Tree · Wairoa, Northern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Kōanga Institute
Guardians of Aotearoa's heritage seeds and fruit trees, teaching self-reliance through permaculture.
Shine Sunlight to follow their work and see how it grows.
Works nationallyTe Matau-a-Māui / Hawke's Bay
- permaculture
- seed saving
- heritage fruit trees
- forest gardens
- education
Kōanga Institute is a registered trust near Wairoa in Northern Hawke's Bay that holds New Zealand's largest collection of heritage vegetable seeds (more than 800 lines) and over 400 heritage fruit tree and berry varieties, along with their stories. Founded by Kay Baxter and Bob Corker, it supplies seeds and trees to home gardeners, publishes books and resources, and runs onsite masterclasses in seed saving, forest gardening, butchery, herbal health and greywater systems using the permaculture design process.
Kōanga began as a nursery in Kaiwaka in the 1980s (as Kōanga Gardens Trust) and moved to Wairoa in 2011. Its 2026 and early 2027 workshop calendar includes a Five Day Gardening Masterclass (Oct 2026), a greywater and toilet systems workshop (Nov 2026), and a Bioregional Seed Saving and Food Security Masterclass (Feb 2027).
What they need
Can you help? We'll take it to them.
- Members
- Volunteers
What they offer
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- Heritage seeds
- Heritage fruit trees
- Residential workshops
- Internships and volunteering
- Online courses