A Day in the Life of Rachel Taulelei
12pm
Early lunch at The Smoking Barrel, a cafĂŠ we supply with our Tohu winesâââthey make legendary donuts, which naturally I eat to support the business. Naturally.
1pm
Visiting our new mÄra/garden. And itâs insanely beautiful. A field full of sunflowers, and rows of taewa (potatoes), kĹŤmara, kamokamo, kÄnga (corn), paukena (pumpkin) and pÄŤ (peas). We planted the mÄra as a way to reconnect whÄnau with their whenuaâââand to live ideas of tikanga-led regenerative agriculture. I find one kamokamo hiding in the garden that got missed in the harvest (winning!) and grab a couple of sunflowers. Gorgeous on both fronts.
2pm
9am
Off to MotuekaâââMust. Get. Coffee. Find one at the cart on the main road, where all the real oil on industry happenings gets spilled.
Into Hop Federation now, our craft brewery in Riuwaka. Quick tasting of the new seasonal beers â the Watermelon Sour is off the hook good, so I wangle a couple of riggers direct from the tanks. Insta propaganda followsâââso proud of all that our team does so I love a good social shout out.
I drop into the recently reopened and reinvigorated Riwaka Pubâââthe quintessential country tavern. Awesome food, killer music, great drinks (yes, I am biased), and all community. Quick chat re supporting an upcoming event with some of NZâs best homegrown musicians.
3pm
7am
First check in for the day, the airport. On goes the mask. Why did I put lipstick on this morning?! Fail.
A quick roadside teleconference re our APEC Business Advisory Council work. ABAC is the business voice into APEC and this call is about a digital symposium Iâm opening in a couple of weeksâââabout how we use digital to unlock our economic recovery. The donut sugar high is still real.
Grabbed an actual watermelon from Frasers at the bottom of TÄkaka Hill to go with my Watermelon Sour. No idea whyâââbut the Hop Fed guys suggested it and so I did. Felt like they knew something I didnât which is entirely possible because it was sooo good.
5pm
5am 6am
Time to wake my babyâââtechnically a beautiful teenager, but theyâre always your baby. She and her dad start the day quietly. Conversely, I like to fly into it noisily and with urgency (I think it drives them crazy) once my feet hit the floor. Common is on LOUD, and since itâs everyoneâs lucky day, I bust out an impromptu morning jingle to get her moving. It was amazingâŚ
11am
This is one of my favourite times of the day with space to order thoughts. I flip between that, listening to First Up on RNZ, and thoughts of exercising. Listening wins. I chalk it up to starting the day smarter.
10am
Rachel Taulelei (NgÄti Raukawa, NgÄti RÄrua, NgÄti Koata) is CEO of whÄnau-owned, MÄori food and beverage producer Kono. A mÄmÄ, founder of sustainable seafood company Yellow Brick Road, director, and Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council, an advocate for MÄori business, our primary industries, and international trade. Rachel lives in Wellington but regularly works from Nelson and Blenheim.
Arrive in beautiful MĹhua Golden BayâââI always feel incredibly tau (calm) when Iâm here. Thereâs something deeply spiritual about this place. Maybe itâs because our tĹŤpuna were here, maybe because itâs so stunning, or that I can see our team harvesting our mussels from here. Perhaps itâs because the light is so particular, or the air is so clear that you can see Taranaki Mounga on a good day. Could be all of the above, but I love it.
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