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Mandi initially started in hospitality and met her husband Scott at age 16 who persuaded her to go farming. They spend 2 years at Springfield and she also worked as a rep for Bowron. They next moved to Mossburn where she remembers lots of parties after lambing and shearing. Two years later they moved to Moa Flat during which time she visited Scotland. After that they moved to Alford Forest before then going to Waitangi Station where she mostly worked as the cook. In this roll she found that the main dish in demand was any type of meat! They then moved to Omarama Station. In 2001 Mandi completed a Diploma in Social Geography at Massey which she especially loved. After she split with her husband she worked at a community centre and later as a project officer for the Palmerston North CC. Mandi followed this up by completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Geography and at this stage was introduced to Rotary where she especially enjoyed projects work that got her out more including one that involved running a seniors day for rest home residents. She then moved to Foxton which included a new job and a new man. She next took up a role as a Development Coach with Young Farmers and helped coordinate & run events all over the North Island including TAG events that encouraged young people into farming as a career. She and her new partner then took up a kiwifruit & pear lifestyle orchard which they transformed into grassland. Her best new skill during this time was driving a digger which she absolutely loved. Getting back into horses using “natural horsemanship” was also something she relished at this time which were accompanied by a wide assortment of other animals & pets including her partner’s love of roosters … they had 60 and one stage. No problem getting woken up in the morning! Mandi next moved back to Christchurch, is in the stage of purchasing a house, and currently works for a carpet wool company, Hypnosis NZ, that develops strong wool in a very innovative way. The product if strong, tough and is currently used in the London subway trains. The main part of Mandi’s job is to work with ~300 wool growers and developing contracts for supply. The company has only be going 5 years and differentiates itself by strongly focussing on ongoing innovation. Geoff holds up a wool sample Mandi then showed us a brief video of a grower’s activities and explained what strong wool is via examples which showed her passion for both the product and the company she works for. Thank-you, Mandi, for a glimpse into what has been a very active and full life so far. We look forward to hearing more as you continue your journey.
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