one on one sessions with clients. If you would like to know more about this aspect of the project, and possibly get involved by contributing your ideas or skills, please get in touch with the Project Coordinator, Ollie Clifton - https://www.aotearoaretreatcentre.org/ollie-clifton.html 
• If you are coming over to Golden Bay for the June events, or anytime in the next couple of months, we would appreciate donations of household items for the Old Villa. Right now it is pretty much empty! Furniture, curtains, tables, chairs, pots, pans….you name it we need it! Please get in touch if you can help.​

• Last but not least, our Resource Consent Application was submitted to Tasman District Council (TDC) for their consideration on 27 May. The outcome of this process will determine whether we will be granted permission to build the Retreat Centre, and establish dwellings on the coastal land and farm. Yup, reasonably important! Whilst this application process has taken over a year to complete, with covid induced delays not helping us, our team of consultants have done well. We look forward to being able to provide you with more updates on this process in the near future.  Have a look at our Live Zoom send off for the RCA HERE
• Keep an eye out for more events on the Ren Xue farm coming soon - plans are already under way for a community working bee in Spring, and of course another Summer Camp will soon be on the horizon. You will find regular updates on our website - www.aotearoaretreatcentre.org.