JASON KERRISON

OP SHOPPING IN NAME AND BY NATURE

Singer/Songwriter, Jason Kerrison tells us about his inspiring project in remote Northland.

You have been described as an ecowarrior and advocate for sustainable and resilient communities. How literal is this?

I use bamboo earbuds, still refuse plastic bags, have done for years. I realise my choice to not eat red meat stems partially from the controversial move to limit my own contribution to the excessive energy expenditure of industrialized animal slaughter, as well as the compassionate position. But you might say I’m less of a fanatic than I was when Opshop’s Second Hand planet was produced and unleashed on the worlds ears. When you’re in that writing head space you‘re typically hyper sensitive to your surroundings as source material. I’d always been mindful of our innate connection to nature and our responsibility as planetary habitants but I became somewhat of a musical activist through song and then in deed also and more so after this album. My work states my position and it’s nice to have that to confirm my perspective. I’ll always be an eco-worrier. Tell us about your off-the-grid initiative in remote Northland

The Great Northern Retreat is positioning itself as an off grid well-being venue and production studio nestled in the mountains of Takahue, in the Far North. Promoting socially just, environmentally sustainable, and physical, emotional/mental, spiritually fulfilling practises. We aim to be te whare raki nui o te whakaora, the great home of healing. We are currently completing essential infrastructure on the property and are looking to rapidly upscale our operations towards our vision of an off grid high-value eco-tourist eco-educational hauora health retreat and production studio servicing the Far North and visitors from further afield in New Zealand and across the globe. We have recently applied for an industrial hemp license also.

What compelled you to take on this project? In my opinion we had and are still neglecting our responsibility as Kaitiaki, a Maori term used for the concept of guardianship and protector of the sky, the sea, and the land. High in the mountains, away from rising seas, hotter (and colder) extreme weather events, and the infrastructures inability to cope due to the added pressure in the city of increasing population growth. I also wanted to return to the whenua to learn permaculture, and Rongoa Maori (native plants and processes with medicinal qualities and outcomes). I wanted to learn to build a tiny home, so downsizing and minimalism were other factors. A recording studio in the mountains had always been a dream.

What does it mean exactly to live “off the grid”? Did you impose any rules or restrictions on yourself? There is literally no access to services like power and water and sewerage so we didn’t have to impose any restrictions. The limitations were already arranged for us by nature and whomever subdivided the land in the past. We had to install absolutely everything.

Water tanks and waterlines for showers and food preparation, roads for access, the solar power plant for energy, wood fired hot tubs filled with kawakawa infusion for relaxing after a long day. We eat hangi cook in a universal food cooker most of the time which is smoked with manuka sourced from the whenua.

What have you learnt from this experience that any of us could apply to our daily lives? Firstly, it’s the old Henry Ford saying. ‘Whether you think you can, or you can’t you’re right’. I followed my heart, my vision. It’s been a mish but I believed I could do it, I was right. We’re far from finished but many people involved have achieved plenty to be proud of and we’ve created a platform to leap forward from here into the other projects we have in mind. We’re learning all the time. And yes sustainability shouldn’t be a buzz word used now and then, it should filter every action we take. I try to carry the sense of Kaitiaki with me everywhere. It focuses my lens every day. Also, just do what you can. Its all you can do. Do you think the growing alarm over catastrophic climate change is justified? No. I feel alarm is long overdue. Hopefully the heightened sense of concern will at the very least create an impetus for those who can’t seem to see the tragedy unfolding around us from humanities collective callousness to stop and look. This is an emergency.

What would be your top 3 tips for fellow kiwis who are overwhelmed but want to make a difference?

• Try to cut out plastic. Be gone one use plastics for sure. Bags, Straws, Cotton Earbuds,

Toothbrushes, Ciggie butts etc. There are plenty of options…paper, bamboo, wood, not smoking.

• Recycle, reuse. What ever you can, fix.

Or learn to. I’m using pallets a lot. I’m midway through a National Certificate in Construction (Level 3) so I can up skill and complete many of the projects on The Great Northern Retreat.

• Just simply be mindful of your consumption.

We are the guardians of our planet. We need to stop pretending we can’t do anything.

Together we’ll shift the paradigm. But we must act everyday.

What’s next?

Great Northern Hemp. Someone said recently that this is the time to educate. This is the time to activate. This is the time to define our needs. For essential nutrients found within a vegetable that is a strategic resource that can help us deal with economic catastrophe, environmental catastrophe and the chronic health situation that is bankrupting patients of Aotearoa. PS Vote yes to legalise cannabis. Get to know the facts.