Visit Us
Curious about Community Life? We welcome Visitors.
There are a few ways to engage in this experiment we call Tui Community:
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We welcome wwoofers and interns regularly for 2-6 weeks at a time, and also host summer visitors. Residents of Tui may also at times offer opportunities for work exchange and longer stays in their personal homes.
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The Community has a designated camping area and 3 bedrooms in the community house to host visitors. Kitchen and bathroom facilities are shared. Camping vehicles need to be certified self-contained.
Community Wwoofing
During community wwoofing, we will host up to 4 work exchange visitors we call Kaimahi, each staying a minimum of two weeks for hands-on experiences. Work is 6 hours per day, 4 days per week. Enthusiasm, maturity, physical health and stamina are required. In exchange we offer shared accommodation in the community house and vegetarian food, incl fruit and vegetables from Tui land. ​
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Next dates:
September 22nd - October 5th
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Contact our Wwoofing Coordinator Jacopo if you're interested in the above dates for Community Wwoofing
Depending on the season our work exchange visitors (Kaimahi) may have the opportunity to experience:
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Land Maintenance Group. These are general farm tasks; cutting grass, noxious weed control, road and track maintenance, some heavy lifting (stacking firewood, rocks and materials), painting buildings and clearing culverts.
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The Tui Garden. Planting and working in green manures, preparaing beds for plantings, seedling raising, planting, feeding, making compost, mulching, and general tidy up of the garden.
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The Tui Orchard. Pruning, weeding, feeding and mulching around trees. Harvesting fruit and processing as appropriate.
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Living in a rural community on a day-to-day basis, tasks might include cooking weekly community meals, childcare, cleaning and an openness to experience a different lifestyle.
Herbal tinctures workshop
Learning about Tui water systems
Herbal tinctures workshop
Live-in Learn & Work Experience
Our popular 6-week live-in learn & work exchange comprises community wwoofing plus an educational component of 2-3 workshops each week, each lasting between 2-3 hours in length. In the workshops various Tui residents share with you their variety of personal passions. This may include sauerkraut making, sourdough bread making, herbal medicine, raising chickens, making massage balms, seed raising, 5 rhythms dance, yoga, community infrastructure, meditation, deep ecology, sound healing, fooling workshop, fruit preserving and other things. Get ready to expand your horizon…
The work exchange requires 6 hours/day for 5 days/week (30hrs/week total), with a community resident working alongside you (as above).
Investment: Besides the work input, this 6-week program requires a financial contribution of NZ$420 for the full 6 weeks. This financial contribution offers reciprocity for the educational components of the program.
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Next dates:
Mon, October 14th - Mon, November 25th
Enquire about Wwoofing or the Live-In Experience
If you’re interested in either community wwoofing or the live-in experience, please let us know your gardening and land work experience, background in permaculture and organic growing, any community living experience and any special skills you can offer.
You will have to bring your own gear; gumboots, garden/work gloves and clothes to get dirty. You must be keen and physically able to join in 6-hour work days.
Contact our Kaimahi Coordinator Jacopo to express your interest.
Community Visitor Stay
We offer a payed visitor stay for people interested in community. The duration for this is usually 3-7 days to allow enough time to gain an impression of Tui.
Visitors can either stay in a room in the community house or stay in an area we call Whakamoi, which is reserved for self-contained vans or motorhomes. Prices range from $20-30/night per person.
Once a week on Tuesdays at 5.30pm we have a community meal. A $5-10 contribution is requested (please bring cash). This is a good opportunity to connect with Tui members to bring your questions and your curiosity.
To arrange a visitor stay, contact our Visitor Coordinator Sybille by email.
Hosted Visit with a Tui Resident
A few Tui Residents have capacity to host visitors in their private homes. This usually involves a personal tour of Tui and opportunity for Q&A about your host's experience of community life.
Accommodation might be in a private room, sleepout or caravan. Meals may or may not be provided. The financial exchange is by negotiation between host and visitor.
Contact the following Tui residents with your details (number of people, dates, etc) to enquire if a hosted stay is available that meets your needs: Yana, Inna
Short-term Rental of Tui Residences
At times, Tui Residents are away from Tui for a few weeks, seeking either house- or pet-sitting, or offering to rent their Tui Home short-term.
This can provide an excellent opportunity for a quiet personal retreat or for an introductory stay to experience Tui Community living.
Note: A financial contribution is required, and stays longer than 4 weeks require 1/2 day/week work in the community garden or orchard.
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The following dates are available (please use the respective email links to enquire):
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17 Sept - 29 Oct: Forest Home, off-grid earth-building roundhouse for 1 or 2. Email Robina to find out more
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9-15 November: 2-bedroom, open-plan wooden octagon house with bathroom-greenhouse, veggie garden and outside bath. Email Inna to find out more