Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2XhZfaJ or on Spotify: spoti.fi/2wmaAeW
In Episode 5 of the Happen Films podcast we speak to Brett and Nici from Limestone Permaculture Farm. We’ve made two short films about Limestone, we shot the first one in 2015 (youtube.com/watch?v=jSNc13cmknE) and the second in 2019 (youtube.com/watch?v=dztgMnaH1rw). There’s a heap of learning, growth and wisdom shared across the two episodes, but a short film is just never enough, even two of them!
We wanted to do a follow-up interview with Brett and Nici because during that second shoot there were massive bush fires on the horizon and the farm was in the middle of a long-time drought. How have they come through it all and what’s keeping them going? We’ve also included some questions asked here on YouTube and over on Instagram. Thanks for asking, folks!
Follow Limestone Permaculture:
Website: limestonepermaculture.com
Facebook: facebook.com/LimestonePermaculture
** More about Happen Films **
Support our work: happenfilms.com/support
Website: happenfilms.com
Twitter: twitter.com/happenfilms
Instagram: instagram.com/happenfilms
Facebook: facebook.com/happenfilms
Thank you to our wonderful Patreon supporters! Alex Muir, Dave Webb, Jess O’Shea, Brett Davidson, Jess, Pierre Blom, Tabitha Bristow, Sankar Madhavan, Namaste Foundation
Gear used:
BMPCC 4K - blackmagicdesign.com/nz/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera
Lens - getolympus.com/us/en/m-zuiko-ed-12-100mm-f4-0-is-pro.html
Listen on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2XhZfaJ or on Spotify: spoti.fi/2wmaAeW
In Episode 5 of the Happen Films podcast we speak to Brett and Nici from Limestone Permaculture Farm. We’ve made two short films about Limestone, we shot the first one in 2015 (youtube.com/watch?v=jSNc13cmknE) and the second in 2019 (youtube.com/watch?v=dztgMnaH1rw). There’s a heap of learning, growth and wisdom shared across the two episodes, but a short film is just never enough, even two of them!
We wanted to do a follow-up interview with Brett and Nici because during that second shoot there were massive bush fires on the horizon and the farm was in the middle of a long-time drought. How have they come through it all and what’s keeping them going? We’ve also included some questions asked here on YouTube and over on Instagram. Thanks for asking, folks!
Follow Limestone Permaculture:
Website: limestonepermaculture.com
Facebook: facebook.com/LimestonePermaculture
** More about Happen Films **
Support our work: happenfilms.com/support
Website: happenfilms.com
Twitter: twitter.com/happenfilms
Instagram: instagram.com/happenfilms
Facebook: facebook.com/happenfilms
Thank you to our wonderful Patreon supporters! Alex Muir, Dave Webb, Jess O’Shea, Brett Davidson, Jess, Pierre Blom, Tabitha Bristow, Sankar Madhavan, Namaste Foundation
Gear used:
BMPCC 4K - blackmagicdesign.com/nz/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera
Lens - getolympus.com/us/en/m-zuiko-ed-12-100mm-f4-0-is-pro.html










![Dr Jessica Hutchings Interview on Hua Parakore, Māori Food Sovereignty, and Growing Organic Food
Watch the 8-minute film we made about Hua Parakore: https://youtu.be/x3qMIFQLK8c
This is the full-length interview with Dr Jessica Hutchings for our film Hua Parakore: Living Indigenous Food Sovereignty.
Hua Parakore provides a framework using Indigenous values – Māori principles – for producing natural food without chemical inputs or GMO. It also encapsulates the Māori worldview in its approach to how food growers are verified as Hua Parakore, with principles that require practitioners to deeply consider such things as their connection with the land, its energy, the many species living on it, and their community.
There are many Māori-language words throughout the video so weve created English subtitles for those unfamiliar with the terms used. Please let us know if you discover errors. While the short film subtitles were professionally created, these ones are not. Errors will be corrected as soon as we hear about them!
**Question timecodes for this interview**
0:55: What was this land like when you arrived here?
3:28: Could you speak about the origin of the farm’s name, Papawhakaritorito?
4:48: What is Hua Parakore?
9:35: What are the core principles of Hua Parakore?
11:28: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Whakapapa’?
15:25: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Te Ao Tūroa’?
16:54: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Mauri’?
19:52: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Māramatanga’?
24:29: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Mana’?
26:26: Could you elaborate on the core principle of ‘Wairua’?
27:45: What is the worldview behind the Hua Parakore framework?
31:05: How does Hua Parakore differ from organic certification schemes?
33:16: How does the process of becoming Hua Parakore verified differ to organic certification?
36:04: Could you speak to how biodynamics is incorporated into your Hua Parakore practice at Papawhakaritorito?
39:51: Could you explore the connections between healthy soil and healthy people?
42:16: What does the phrase food sovereignty mean?
48:42: What advice would you give to someone wanting to engage with Hua Parakore?
49:36: What place is there in Hua Parakore for Pākehā [non-Māori New Zealanders]?
51:07: How can Pākehā support Māori food sovereignty more generally?
53:41: How relevant is Hua Parakore beyond Aotearoa New Zealand?
56:13: How important is seed saving in the Hua Parakore framework?
**Find out more about Hua Parakore**
Te Waka Kai Ora: https://www.tewakakaiora.co.nz/
Jessica Hutchings: https://jessicahutchings.org/
Purchase Jessicas books via links on her website: https://jessicahutchings.org/books-and-offerings/ (The two books weve read – which have partly Māori-language titles but are both written in English – are: Te Mahi Mara Hua Parakore: A Māori Food Sovereignty Handbook and Te Mahi Oneone Hua Parakore: A Māori Soil Sovereignty and Wellbeing Handbook.)
** Find out more about Happen Films **
If you’re interested in supporting us to make more films, find us on Patreon: https://happenfilms.com/patreon
For more info about Happen Films, check out our website: https://happenfilms.com.
We make short films and feature films, all with a permaculture, resilience, sustainability focus.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/happenfilms Dr Jessica Hutchings Interview on Hua Parakore, Māori Food Sovereignty, and Growing Organic Food](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rLgZKv-szx8/mqdefault.jpg)