Independence Collective, Changemaker Beer

Product spotlight: Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic): “The Ginger Beer has got a really nice kick of ginger” – Neville changemakerbeer.com

Right: Neville Pugh hard at work The Independence Collective was formed by four adults with intellectual disabilities. Neville Pugh is the member of the collective with Down syndrome, and takes charge of the public speaking and promotional side of the Collective’s Changemaker Beer enterprise.

Me and My Job - Neville Pugh (37) I’m a beer brewer for Changemaker and I like working. I like working in a team and having really good views and comments. When we first came together in June 2018, we all sat around in this room here. We had a taste of different beers and we chose the one that we liked. It was George Duncan’s beer – the Pale Ale. We liked it, so we went back to Duncan and said ‘this is the beer that we want’. We named the beer the Neville Beer! I like talking to people about beer because people in the community want to know what the beer is like and how we became a team of four to work together and to spread it right around the nation of New Zealand. How we became a team of four – that’s a long time ago now! – we knew each other, I flatted with one person and then the other two were our friends. The first time I ever had a beer was the Neville Beer, that was really nice. It tastes like Christmas. It’s a great experience working with Phil, out there, going round bars, cafes… it’s just been great working with the old boy. We’ve done a few events in the past. The first one we did was the Kāpiti Food Fair, that was really awesome. We only had one beer. Then we re-branded to Changemaker, then we did Beervana with a beer, apple cider, and ginger beer. What’s important for me is to make a lot of money! And I would like to be on the Rich List. The best thing about Changemaker is working in a team. It’s been a great experience to learn beer, selling, sales, ginger beer, apple cider… and I would like to see us in the future to take it worldwide.

Him and His Job - Gordon Cumming Independence Collective started in 2018, since then it’s become part of IHC. The four individuals that started it own the recipes for the products we produce. That’s one of their businesses, and they get a royalty on every can sold. They live in the Kāpiti area and sell a lot of their products in the area, and they also get a commission on everything that they sell. This seller network will ultimately be spread throughout the country. We’re also ramping up our online sales, for example last night we were in here mixing up some apple cider cocktails and videoing that which will become part of the online story. Because the four individuals are part of supported living services, they’ve managed to secure some of their NASC [Needs Assessment and Service Coordination] funding to support them with the business. So Phil is employed by IDEA Services which is part of IHC, to support them in the sales portion of their product. I am employed above that by IHC as the manager of Independence Collective. IHC runs it cost-neutral and at the end of the year if there’s a profit then it’s distributed to all the members of the collective. As the Independence Collective evolves, we’ll look at other products and services as well. Him and his Job - Phil Kāpiti Neville’s always lived here on the Kapiti Coast, he’s a local, and everywhere we go everyone seems to know Neville. I feel quite left out sometimes! He’s well-known in the community and that’s really neat because he’s a really social guy. That’s a huge advantage when you’re going out selling. He’s very well regarded in the community. Neville’s been doing this for three or four years now and I just came on board. So I’m the learner, he’s the boss. Discussion is very important in the team – we all need to work together. One thing that’s been really cool is the way that we’ve all been learning new stuff and growing as people, and I think that’s one of the great things about Changemaker. It’s about making a point too. We won’t settle for anything less than absolute respect from the rest of the community. Neville brings a fantastic sense of humour to Changemaker, and a lot of enthusiasm. He’s got a lot of drive and he has from the start – if there’s ever something going on then Neville wants to be involved. There have been tricky times with COVID and other things happening, but if we ever need something done then Neville’s always keen and ready to go. Very good with just getting stuck in, very motivated. I would absolutely recommend working with someone with Down syndrome. We’ve had a lot of fun. Neville’s just a great guy to work with – easy going, outgoing, just fun to work with. Bit of a hard man at times, but that’s good for me too. There’s time’s when I help him out, times when he sorts me out with things too.