I spent two weeks in Zambia in February 2019, documenting the Zambia Dairy Transformation Programme (ZDTP). The programme is being implemented by New Zealand company Prime Consulting International, alongside Swedish company NIRAS International Consulting. It is funded by the New Zealand Government.
Video: An interview with Zambian dairy farmer Grace Tepula
Here’s a short interview with Zambian dairy farmer Grace Tepula, who is one of many smallholder farmers in the Copperbelt region (a mineral-rich area known for copper mining) benefiting from advice and farm visits through the Zambia Dairy Transformation Programme (ZDTP). I made this for Prime Consulting International Ltd, which is implementing the ZDTP on behalf of the New Zealand Government (it is also working with farmers in Central Province). Grace is proud to be one of the programme’s ‘Focus Farmers’, which means, amongst other things, that she hosts demonstration plots on her farm to show other farmers how to grow new crops and conserve different types of fodder.
Words: Georgia’s Small Bitcoin Miners Try to Make it Big
Georgia is second in the world in bitcoin production. Alongside major manufacturers a cottage industry of small operators is flourishing. Read the story here.
Video: Climate Change and Agriculture Video for COP24
I created this video on behalf of Prime Consulting International Ltd for a New Zealand Government stand at the COP24 climate change conference in Poland in 2018.
Website: Nimmo-Bell & Associates
Nimmo-Bell & Associates was bought by Prime Consulting International in 2017. Freelance web developer Ben Leith and I created this website in 2018 to give the company a fresh new look. I also created a new brochure for the company, using InDesign, which you can see here.
Video: Company Overview for Prime Consulting International Ltd
This company overview for Prime Consulting International Ltd was created in September 2018 using footage shot during a trip to Afghanistan. Prime specialises in designing and implementing international development projects/programmes.
Words: The Monocle Guide to Building Better Cities
This short piece on Christchurch-based Gap Filler founders Coralie Winn, Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Just appeared in the Urban Heroes section of The Monocle Guide to Building Better Cities, a book published in 2018.
Copywriting: The Christchurch Story, ChristchurchNZ
Being from Christchurch, I was delighted to be hired as a copywriter by ChristchurchNZ to help develop ‘The Christchurch Story’ – a resource aimed at helping locals promote the city as a great place to visit, live, study, work and do business.
Words: Small House Design, Home Magazine
Small yet robust.
Mitchell Coll designed two compact homes to fit on a 300-square-metre site in Christchurch. The design was inspired by his time spend in backcountry huts in New Zealand. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mitchell for Home Magazine.
Read the story here.
Words: Gran's Place, North & South
My partner Joe and I met Noeline Sincock through a friend during a holiday in the Marlborough Sounds. The 86-year-old had a good story to tell. Joe shot some photos and our story appeared in North and South.
Words: Ward of the State, New Zealand Geographic
I wrote this piece exploring the relationship between the Chatham Islands’ population and economy after spending a month there in 2015. The story was published in New Zealand Geographic.
Audio-Visual Slideshow: The Meter Reader and the Photographer
Derek Smith has been a meter reader in New Zealand for more than 30 years. He deliberately chose this job so he could pursue his vocation as a social documentary-style photographer. You can hear Derek explain his career choice, and check out his striking and clever images here.
Words: At Peace on the Edge, Your Weekend
My good friend George Staite died in a BASE jumping accident in Italy in 2012.
Two years later, I pieced together the years, months, days and minutes leading up to his final jump, with the help of his friends, BASE jumping peers and his dear mother Nancy.
Read the story here.
Radio: The medical advisers who bring Shortland Street’s hospitals to life, Monocle 24
I visited the set of New Zealand medical drama Shortland Street to meet a nurse who advises actors on how to treat their fictional patients - a job that involves fake blood, pretend CPR and a fair amount of pig skin.
I also spoke with actors Sam Bunkall and Sally Martin.
The interviews aired on London-based show Monocle 24’s weekly Culture show, which you can hear here.
Words: Thirty Odd People, Wilderness Magazine
Arthur’s Pass is home to just 30 people but together they maintain an active volunteer fire brigade, search and rescue unit and a wildlife trust that maintains hundreds of stoat traps to protect kiwi, whio and other native birds.
What’s it like living in a small community in the middle of the mountains? I asked some locals.
The story appeared in the April issue of Wilderness Magazine; read it here.
Words: Aoraki's holy mountain, Wilderness Magazine
Mt Wakefield in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park is ‘not your average mountain’, according to members of a worldwide spiritual organisation.
Remaining skeptical, I joined the Aetherius Society on a mountain pilgrimage.
The story was published in the May issue of Wilderness Magazine; see a PDF here.