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  • 2 hours ago
Together We Grow is a 40-minute documentary that tells the inspiring story of a thriving hub helping to build resilience into its local community by growing, sewing, repairing, sharing – you name it, Common Unity is doing it! Too many of our communities, here and around the world, are facing housing crises, food insecurity, social isolation, and more. In addition, the multiple impacts of the Covid pandemic and climate change are current and ongoing. How can we most effectively confront these challenges, and help our communities thrive in an economic system that leaves many feeling trapped in poverty? Founder Julia Milne and her team have created a completely replicable model for developing strong, connected, resilient communities – a model that could be put in place across thousands of communities in Aotearoa and millions of communities across the world. They’ve proven it can be done, this film was made to help them share the story.
Transcript
00:00We know from the stories that come through the door of the Remakery that things are really, really hard in
00:07our communities.
00:09There is healing that needs to take place before people feel that they are activated into moving from crisis into
00:17feeling powerful and enabled.
00:20You're free when you're out here.
00:22We want to grow the strengths from the hardest places.
00:27Common Unity began eight years ago. I think we had about $25 when we started.
00:35Everything is either a donation, but it's gone by someone in the community.
00:39We've got five different schools that we're donating lunches to.
00:43We've really tried to make everything accessible for everyone.
00:47A wee while ago, I was quite down and I felt that life really wasn't all that worthwhile.
00:53Being able to contribute, it's very healing.
00:57We run urban farms across the valley in the backyards of social housing tenants.
01:04The impact that it's had on us financially has been really incredible.
01:09Also, our local prison and at the residential care facility.
01:14It was really refreshing coming here. It's been a huge, huge change for me.
01:19There's a real reward in taking something that was abandoned and had it, making it useful again,
01:24and then someone's going to get enjoyment out of it.
01:26Speed wheel to the world.
01:28This is something that we create for ourselves with one another,
01:32responding to what it is that we see for ourselves in this community.
01:37We are a social enterprise, so all the profit that we make end up in the kitchen
01:42to produce more food for kids that are in need.
01:46We're not meant to live as single human units.
01:50We are meant to be creatures of community.
01:55Imagine you get a whole street full of skilled people that come together and share their skills.
02:00My gosh, what a difference that we would make, right?
02:03What a difference we will make.
02:05What a difference we will make.
02:17What a difference we will make.
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