We celebrated 50 years of ASB Polyfest this year by bringing all of ourselves, an epic stall, an engaging activity and a composting initiative that showcased the breadth of Pacific Vision Aotearoa. Leading up to the event we had team hui and spent time preparing resources including our beautiful PVA prints with artist Numa Mackenzie. The prints provided a beautiful backdrop to our stall and of course are individually ātaahua!

All of our projects were on display for people to come and connect and kōrero more about these. Fill the Pantry had an array of appealing preserved food in jars, dried herbs and recipe cards that many people were interested in and signed up for upcoming workshops. Having examples of preserved food sparked many conversations, particularly about ‘what we used to do’ and the simplicity of some of the preserving techniques - especially feijoa fizz! The kaiwaka display was impressive and it helped having our hub and kaiwaka just over the fence at Boundray 274 to haul over everything that was needed. Some of the waka plants - kūmara, hue, kūmara we bought over in planters or in dried form. These allowed people to touch and hold some of these, giving them a sense of their uses. The dried hue, a tactile taonga, had many holds and marvels from many different people.

The MANAVA team brought great energy to the stall and matched this with an informative and creative display. Having conversations about being prepared for weather events was an important but necessary topic, being in South Auckland where many whānau were impacted by the 2023 floods. “MANAVA shared their grab bag graphics and other resources you can use to prepare yourself! Complimented by the preserved food from our Fill the Pantry whānau, MANAVA held conversations about how to prepare your family for major weather with students coming through our beautiful stall.” Lourdes Vano

Waste Free examples in the form of cut up fruit for our kaimahi and visitors needing energy visiting our stall and a water dispenser encouraging people to reuse and refill - practical and effective examples of waste reduction. Composting of food scraps continues to be an important kōrero for the communities PVA work with. Composting bins - bokashi and a cold composting bin (black plastic bin) were on display alongside the confronting image of the amount of waste Tāmaki Makaurau sends to a landfill each week. There was some kōrero about the food scrap service provided by Auckland Council and the alternative to see food ‘waste’ as a resource for composting to feed back into backyard and/or community gardens.

In the centre of our stall we had an activity for people to make a drink bottle holder made from t-shirt twine. This connected to the importance of reusing and not using single use plastic water bottles that can end up in our moana and awa. The simple act of reusing a sturdy drink bottle can be the start of taking up other waste reducing behaviors. Those 65ish (approximate number) people who made a drink bottle holder, some made several, spent around 20-30mins making these which led to some meaningful kōrero and connections.

DIY Drinkbottle holders made from T-shirt twine

Adding to the composting advocacy PVA partnered with Etu Rakau to compost the pineapple and watermelon ‘waste’ at Polyfest. Pineapple or watermelon with icecream is a popular treat at Polyfest and focussing on this one waste stream was a strategic and manageable approach. Rata Taiwhanga from Etu Rakau trained up a group of youth to collect, add, chop and mix the fruit waste to add to the compost bins with equal amounts of carbon at Boundary Rd hub. In total they added over 100kg to the compost bins! Mauri ora!

Rata Taiwhanga from Etu Rakau Charitable Trust

The dried sunflower heads hanging at the front of the stall invited curiosity that the Polynator Kaiways Project invited. Just like a pollinator, visitors hummed and haa’d around the PVA stall and gathered what they needed and interested them, we hope they bring it back to their hive - whare to create abundance.

Congratulations ASB Polyfest on 50 years. Let the legacy continue!

Celebrating 50 years of ASB Polyfest

Grow to Share Wānanga

Ancestral Intelligence: Mama Luffa