“Traditionally people looked to the seasons for all the ways of their life…. The stars, the planets – where they were – we used to be so much more connected into those traditional ways and that observation is really key in life – not just in the garden.”
Recently, GridFree visited our friends Tess and Marco founders of a family-run NZ business Crafty Gatherer, to learn more about their handmade products, their off-gridder outlook on life, and their best small garden self sufficiency tips. This business is absolutely one that you off-gridders will want to learn about!
Crafty Gatherer’s mission is to connect people back to more traditional ways of living. They lead with this mentality by being more in touch with nature and the seasons, nourishing their garden with gentle observation to see what it needs, feeding themselves homegrown vegetables and meat, while empowering themselves with knowledge in order to be self-sufficient. These are the skills and mindsets that Crafty Gatherers hope to share with their children, community, and customers.
Tess and Marco create a range of quality handmade products including an ergonomically designed garden broadfork (the Forksta), laundry pulley rack, seed-saving trays, bread knives, fly swat, and flatpack compost toilets. The quality products they make come from a place of noticing a need in the NZ market.
Tess & Marco put a huge value on family and making their whole lifestyle work for their specific family needs. They work alongside nature, the seasons, routine, and gentle observation – whether that be of their extensive garden, what their children need, or how they manage their business in combination with their family and values.
If you want to learn more about Crafty Gatherer check them out here: https://craftygatherer.co.nz/
If you’re inspired by off-grid living and self-sufficiency learn more in our knowledge base here: https://gridfree.store/blogs/how-to-articles
00:00 – Intro
00:29 – Meet Tess & Marco
01:04 – Crafty Gatherer Company Mission
01:11 – Point of difference
01:39 – Crafty Gatherer product range
02:42 – Off-grid mindset
02:58 – Favourite part of work
03:18 – Workshop
04:13 – What off-grid living means to them
05:34 – Inspiration for their products
05:59 – Waste management
06:41 – Garden Tour
08:14 – Cost of living
08:45 – Values – Family
09:22 – Garden Tour continued
09:57 – Workshops
10:31 – Garden tour continued
12:52 – Advice for the garden
15:19 – Seed savers
15:55 – GridFree Solar
16:14 – Crafty gatherers plans for the future
16:33 – Observation in family and business
17:08 – How to find Crafty Gatherer
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If you would like to be featured on GridFree Connections or our other series GridFree Living please reach out to Tyler@gridfree.store.
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5 Comments
Loved this.
It's great to meet the lovely people behind Crafty Gatherer. The products are beautiful and to know they are made with such love and care makes them even more special. Thank you for sharing <3
i love watching videos of people living off the land and offgrid AND especially from NZ. What a neat video of a neat family and i really want one of those forks for my garden!! Thanks gridfree for another really neat video.
The fork is awesome
Gotta admire this family and their values. Good on ya, Crafty Gatherer.