Every life fully lived.
That’s the vision of Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay, which was established with the purpose of supporting people with intellectual disabilities to live meaningful, healthy and creative lives.
This journey began with the vision and commitment of their pioneers over 60 years ago. Right from the start, anthroposophy has been at the heart of the way they do things. This is a way of life inspired by Dr Rudolf Steiner. It is about caring, sharing and nurturing the spirit of the whole community. For children through to adults, Hōhepa creates safe places to live, strong bonds to grow, and real opportunities for people to achieve their full potential.
Hōhepa Hawke’s Bay was founded by educator Marjorie Allen and local farmer/benefactor Sir Lewis Harris in 1957. Organic and regenerative farming practices are the cornerstone of their dairy enterprise and the focus is on producing high quality milk from healthy, happy cows grazing chemical-free pastures.
It all comes together at Hōhepa Dairy. All sales contribute to the funding of the homes and manufacturing provides jobs for residents who help feed and milk the cows and those who work alongside the cheesemaking team. The milk comes from a herd of hand-reared shorthorn cows (and a few jerseys and friesians) which graze on lush herbal lay pastures. The cheese benefits from the biodynamic approach to farming and has won numerous awards
Cheesemaking started small in a room at the back of the dairy shed, but moved to a full cheesery in 2006. Head cheesemaker Inacio Guimaraes and his small team work alongside the people they support to produce a range of award-winning specialty cheeses, including their signature Danbo, Cumin and aged hard cheeses, and fresh cheeses like Quark and Halloumi. They are constantly pushing the boundaries, a good example being the introduction of a new and delicious Blue cheese made in Spring when the grass is at its most luxuriant. True to their sustainable values, Hōhepa are moving towards compostable packaging for their cheese.
We at The Cheese Wheel have a huge respect for Hohepa cheese making and are proud to have them in our Cheese Wheel whanau.
