Permaculture uses nature as its guide and as a holistic health professional with a strong connection to the natural world, Kate says it was natural for her to adopt this philosophy as a funding model for Mindfulness North Canterbury rather than trying to fit into an existing business model.

“The three-underlying ethics of permaculture are earth care; people care; and fair share which fits with my values and provides the basis for how I operate my mindfulness venture. It is based on sustainable design as opposed to individual gain. Any excess is returned back into the system.”

“It has never been about a business; I am doing this to provide a service to the community and to build a circular model of giving back and building community.”

Knowing that her mindfulness and resilience building services would be needed during unpredictable times prompted Kate to commit 100 per cent of her time to helping the community.

“Covid brought everything into clear contrast and highlighted what is important. Mindfulness has an important role to play in helping us process difficult emotions and thoughts, especially when the world around us is out of balance.”

With her in-person mindfulness workshops cancelled during lockdown, Kate moved her services online and was pushed out of her comfort zone.

“I really wasn’t convinced about Zoom and online mindfulness in the beginning, but I found it worked well and opened up more options for people. I made friends with it and found that a real connection could develop, even with people who hadn’t met each other before.”

After having a positive experience with video technology, Kate is now offering more online mindfulness courses including a householder’s retreat where participants spend a day practicing mindfulness in their own homes, interspersed with Zoom catch ups to share learnings throughout the day.

Kate is also offering a new course on building resilience which focuses on creating a resilient community. This course incorporates the principles of permaculture design: cooperation and interconnection, along with returning surplus to the system.

“My aim is to build a sustainable model using creative responses. The course provides more than the sum of its parts: teaching neuroscience-based practices to individuals, while at the same time building community and cultural change rather than superficial limited inputs.

“I have been working on this idea for many years. The course is offered at a low rate; where those who can afford to are able to generously support others by paying more for the course and those who need support can pay less. 

“Anything extra after expenses is put back into the kete to support more subsidised places. I hope it will continue to snowball and be supported by local councils.”