Rural Women New Zealand

08/10/2026

Farm photo Friday 🐾🍃

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Help us celebrate rural life in New Zealand by taking part in our Farm Photo Friday series! Send us a photo and a caption or bio about yourself to be featured ⭐

08/10/2026

📍 Lower South Island event for International Rural women's day

Southland Rural Women New Zealand members and non-members, are warmly invited to join us in observing International Day of Rural Women, with a relaxed walk, talk and catch-up as we celebrate the women who make our rural communities strong.

📅 Sunday 18 October 2026
🕐 1.00pm
📍 Queens Park, Invercargill – meeting at The Cheeky Llama Cafe

🚶‍♀️‍➡️ Come along for some fresh air, good conversation and a chance to connect with other rural women.

No registration required – just turn up and join us!

Bring a friend, neighbour or fellow rural woman and enjoy a relaxed afternoon together.

05/10/2026

Looking for companionship as a young mum on an isolated farm, Margaret Faulkner joined Rural Women New Zealand in 1966.

What she found was friendship, purpose and a community that would shape the next 60 years (and counting) of her life.

Recently recognised for six decades of service, Margaret reflects on the connections, opportunities and laughter 🧡

Read more here: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/people/from-lonely-farm-days-to-60-years-of-friendship/

05/10/2026

Lovely article featuring member Emma Burke 🧡

International Rural Women's Day is next Thursday!!! Message us if you're keen to be involved in a social project for it 😊

Emma Burke is the woman behind Take the Wheel, an initiative designed to give rural women greater confidence with practical skills such as 4WD driving. Her work is grounded in a simple idea: when women are given the chance, encouragement and support to have a go, confidence follows. You’ve lived r...

01/10/2026

“A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” – Neil Gaiman

Kids in Need Waikato is a registered charity and supplies personalised care packs for children in care and support for the caregiver. We're proud to have played a small part in supporting their kaupapa with these beautiful books by award-winning author Qiane Matata-Sipu.

We know these books will be well-loved 📗 🧡

Thanks to a grant from Rural Women New Zealand, we've been adding these gorgeous books to some of our care packs. Author Qiane Matata-Sipu also donated an extra 20 copies🫶

📚We get lots of requests for te reo Māori books, and we know these ones will be treasured by the tamariki who receive them.

Ngā mihi nui to Rural Women NZ and Qiane🩷

27/09/2026

Our latest Farmers Weekly article covers the growth of The Country Women's Collective, an online directory designed to promote and celebrate entrepreneurs in rural New Zealand!

Read here: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/country-womens-collective-network-continues-to-grow/

The Country Women’s Collective is growing, with 22 new businesses joining the online platform showcasing women-led enterprises across rural New Zealand. Link in comments

22/09/2026

We've launched our new 2026 to 2029 policy manifesto 🧡

Based on the issues our members care about, our manifesto acts as a roadmap to guide our future advocacy work and the future we want to see for rural communities.

It focuses on five areas;
• Community and Social Inclusion
• Connectivity and Business
• Environment and Land Use
• Education
• Health

Read more about the manifesto here: https://www.ruralwomennz.nz/news/our-new-policy-manifesto-and-what-rural-communities-want-to-see

22/09/2026

Western Southland dairy farmer and RWNZ member Kaylene Bennett has shared her personal experience of reaching “capacity” and her subsequent Kellogg research into the often-unseen mental load carried by rural women.

Read Kaylene’s story and research here: https://www.ruralguardian.com/post/when-the-carpark-reaches-capacity

Western Southland dairy farmer Kaylene Bennett has turned her own experience of reaching capacity into Kellogg research examining the mental load carried by rural women and the impact it is having on their wellbeing, careers and communities.
Claire Inkson has the story.
https://www.ruralguardian.com/post/when-the-carpark-reaches-capacity

21/09/2026

Zanda McDonald Award - register your interest now! 🌱

Our friends at the Zanda McDonald Award are once again seeking emerging leaders from across New Zealand's primary industries. If you’re 21–35, working in New Zealand’s primary industries and ready to grow your leadership, networks and perspective, then the Zanda McDonald Award could be your next step!

Applications open 1–31 October 2026, head to www.zandamcdonaldaward.com for more.

19/09/2026

For many rural mothers, support isn't always just around the corner.

That's why Wairarapa RST nurse, Sarah Tatham is travelling the region, delivering practical support, connection and care through the Rural Māmā Collective.

From home visits and care packages to mum-and-bub meetups, the initiative is helping mothers find their village.

Read the full story: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/lifestyle/wellbeing/how-a-rural-nurse-is-supporting-wairarapa-mums/