Meet The Team

A lover of the natural world, I begin every day dancing at sunrise. 
My consciousness quest began at 14 with Transcendental Meditation. 

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I am a serial entrepreneur having birthed over a dozen companies including Cookie Time, two social enterprises, Nutrient  Rescue and Regenerative Superfoods and two movements - including the moonshot vision, Drinkable Rivers in Our Lifetime. 

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Today my focus is the NEIGHBOURGOOD 

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My Why
Starting up a regenerative eco village with businesses we all own and contribute to is a worthwhile pursuit because it solves most of the problems affecting us and our friends at present. Personally I am choosing to grow old and die in a country village that values my gifts.

I am also creating a place for my children to raise their children.

Magnetism, pragmatism & magic - the tools of a vision catalyst.

Zahra began her vision catalyst journey in the United States by birthing her own youth educational programmes. “A Dream of a Better World” Saturday programme was her first, followed by Camp Lightway and then Light Way School, a full time holistic approach to learning making space for the emergence of the full essence and genius of children.
 

From 2018 - 2022,, she worked with Te Wharerangi Trust to build and run the “Golden Bay Sustainable Living Course” in Takaka, New Zealand. Over 60  students ages 19 to 76 from 15 countries successfully completed the 10 week course. 

 

Since December 2022,  Zahra has been bringing her catalyst tools to the NeighbourGood where she is inspired by the expansive vision and incredible humans showing up to form the first village.

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Ngarie, a visionary researcher, is driving our ecovillage's mission to rejuvenate water ecosystems. Of Ngati porou descent, Ngari has been schooled in Te Reo Maori and tikanga.

 

She has a background working in land-based aquaculture, dairy farming and agricultural research. Currently the founder and Chief technologist of eClean Envirotech where, supported by Canterbury Council, through its Smart Christchurch programme, she has developed a series of water technologies to remove nitrates and other contaminants from waterways. 

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Ngarie's leadership is pivotal in our commitment to sustainable water solutions, contributing to the global movement for clean and revitalized rivers.  She will be spearheading one of our first NeighbourGood businesses focused on environmental solutions especially for water.

Samantha is the co-founder of Nutrient Rescue and Drinkable Rivers. Over her lifetime she has co created many start ups, the first being her own equine business followed by a contracting company with the father of her children, Turei, and many more with her husband, Michael.  

These experiences led her to completing her Institute of Directors, Company Directors course in 2021. Currently Samantha has directorship roles with the Christchurch Collective for the Homeless and Nutrient Rescue Ltd. 

Having spent a lifetime in nature working with horses and half a lifetime co-parenting 6 children, her fascination for connection, relationships and communication developed into a deep dive into those areas.  She studied such modalities as Non Violent Communication (NVC), Peer Support, and in her early days with training horses and people, she studied Centred Riding and Tellington Jones Equine Awareness Method,(TEAM).

 

Her involvement in the NeighbourGood project comes from a desire to be part of creating an archaic revival. This term coined by Terence McKenna means “the process of reawakening awareness of our attitudes to nature including plants and our relationship to them.”  
 

Sam is currently operational lead of the NeighbourSuites Prototype Circle and a member of the General Circle. 

Heidi Holland, a talented graphic designer, strives to create a regenerative future through collaborative practices that honour people and land.

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Heidi is passionate about using her skills to create movements that positively impact social and environmental landscapes.

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Heidi believes that storytelling and imagery are powerful tools for inspired change. She uses her design skills to create vibrant and welcoming visuals that capture the essence of NeighbourGood's mission as earth kaitiaki.

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Through her work, Heidi hopes to create a ripple effect that will influence others to adopt nature based practices and become earth warriors themselves.

Robina McCurdy is a professional community development facilitator, permaculture educator, organic gardener, and pioneer-resident of 39 year-old Tui  Community and Land Trust, as well as, the founder of The Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa.
 

Over the past 45 years she has been engaged in various forms of community development in 12 different countries.  This work encompassed: ‘midwifing’ new initiatives, participatory planning of orphanages, long-term conflict resolution, training of community leaders as 'cultural change agents', mentoring new eco-villages, social renewal of existing land-based co-operatives, and strengthening community culture within existing organizations.
 

Simon comes from a background in the law and business consulting, with more than 20 years experience in commercialising intellectual property.  He founded Innovation Liberation Front in 2012 to help entrepreneurs create businesses from their ideas.  In 2023 Simon was again listed in Intangible Asset Management magazine’s IAM Strategy 300 - the World's Leading IP Strategists.  He has been recognised as a world leading IP strategist in this forum in every year since 2014.

 

Simon's work for NeighbourGood has focused on brand protection and establishment of the incorporated society constitution.

 

In his spare time, Simon enjoys drawing and painting, especially portraits and the human form (Instragram @srowellnz)

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Sasha Aleksandra is a master of sustainable practice, a breathwork therapist and an experienced architect passionate about community living and sustainability.
She is dedicated to combining those two factors for a resilient, healthy, and sustainable future for land and people. Starting her career as an architect, she found great satisfaction in contributing to the bigger picture of leaving the world in a better place than she found it.

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Her passion is in shaping our cities, as well as in creating community and environmental resilience for the present and future generations. For Sasha to evolve a sustainable idea with a dedicated team is the most appealing task for her as an architect and student. Today she is thinking about how and what will help to define the future of place for cities, nature, and people – and unlock social, cultural and economic value.

 

“Your profession is not what brings home your weekly pay check. Your profession is what you‘re put here on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” Vincent van Gogh

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Sasha is currently working on the NeighbourSuites Prototype Circle. 

Annie Dow is the founder and owner of two of NZ’s leading brand and design agencies Dow Goodfolk and Brother Design.

 

Annie’s tenacity, her passion for design, her smarts and her generosity have not only enabled her to grow the businesses, but provided opportunities for generations of New Zealand designers to grow their own talents.

 

Annie has been a leading industry voice championing the work of the NZ business and design community. Her mantra of ‘Design Delivers Value’ is legendary within the industry.  Annie is a passionate and vocal expert on the value of branding and believes creative and strategic excellence transforms brands.

 

Annie was recognised by the Designers Institute of NZ for her contribution to the design industry and was the recipient of the 2019 Black Pin award. 

 

Utilising the tools of Ayuvedic Meditation, helps Annie navigate the ever increasing complex corporate business environment, alongside her own belief systems of living life with freedom, integrity & love.

 

Annie is a champion with the regenerative village concept and feels honoured to be working with NeighbourGood.