Since 1957, Hōhepa Hawke's Bay has supported people with intellectual disabilities through homes, a school, day services and meaningful work. Today more than 160 people are part of the Hōhepa community.
Its social enterprises include a market garden, a biodynamic farm, award-winning cheesemaking, a native plant nursery and craft workshops, each one a place to build skills, get creative, and connect with others. Fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, yoghurt and milk from Hōhepa’s farms are delivered to the community’s homes and school, with the surplus available at the Hōhepa Hawke's Bay stores in Clive and Taradale.
$28,142 from the Community Decarbonisation Fund has replaced the diesel bore pump at Hōhepa's Clive dairy farm with a high-efficiency electric pressure pump, housed in a new weatherproof shed. It draws irrigation water for the pastures that feed Hōhepa's biodynamic dairy herd, and for the organic market gardens. The new system will save 5 tonnes of carbon and 2,000 litres of diesel a year.
