Packhouse Market Project

25/05/2026

Our story is starting to get attention. Local Futures has a reach in more than 140 countries, and is one of the worlds leading organisations in building resilience.

Blog 'From Hollowed-Out Communities to Resilient Local Economies' by Di Maxwell - Across the Far North of New Zealand, there is a growing sense that something fundamental has been lost. Towns that once supported thriving local economies now struggle to retain young people.

28/03/2026

Read the attached article to understand just why, in terms of international and national systems, that the Packhouse Market project is so important. At the moment, the burden of carrying this project forward is falling on a very small number of people. People who believe deeply in what this could become, and who are prepared to put in the time and energy to try and make it happen. But the reality is that a project of this scale cannot be delivered by a handful of individuals, no matter how committed they are.

If this is something the community values, then the community has to step forward.

That means contributing in whatever way people can. It means offering time, skills, connections, and financial support. It means recognising that this is not someone else’s project to deliver, but something that belongs to all of us.

This is the moment we either build resilience - or accept a future where we are no longer in control of something as basic as our own food.

23/03/2026

SAVE OUR MARKET! - Signs coming soon to the Packhouse
If every visitor gave $5, we’d save it.
Look out for the signs + donation boxes and be part of it 💚
We don’t get many chances like this — let’s not miss it.

18/03/2026

In the face of what is happening in the world right now, what are you going to do? Are you going to sit back, shake your head, and talk about how bad things are becoming; the rising cost of fuel, the price of food, the pressure on everyday life, while doing nothing to change it? Are you going to assume that someone else will step forward, that others will build the systems we will all depend on, that somehow it will all be taken care of without your involvement?

Because it won’t. These things do not build themselves, and they cannot be carried by a handful of people no matter how committed they are.

Or are you prepared to do something different? To step forward, to take some responsibility, to offer your time, your skills, your support, and to be part of creating something that genuinely matters? Not just to talk about it, but to actually act, in whatever way you can, be it 30 mins a week or a few days a month.

Because this is the moment where that choice matters.

And the future we end up with will be shaped, very directly, by which of those paths people choose.

Click below to read the full article on our website, and please share, it is one easy thing you can do.

This Is Not a Market – It is the beginning of a self-sufficient community We need to wake up! Right now, as wars continue to escalate across the world, most of us are watching from a distance, assuming that because the conflict is far away, the consequences will be too. That is a dangerous illusio...

16/03/2026

16/03/2026

Sad things happening now, we need to concentrate on localisation here in New Zealand.

13/03/2026

PLEASE READ: We could lose the Old Packhouse Market.
Unless our community steps up, the property will eventually be sold and redeveloped for housing or something else.
For months we’ve heard people say “we can’t lose the market.” We agree. That’s why a small group of us has spent the last nine months working voluntarily around 30 hours a week doing the preliminary work to secure it for the community. We now have 12 months to raise $7 million to purchase the land and buildings and carry out essential upgrades.
But here is the reality: A handful of people cannot save the Old Packhouse Market on their own.
The market currently supports 155 people earning income, and around $7.4 million is spent there each year. It has become one of the most important community spaces in our region; important for community cohesion, as a venue for local sales, as a tourism icon; it can become much more.
If we are going to succeed, we need many more people willing to actively help with fundraising; events, grants, introductions to donors, communications, and practical support, not just cheering from the sidelines.
IF THE OLD PACKHOUSE MARKET MATTERS TO YOU, please consider stepping forward, by commenting below or send us a message.
Places like the Old Packhouse Market don’t disappear because people don’t care; they disappear because people assume someone else will save them.

We need you! Big community projects don’t run on goodwill alone, they run on people who are willing to step in, for a defined time, with real purpose.