SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

Sustainable Destination Hits the Sweet Spot

Tahi is a 742 acre privately owned eco property situated on the Pacific Ocean. It provides a unique opportunity to explore some of New Zealand’s diverse landscapes. From a sandy surf beach, to a flat water estuary – wetlands to farmland, flat land to valley systems, and more than 225 acres of native NZ forest to explore. Tahi offers you a luxury experience; providing an unparalleled opportunity to explore some of the many wonders that Aotearoa has to offer. As a “Long Run Destination (LRD)”, Tahi strives for the highest standards in sustainability through the balance of conservation and commerce, whilst fostering community development and cultural stewardship. The Long Run is a Zeitz Foundation initiative; LRD’s are locations around the world that provide and build sustainable, mostly tourism-driven enterprises, community development and cultural stewardship.

How sustainability is an integral part of Tahi Estate:

Tahi Estate has sustainable business practices at its core. The owners recognise that sustainability is a journey rather than a destination. They’ve taken time to understand the challenges and opportunities it presents and put measures in place to mitigate against and capitalise upon these. At every turn, Tahi endeavours to strike a balance between people, planet and profit, and has compelling evidence to suggest that this finely tuned equilibrium is being achieved.

“Being a family business, Tahi is building for the long term and hence sustainability is our only option. We also believe sustainability defines our clientele – people with a commitment to the future – there will be many more of them.”  Dr John Craig, Manager and Co-owner, Tahi

Sustainable actions:
Travel
• Walking, short journeys and multiple purpose outings are central. Tahi’s policy of hiring local people means that few have to travel more than 1.5km despite living in a rural environment located 26kms from Whangarei.
• Vehicles are chosen by necessity and while they are all around 3000cc because they are required to carry heavy loads, trips to the city are only made when there are multiple reasons and loads. Many involve use of a trailer to carry the additional load. All vehicles are serviced regularly and tyre pressures maintained.

Waste
• Waste is a major issue in an expanding business and Tahi recognises its importance. All paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic is recycled. The original farm had a dump in the sandhills – Tahi’s owners immediately took out all metal and filled it in so it could not be used.
• Waste materials have been donated to others but the ethos is to reuse as much as possible e.g. the estate has planted over 180,000 native plants which generates a lot of waste bags. Reusable root-trainers are used and for flax and cabbage trees (20,000 plants a year) they have moved increasingly to bare rooting plants. Used bags are
donated to others and they also find a use for them in-house.

Energy
• All holiday houses are insulated and are heated with fires using surplus storm felled trees. A wax bath was recently installed for bee boxes (no preservatives can be used) and this is heated with wood. Wood is donated to locals as well.
• A full carbon audit shows an excess of carbon credits which allows Tahi Estate to offset all GHG use for all aspects of the business including international export of honey.

Water
• All water for use is provided on site as there is no town supply. Five buildings have rain water harvesting and they use three bores. We have re-flooded wetlands to store water as well as maintaining high ground water levels.
• Despite not being short of water, water isn’t wasted either. All toilets are dual flush, and the nursery and horticultural irrigation is set for night-time to minimise evaporation.
• Restoring 14 wetlands including developing three small lakes measuring over 2ha has also meant that the biodiversity of the property has increased markedly. Two nationally endangered ducks, as well as four at risk species, are now breeding residents.

Building
• An abandoned 1930s house has been completely refurbished into 4.5 star accommodation. The building was completely stripped and rebuilt with wall and ceiling insulation and solar water heating. Ceiling insulation was added to another 1960s house. Both have modern fires for heating using the abundant wood from storm felled
trees.
• Two new buildings are in progress. One, a house, is off the grid with photovoltaic electricity, solar water heating with wetbacks on fires. The other, a honey house for spinning and packaging honey, is on the grid but will also have photovoltaic supply which will feed back into the grid. Tradespeople are local.

Other
• Tahi Estate has an affirmative cultural policy which includes employing local Maori and maintaining active contact with Iwi representatives.
• It has been audited by Qualmark (Enviro Gold) and by Zeitz Foundation (Global Ecosphere Reserve).
• Sustaining New Zealand’s special natural environment and biodiversity is a key activity for Tahi Estate and it’s proud to provide an environment filled with native biodiversity for its guests. For example, the Estate now has 65 bird species, 23 of which are endangered or at risk and DoC is currently conducting an audit.

Inspiring results …
Environment
Tahi is now known as a sustainable destination and provider of healthy and environmentally friendly honey. The environmental benefits of creating a sustainable destination have meant reinventing an old cattle farm. Once overrun with pests and overstocked Tahi had few native birds and degrading forests and wetlands. Now it has more native birds than Tiritiri Island (wildlife sanctuary), 23 of then listed as endangered or at risk. Water leaving the property is filtered through wetlands and GHG production greatly reduced. Jobs have been created for local people and other local residents enjoy visiting the Estate. A property once destined for subdivision as the only viable economic future is finally secure for a more productive future.

Influence
• Tahi actively seeks appropriate suppliers. For example, their first electrician wouldn’t even provide long life bulbs so they moved to one that offers solar options. He has asked to use Tahi in his advertising as an example of a model solar installation.
• The well driller offered a standard product with PVC pipes but they requested he use polyethylene instead and explained the importance of stable plasticisers in contact with drinking water. He now offers this as one of his sustainability offerings.
• Their architect is undertaking a course in sustainable architecture and has been able to increase Tahi’s knowledge of options since they’ve been her first client seeking a sustainable building. Mutual learning has resulted.

Community
Tahi is part of a small community (50 permanent and 1000 holiday residents) and it has become the largest employer in the district. Employing locals has reduced travel needs and their initiation of biodiversity actions, including the community wide pest control scheme, has changed local attitudes and degree of interaction. Community support is key to survival in a rural area and a mutually-beneficial relationship based on assistance where it’s needed has sprung up between the business and locals. Zeitz has suggested that Tahi seems to be in a unique position to initiate more meaningful communication between the local Maori and Pakeha communities and they will expand their Open Day to facilitate this.

Tahi’s Awards:
• Winner Trailblazer Small and Medium Business Award: 2011 Northern Sustainable Business Network Awards
• Finalist Trailblazer Small and Medium Business Award: 2011 NZI National Sustainable Business Network Awards

Judges Comments:
The judges were impressed with the following:
• Fantastic courage and foresight exhibited in many ways. From engagement with DOC and local communities on hard issues such as pesticides and inspiring local leadership with local supply partners, through to trialling the use of new technologies in areas such as green buildings and organic farming.
• Stand out passion, planning and integration of sustainability across the business. It’s very much delivering outcomes achieved through the integration of sustainability principles as well as actions across the business and its engagement with its stakeholders.
• Impressive industry leadership in achieving productive dialogue and results in partnerships with DOC across biodiversity and species preservation initiatives.
• Tahi Estate is an example of a company where sustainability is central to the organisation’s business. It has clearly been useful that the two co-owners are educated sustainability advocates who understand the holistic requirements needed for success.

www.tahinz.com
Dr John Craig, Manager and Co-owner
2007, Whangarei
Honey production; sustainable accommodation; and biodiversity rejuvenation.

Tags: sustainable business