Nor'West News: July 25, 2017

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Tuesday July 25 2017 5
Our People
Michelle Fuentes-Whittaker
Brighton’s social conscience
Social entrepreneur
Michelle Fuentes-
Whittaker’s latest
venture is The Good
Shop in Carnaby Lane,
New Brighton. Sarla
Donovan talked to
her about the cafe,
shop and hub for
community education
and workshops
What’s the idea behind The
Good Shop?
To make living greener easier
and more accessible. We tend
to get overwhelmed and don’t
know where to start, or feel like
any small change won’t make a
difference. We aim to shift this
through having the shop, building
a community of support and
also education and workshops.
What motivated you to set
this up?
It grew out of a combination
of things. I’ve been involved in
the social enterprise scene for
a couple of years and when we
had the big Kaikoura/Hurunui
earthquake in November, I wanted
to help the vulnerable small
businesses. So I set up Alpine
Pacific in a Box – a Christmas
gift box full of artisan products
made in these regions. I’ve
always been a greenie so when I
realised that all the artisan products
were also naturally ethical
and environmentally-friendly,
I thought to extend the support
to both the makers and the customer
through a not-for-profit
social enterprise.
Is it a challenge to run an
enterprise like this and make a
living?
Short answer is yes. We are
only in the start-up phase and it
takes a while to get the cash flow
going. So we are mainly volunteers
at this stage but are very
committed to the initial pilot to
see if it is viable going forward.
We’ve got a lot of support from
the local community but it also
GREENER: Michelle Fuentes-Whittaker and chef Noelina Maruccio at The Good Shop on
Carnaby Lane, which aims to make it easier to live a green lifestyle. PHOTO: GILBERT WEALLEANS
needs to translate into financial
sustainability. We do need some
funding to help us through the
start-up phase.
Are you juggling family as
well?
We are all parents. Another
string to the venture is to create
the type of workplace you’ve
always wanted that is flexible
around family. So there are four
of us that work part time to
cover the Tuesday to Saturday
week and the collective directorship.
Though I’m finding that
I’m working everyday being the
business developer, communications
and marketing, social
media, managing director, ops
manager, finance manager and
admin! But for now, I’m loving it
and once the systems are set up
and we have more volunteers on
board, it will be more sensible.
Why did you decide to open
in New Brighton?
Three of us are locals. We love
living here and are putting our
hands up to contribute to the
vibrant community. We have
strong networks across greater
Brighton and the east, which
is vital to starting up a not-forprofit
venture. We also have
the support from Development
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funding to cover the basics for
the three-month pilot.
Are you originally from
Christchurch?
Born and bred Cantabrian. I’ve
lived elsewhere and travelled a
lot but found myself returning
home to start a family. As much
as the earthquakes were horrible,
I’ve seen the silver lining in the
openness to new ideas and the
strengthened communities.
From doing earthquake recovery
work with CERA to creating the
river of flowers for the February
22, 2011, earthquake anniversary,
Places of Tranquillity in
Manchester St, being involved in
the beginning of the All Right?
well-being campaign and developing
the Well-being Game.
Have you always been a socially
aware kind of person?
I’ve always been involved in
volunteering and community
from an early age. That continued
through university and my
first job as a community centre
manager in Wellington. My
career hasn’t been a linear typical
journey but there is a very
clear thread and commitment to
social change and community
well-being. The Good Shop is
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an umbrella of Flourish Inc, a
collective for happy people and
a healthy planet. I pulled this
together to bring my various
initiatives, interests and fabulous
collaborators under a clear vision
and practice – enjoyable, innovative
experiences that just happen
to be good for you and good for
the planet.
There seems to be a real push
back on plastic bags at the moment.
Why do you think that
is?
Waste is a huge issue and
plastic bags are a tangible item
that we all use and it’s easy to
see what damage they’re doing
to our oceans and environment.
Plastic has only really been
around in everyday household
products for the last 40 to 50
years. Yet there has only recently
been the realisation of the prolific
impact. We don’t really know
how long plastic takes to break
down either. It’s commonly
stated as 100 years, yet we haven’t
reached that time yet so it could
be 1000 years. The silly thing is
that we don’t need them. Our
parents and grandparents never
needed them either. Use cloth
bags – it’s that simple. Putting a
levy on plastic bags or making
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them thicker so they are more
easily reusable isn’t going to solve
the problem either. It’s an initial
step, though, and it raises awareness
of the problem.
Where do you like to hang
out when you have some down
time?
The beach and the forest are
such amazing assets on this side
of the city and are extra enjoyable
with kids and dogs. I mostly
hang out with family and friends
in winter, but with this project,
I am spending my downtime
working.
Do you have a bucket list?
What’s at the top right now?
I haven’t got a bucket list as
such. I’ve always tried to live
my life doing what I love as I go.
Though getting The Good Shop
successful and making a living
for those involved is at the top of
my life list right now.
Where do you see yourself in
five years time?
Everything flourishing – www.
flourish.org.nz
How are you enjoying these
frosty winter days?
I’m more of a spring and autumn
person but I love the frosty
days if it means sunshine all day.
With the very cold mornings,
though, I’m not enjoying the
condensation on the windows
and running the heat pump a lot
more. It’s important to be warm
and dry, though, to reduce the
winter ills.
Do you have any go-to recipes
at this time of year?
Usually soups like curried
kumura, and my son’s favourite
leek and potato, which I make
nice and thick. But with having
a cafe in our shop, I’m in heaven.
I’ve been a vegetarian for more
than 20 years and to have a
whole menu I can eat from is so
incredibly exciting. So I’m enjoying
Pod Cafe black bean burgers
or empanadas with gorgeous
winter salads. I can’t feel bad
about eating them a lot either
as they’re so healthy and eating
meat-free is one of the top things
we can do for climate change.
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