 (L-R) Steve C, Marie-Laure, Cat, Rosie, Steve L and Jackie pacing out the facilities of the Centre on the Retreat Centre Site July Hui (gathering) As Matariki signifies, both the end and start of the new year RXCAA Steering Group also took this time to honour the past and celebrate the future. For the project, there is so much to honour, the milestone achievements, the beautiful people and their dedicated mahi/work. There is real excitement around the future as we imagine the best possible outcome for the New Year and the Project. This year’s Hui was based in Parapara, the same place as last year. There was a smaller team than usual as illness, overseas commitments and relocating homes meant three of the team members couldn’t make it in person, but there was plenty of zooming and a very inclusive Qifield. Offers to assist the Steering Group in their endeavours have been humbling throughout the project and Hui planning, especially Chris Turton’s treats which kept energy levels high and smiley faces. Our chair, Cat, opened the Hui with a message from Yuan Tze along with a fun creative activity for members to reflect on the year past. The weekend was facilitated by Leslie Van Gelder - our treasured facilitator and one of the founding members of the project. Leslie led us through the Global Strategy, what that means for the project and how to incorporate the strategy into project work. This resulted in adopting a Terms of Reference document that provides a guideline for operating as a sub-committee within RXAA. This alignment reminds us that our very important project is part of the bigger organisation which ultimately helps us all work towards Zi Du Du Ren. The Hui was an opportunity for the operational staff, Steve Lee and Rosie, to share their review of last year's activities and propose an operational plan and associated budget for the Project. We acknowledge the enormous effort, Ollie Clifton, the previous Project Coordinator has put into the project with a forever legacy in the Project and the Steering Group. There is a huge amount of strategic, process development and everyday operational activity to work through. Yuan Tze has provided an analogy for the Project of a tricycle, with the front wheel as the retreat centre, the two back wheels being the Farm and the Community which will ultimately help drive the Centre. This reminds the Steering Group of the priority and to remain focused on the building of the Retreat Centre. Steve Campbell has been engaged to design a concept for the Centre which he shared with the Steering Group over the weekend. This design has incorporated feedback from the various “Dream Catching” workshops and continual feedback from members as the project allows imaginations to be excited by what could be possible. The concept design will be used to inform the design brief for the next stage of engaging an architect which in turn will move the project to the Council building consent stage.  Steve Campbell explaining the concept design at the Steering Group July Hui Name Change You may have noticed a change in the name of the Project! While we used to refer to the project as the Aotearoa Retreat Centre, a new name was decided on at the March Team Building workshop. The project's proud name is now Ren Xue Centre Australasia, abbreviated to RXCAA. An update to the website, email address and branding to reflect the name is underway. Farm The Farm, through the tireless efforts of Steve and Jackie, continues to implement regenerative farming practices as it transitions from a long history of dairy farming. Yuan Tze has provided a fundamental document on Ren Xue Farming. This provides a framework for priorities to help implement this transition, a large focus being on the internal work of the practitioners. The addition of the OK Grow Nursery as a social enterprise on the Farm is a wonderful example of this transition. The native plant nursery is based in the now redundant milking shed, so nikaus and other native seedlings are now growing in this space.  OK Grow Nursery in the converted Milking shed
The Steering Group is fortunate to have Rainer Hoffman, Ren Xue practitioner and Professor in plant science working out of Lincoln University, to advise on regenerative practices, for example, monitoring the soil profile throughout the transitional stages. Rainer is consistently promoting harmony with the land and integrating this thinking into the Retreat Centre design. Retreat Centre developments While the Villa restoration project continues through the efforts of Onekakā Builders, further planning on the Retreat Centre is happening at the same time. Steve Campbell’s designs have progressed significantly with a concept design. Further planning and physical designs are required for the; building, landscaping, roading, power and wastewater system. We hope to have these plans completed by the end of the year so they can be submitted to the Council as part of the Building Consent which will mean the actual building could start in 2025. So many people within the Ren Xue Community have had major influence on the concepts that have enabled the Steering Group to progress to the design stage. The Resource Consent which granted planning permission to the “Dream” provides the project with a lot of prescriptive detail to ensure compliance with planning regulations in Aotearoa New Zealand and ensure the Retreat Centre and associated facilities are sustainable, have minimal impact on or improve the environment and minimise any potential or future impact on the community. Thank you
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