Piko Wholefoods opened in March 1979 at 225 Kilmore Street, Christchurch, as part of a larger project conceived by Rod Donald, Hans and Janice Schaeper, and Keith and Pauline Whiting, then all in their late 20s.
The project was directed by concepts of self-sufficiency and community – a sustainable urban vision which included a housing co-operative where veges could be grown and chickens raised, as well as a shop to sell the produce they grew. Christchurch would then have access to healthy whole food which wasn’t otherwise available.
The Peterborough Street Community Living Project (PSCLP) and the shop began under the auspices of the Te Whanau Charitable Trust. Hans and Janice Schaeper owned a house at PSCLP for three years before beginning their own market garden – with an organic objective the Trust hadn’t yet developed.
People were interested in whole foods in 1979 but there wasn’t yet an emphasis on organic, says Janice Schaeper. The alternative movement was definitely happening. Rod Donald was organising recycling schemes, a new idea at the time. Hans Schaeper grew gardens on empty sections around the Avon loop. People grew their own fruit and veges in their backyards, and – probably by default – much of it was organic.
In the beginning Piko Wholefoods and Crafts Co-operative (PWCC), as it was known, was also active around social policy. Rod Donald later became co-leader of the Green Party. The PWCC centre, with its strong community focus, hosted speakers and films. During the Springbok tour one of Piko’s large shop windows was smashed because they stood against the tour. Te Whanau Trust also cleaned up the Avon River and ensured river ecology was maintained. Recycling information was made available at the Centre and it became a hub where people could find out about various enviro-political causes such as a proposed motorway through St Albans. A huge community noticeboard was displayed on the wall.
Piko Wholefoods and the Peterborough St Community separated in late 1999 since the Community no longer grew produce for sale. PSCLP still exists as the Peterborough Housing Co-operative, a project of the Otakaro Land Trust, while Te Whanau Trust continues to own the shop.
Tineke Witteman, Piko Wholefoods longest involved Trust member joined the shop in 1981, while Brigette Unwin, Piko’s administrator of 30 years, joined in 1986 after discovering as a young new lawyer that law wasn’t so thrilling. When she learned Piko was looking for a bookkeeper, she took up the opportunity.
“Although they were very small, they were disorganised,” says Brigette. “It got busier and busier, and the lifestyle became important to me so I stayed.”
None of the original founders are still involved but their philosophy is definitely at work: a consensus-based work environment, quality affordable whole foods, low-profit, local, keeping people healthy, equality, self-responsibility, and fair trade, taking into account the environmental impact of grocery shopping. Piko sells compostable biodegradable cornstarch bags and paper bags, and provides free cardboard boxes, and customers are welcome to bring their own bags.
All thirteen current co-operative members work in the shop along with two casuals, everyone on a living wage. People stay: half the staff has been with Piko for over five years. 
“We want people working here to have passion and feel involved, and that their contribution is valued. It’s brilliant to have their participation to keep the business moving forward,” says Brigette.
“We have growers who have been growing for us since the beginning – Geoff Barnett’s organic farm at Motukarara grows really good onions, spinach, and beetroot. Milmore Downs, Terrace Farm, and in Ashburton, NZ Biograins, all produce flour and grains we still sell. Lots of people who’ve worked for us have gone into organic production themselves and now supply us. We believe in the co-operative model.”
“We’ve remained a co-operative,” says Brigette, “because we’re a social enterprise and co-operation fits with those values. All our profit is given away to sustainable Christchurch community groups aligned with Piko principles. Charity recipients include Otakaro Orchard, Cultivate Christchurch, Christchurch Women’s Centre, Greening the Rubble, University of Canterbury Sustainability Awards, and more.”
Piko Wholefoods became certified organic with BioGro in May 2014. Certification of organic products has become more important over the years, says Brigette, but Piko is frustrated by the consumer confusion caused by the lack of an official definition of the term ‘organic’. At present, anyone can call their product organic, and compete with producers who go to the effort of meeting organic standards and paying for their certification. Shops are a large part of the push for regulation to create a definition of the term, organic, and a single national standard.
The challenges for Piko are familiar, most notably being able to source enough fruit and vegetables in New Zealand, a small country whose land is being increasingly dedicated to bigger business such as dairy farming – or urban sprawl.
Market gardening, being weather dependent, is difficult although today’s shoppers are more open to seasonal produce. The middle manufacturing arena lacks a large enough domestic market to viably convert a crop into a canned product, or flaked items, says Brigette. Most come from overseas because New Zealand doesn’t have the facilities. Many crops go to Australia for processing before returning in canned form. Flaked gluten-free grains are popular but making a good gluten-free flake requires multi-million dollar machines; the domestic market is too small to make purchasing one viable, so these products have to be sourced overseas.
Piko sells non-organic products if they can’t find organic. For instance, they sell New Zealand grown non-certified quinoa alongside a certified Bolivian quinoa. It remains non-viable to grow some organic crops (e.g. red kidney beans) because the market in New Zealand is too small to support a grower. Farmers can make more money doing something else.
Now Piko is housed in a new building at 229 Kilmore Street, built four and a half years after the original one was destroyed by the earthquakes. Brigette says it was terrible when they lost the very old original triple-brick building but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the new one is so easy to work in.
In March Piko Wholefoods marked their 40th anniversary with a week of celebrations. “We’ve been part of Christchurch for a long time and feel an intrinsic part of the city. It’s good that more and more people know who we are, that we’re low profit and that we give those profits away, that we are a charitable trust, and what we do to support Christchurch.”
There’s still a community noticeboard attached to the wall.
Piko Wholefoods
Location 229 Kilmore Street, Christchurch
Open: Mon–Fri 7am – 6.30 pm; Sat 9am – 5pm
Phone: (03) 366-8116
Website pikowholefoods.co.nz
Theresa Sjöquist is a freelance writer based in Helensville
Copyright Theresa Sjoquist May 2019
First Published in Organic NZ magazine – May/June 2019 Vol. 78 No.3
Bioforce
Daily Organics
Theresa Sjoquist
Theresa Sjoquist
