May 3, 2022 • 36 mins
Today we are speaking to Clare Bradley, CEO of AgriSea, who is based in Paeroa with her husband Tane and their three children.
Clare started her career after studying Biology at Auckland University. She previously lived and worked for 2 years in the Amazon Rainforest, with a remote community helping them to develop enterprises that would conserve their rainforest.
AgriSea was founded more than 20 years ago by Clare’s mother and father-in-law. The company produces seaweed-based concentrates used in the agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, and apiculture sectors.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Black Keels and Tractor Wheels podcast, where
we are sharing stories from a range of women from
around New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
For nearly a century, Rural Women New Zealand has been
dedicated to strengthening and supporting women and children to become
empowered members of their communities.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
We hope that by hearing these stories from inspiring women
all around the country, you'll feel inspired yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We're your hosts, Emma Higgins and Claire Williamson and would
love for you to join and subscribe to our podcast
so you don't miss our rural stories.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
By the way, this podcast is supported by f CO
keep We to the Bone since nineteen oh four and
working with their farming families to supply the world with
top quality beef and lamb since then.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
All Right, well that's a really great place to start,
because obviously you are part of the rural world now
and particularly with your company focused on helping our amazing
people who are doing great stuff in the egg or space.
But clear have you always lived rurally or is this
something that's come a little bit later on in life.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, so definitely rule by choice. And I was actually
brought up in Auckland, so the biggest city in altid Or,
New Zealand. So yeah, very not rural. But I think
I had the opportunity very lucky all through my childhood,
since I was born just been months upon an island
in the Bay of Islands, where there were no roads,
(01:29):
no cars, no shops, and as long as we had
a life jacket on, we were able to do whatever
we liked. So I grew up in between two boys,
and so I did my best to keep up with
them at all times, and learned to kind of fish
and fill at fish and gutfish and keep up with
the boys. So I think I've always had a real
love of nature and the natural world, and even though
(01:52):
I grew up in the middle of the city, that's
something that stayed with me for life.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Oh my goodness, that is awesome. It sounds as though
you've had the most idyllic childhood in a way with
some of those experiences, and I can empathize of being
the only girl amongst two boys. It's a great lot
of fun I think growing up in it, and gender's
some amazing characteristics in us, I feel. But tell us
(02:18):
a little bit more about how you move from from
that position in your life to where are now based
in Pidor. You've got an amazing husband and we'd love
to hear about your journey for how you met him
as well.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Yeah, so definitely a pretty amazing husband. I often say
that I hit the jackpot when I met Pantier, and
it has nothing to do with money, you know, Like
in my mind, a jackpot is around shared values and
what you want to see in the world and how
you want to be in the world and what we
get to do together. So I think, you know, like
(02:54):
his mum actually brought me a pillow once called I'm
a gold digger because I use that phrase of the
fact that I hit the jackpot when I met him,
And yeah, like I said, there's nothing to do with
monetary jackpott. It's just yeah, feeling like you win the
life lottery. And so we met. I had just come
home from almost two years in the Amazon rainforest and
(03:16):
I got a flesh eating disease and so I had
to come home. It wasn't wasn't my choice. And so
I met him and I was just getting well and
I'd already signed up to go to Costa Rica and
start a new expedition, and it was one of those
things that I had to go because if I didn't go,
I'd hold it against him for the rest of his life.
So I went and he stayed living with my mum,
(03:37):
so that was handy, and he was still there when
I got back.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
I love that. It's so awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I can also emphathize with the hey, I need to
go because if I don't not hold it against you.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
I had a similar, similar experience, but.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
We kind of skipped over some kind of a bit
of an amazing experience there, which was something that's quite
a long way away from ARTI at or So, can
you tell us about how how did you get to
be living and working in the Amazon rainforest?
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Why did you go there, and what kind.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Of experience did you have, because I feel like that
would just be something incredible for our listeners to hear
all about.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah. I was at Auckland University studying biology. That was
kind of my thing. That's what I really enjoyed. And
I was probably actually in a bit of a rut,
you know. I was kind of unsure, like I liked
the science side of the world, but I didn't see
myself in a lab coat, and that's all I could
see that science was and I was in a bit
(04:35):
of a rut and I needed a bit of a
circuit breaker, and so, yeah, why not throw yourself in
the weirdest, most remote place in the world see if
you can swim. And so for me, I found out
about a program where you could go and be a
volunteer on a science expedition. And so it was supposed
to be five weeks and I was supposed to come
(04:56):
back after the UNI holidays and get back into my degree,
and I just didn't come home. So it was the
I was the intern and then the science coordinator for
the expedition. And yeah, like I said, it was close
to two years. And we lived with a really remote
community in the Amazon rainforest out of Ecuador, and we
(05:19):
used to fly out of a town called Shell. And
the only reason that this community had a landing strip
is because Shell Oil had been there to prospect. And
so this community really wanted to make money and give
opportunity for their future generations if they wanted it without
(05:40):
selling to Shell. And I think that's one of the
kind of polarizing things that we think can't happen together.
It's like it's money or environment, but it doesn't have
to be like, there are ways to make a good
living and a good impact while looking after the environments.
So I think for that community, they were really future
thinking in that that aspect. And we were an hour's
(06:02):
flight from Shell on these tiny little five seedter Cessna
aeroplanes that often you'd hear over the SAT radio one
going down, one going down. So I'd always have my
compass and a water bowl on my backpack and always
knew which side of the river was on when we
were flying. But we had no water, no power, nothing.
(06:22):
It was it was absolutely the time of my life.
I loved it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Wow, this is amazing. So can you just tell us
for some of us haven't been to the Amazon rainforest,
can you expand a little bit about that whole experience
around day to day life? What does that what does
it actually look like for the people living there and
you yourself when you were there at that time.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
It's the whole idea of you are working to live.
You know, you're not working for money or you're not
working for anything else, You're just working hard to live.
So we would get up at depending on if we were,
you know, waking up for dawn chorus and recording bird
sounds to identify what birds were there. But we would
(07:08):
wake up very early before the crack of dawn and
start a fire. You know, whoever was on duty would
be cooking for about twenty people and your job was
to keep the fire going all day, cook giant pots
of porridge. I've never hated porridge so much in my life.
There's no milk, no like brown sugar on top or
grated apple or nothing. It was the beer basics over
(07:30):
a fire, had a pretty smoky flavor, but it was
really around that just substance, you know, being able to
go and collect water from the river, drain it through
bags to filter any nasties, or treat it with iodine
so it was drinkable. Yeah. It was a really physical,
tough life, but beautiful. And I think for me, having
(07:51):
grown up in Auckland and been a bit of a
wayward teen that I remember standing, you know, on the
edge of the river as sun was going down and
just thinking, this is all you need for life.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
All the rest of it is just an added bonus.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Yes, yes, I love that. That is awesome. I've been
to kind of the Amazon they called it on the
Travel brochure the Amazon River, but it was actually like
a tributary that runs into it from the Bolivia side
of things. And my favorite memory was going to one
of the toilets in this little place that we were
(08:29):
staying in the middle of nowhere, and frog came out
and met me after I'd been at least it wasn't
a snake, but it was just I yeah, just beautiful.
I remember again looking out over the sunset and watching them,
you know, go over the trees and just thinking, Wow,
this is so special. So I just I just love that. Yeah,
(08:50):
how that description of of what it's like to live
there on that day to day basis. It's so far
removed from where we are today here in alt on
a dead air basis. Pivoting slightly so went to the
You had some time overseas and then came back. Husband
was to be. Husband was still very much part of
the picture. Fast forward to where you are here now today.
(09:13):
A greasy tell us a little bit about the family business.
I understand it was your your in Lawns that founded it.
Is that correct?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
So it's a second generation Faro owned company. My husband,
Pani and I are the second generation to run agracy,
and we're basically creating a whole range of products from seaweed.
It's always New Zealand seaweed. We're really committed to growing
a seaweed sector here in altild Or New Zealand. We
(09:42):
believe it's got a really bright future for our remote
coastal pharo, for our economy, for our enrichmental environment. There's
so many good things about seaweed, and most people would
know our products as ones that are sold into the
primary sector as kind of soil by a stimulants, plant
by a stimulant, and animal nutrition supplements. But we're making
(10:03):
all these really cool products out of our waste streams.
And for us, it's around that kaitiakitunga and circular economy
and moving away from this kind of take, make and
waste sort of model. So it's trying to think, if
we're building a new sector from seaweed from the ground up,
what does good look like? You know, if we look
(10:24):
ten twenty fifty years into the future, how can we
learn from some of the things of industries that have
gone by, and how can we reimagine it if we
got to start fresh. So, yeah, we're really lucky to
be in this sort of sunrise industry and trying to
make the positive impact it is.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It is so exciting. Sorry, clear, I'm just sorry. I
just have a whole lot of questions around seaweed, So
I hope you'll bear with me. But I'm just really
interested in understanding I guess a couple of things. So
the blur they talk about it being the blue economy,
and I as I understand that seaweed is one big
part of that and hugely a potential for New Zealand.
(11:03):
How do you see this industry potentially helping our farmers
achieved some of the really hard, well ambitious I'll put
it in a different way. We've got some really ambitious
targets that the primary sector need to meet, and we
know that there's a role for technology to play. How
can seaweed help with some of this?
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yeah, there's so many ways that seaweed can help. And
one of the things that have stopped seaweed helping in
a more meaningful way so far is the ability to
farm it. So at this present time, a lot of
our supply chain is based on storms washing up on
the beach. We've got a couple of projects now both
(11:45):
farming it in the ocean and on land, and our
on land farming system means that we use a seaweed
to soak up all the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that's
coming down our rivers. So it's like a sponge, a
natural sponge that soaks us up that we can then
turn into products to reduce synthetic fertilizer use on farm
(12:06):
and an orchard's. So again it's almost like the circular
economy of nutrients. So that's the kind of plant and
soil side of things, and from an animal side, like
most people, there's been a lot of media around Asterogopsis,
which is a red seaweed and it's methane reducing potential.
So that's an interesting journey that people are starting to
go down. But I also think it's really important to
(12:31):
think about. I'm just a big person on ecosystems, say
like it's just my jam, and you know, like if
we think of just growing monoculture seaweed in the ocean,
then we're going to run into some of the same
issues we've had on land. So my thing is is like, well,
we should be looking at what flourishes really well in
(12:51):
the ocean. Muscles always grow with seaweeds. For example, if
you're a diver or someone who's in and on the ocean,
you'll know that. And so let's grow them together. Holyiculture,
Let's look at thriving ecosystems and recreate them. And so
I think that while we can't get too hung up
on any silver bullets, it's going to be a systemic approach.
(13:12):
And see, we does have a role to play to
help farmers meet their environmental and profitability targets.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
How do you go about scaling up and developing the sector?
So how would it work practically for someone to enter
into the industry.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
It can be quite tough, like from a aquaculture perspective,
And so like what we're doing in some of the
projects that we've either applied to estribof or other entities
to have funded, the IP is open because we actually
want to see the scale. We actually want to see
people take up the sort of technology to be able
(13:51):
to grow seaweed for all its potential uses, whether that's bioplastics, cosmetics, biostimulants,
animal feeds. You know, there is a huge opportunity out there.
So if people are wanting to get into seaweed. It
probably should do a plug for our New Seaweed Association,
which is ALTI or New Zealand Seaweed Association, which I'm
the current interim chair of. I think the website goes
(14:13):
live next week. But really this is about creating a
hub of people to get together who are enthusiasistic about seaweed,
because not only do we need people who know about it,
but we need the people who are enthusiastic and passionate
and are going to provide that kind of next generation
of input and excitement into the sector. So, you know,
getting together with people who are learning about seaweed and
(14:38):
people are really open about it and wanting to share.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Just going to take a short break so you can
hear a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
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Zealand since nineteen oh four, partnering with livestock farmers across
New Zealand supplying quality beef and lamb to markets across
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it's needed, nurturing the grassroots of New Zealand's farming success story.
(15:10):
That's af coat give me to the bone since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
One thing I think I'm going to take a little
bit of a broad approach to kind of response here,
because one thing I love about what you say is
it's also abundant. You're not saying, hey, you know we're
on incompany. It's going to like have sewed and we're
going to create it, and it's just like, hey, how
do we work together to get a better result for
New Zealand for all of the places that we're providing
(15:38):
our products and services to. But one thing that was
sort of sitting in my mind, and I suppose, just
to give you a bit of background, I've got this
imnt to my hude of your entirely out on the beach.
It's unset collecting seaweed, and I just can't help but
connect that with your experience in the rainforest and how
you kind.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Of, you know, brought that all together. So I feel
like it's not so.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Prising that you ended up and the role that you're in.
But one thing I'm particularly interested in, aside from the
product itself, is how you actually run your business. So
we obviously talk about a lot bets of people, planet
profit right, which you touched on a little bit before.
And I know that you support your people, we obviously
you're supporting the planet. And how do you bring those
(16:20):
three together in your business because I feel like you're
shining lights for this and it's one of the reasons
why you won our Supreme Reward a couple of years ago.
So can you talk a little bit about just that
structure I suppose of your business and how you support
your people?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Yeah, well, yeah, thank you. First of all, is really
kind of you, And I just feel like sometimes people
say you're so unique, you know, it's a unique place
to work, and we kind of don't see it that
way because it's just what we do. So sometimes it's
a little bit hard to articulate. But I think for us,
like we've got this underlying value set that just means
(16:58):
to be a good human, actually look after people, be
nice to people. We feed our staff, I cook them
lunch every Wednesday. You know, we've got a really family
friendly approach. I feel really privileged to have been a
stay at home mum for a really large part of
my children's life, and it's about bringing people up with
(17:22):
you along with you. Like I said, it's quite a
hard thing to articulate. And I think for us that
you know, there's a whole idea of chasing unicorns, and
not in the theoretical sort with those you know, kind
of horse looking things with big horns on their head,
but this whole idea of like the big Googles and
the Amazons and the big money makers, Like that's quite
(17:43):
boring in my mind, you know, like money, Like money
is useful, right, but what about valuing businesses on the
impact that they make on our planet, the impact to people,
the impact to the environment, the impact of culture, Like
isn't that a better way to do things? So yeah,
I just I struggle to articulate, like I said, what
(18:05):
it is that we do. We're just a family being ourselves.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I often think that wouldn't it be amazing if businesses
were judged on the successes of what you just talked about,
as opposed to success being monetary, success being around how
well it's people do, and even broader for society. I
often think about that with their healthcare and things like that,
you know, and nurses and are amazing people who just
(18:33):
do awesome stuff, but sometimes aren't paid necessarily to reflect
their awesomeness. Wouldn't that be an amazing society to be in?
Speaker 4 (18:43):
And farmers, you know, like the amount of people that
they feed, you know, like there's a basic human need,
right Like it's that's valuable, it's.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Hugely absolutely absolutely, yeah, yeah, incredibly. So you've talked about
it being quite a family business, and I guess understating
a little bit what you guys bring to the operation,
if I may say so, what has been your proudest
moment so far amongst everything the business that you're in now,
(19:15):
your family life and even before that, what would be
some of your proudest moments?
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I guess, you know, I remember being a little kid
and you know, being asked what I wanted to do
when I grew up, and I did. I said, I
wanted to make an impact on the world. I wanted
to make a difference in the world. And a friend
of mine, Jennifer still friends with today, I remember, you know,
we were young teenagers. It's just cracking up laughing to
think it was a hilarious, you know, very eerie, fairy
(19:42):
thing to say. And if I reflect on that, you know,
we've been working with some farmers and doing a whole
lot of research around soil house and things, but also
looking at a real holistic view of some of the
changes we can make, and that includes the social changes.
And I remember going up to their farm and they
(20:03):
were talking about how their son wanted to do a
speech on working with aggracy and soil house and worms
and things, and the teacher had said, whatever you're doing
with this child, carry it on, because I've never seen
him so passionate about something ever. And so when you
get to see those moments where you help people and
(20:23):
you're helping those future generations have hope for farming and
food production, I think for me that's hugely rewarding.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And there's something more rewarding as well than actually looking
at something in a slightly different way with a person
and then having them light up, you know, And I
think everybody, everybody has a different way that they light
up and then evidently also a different way that they
have an impact on the world. So yeah, I know
that's incredible. And what I'm interested in, which has sort
of linked a little bit to this as well, is
(20:55):
usually throughout life, throughout a Korea and also in a
family life as well. There are people who stand out
for you, you know, there people who push you along,
There are people who believe in you, and you just
really don't know how to believe in yourself. And I'm
really interested into who those people are for you. And
I'm sure that Tanya gets a mention, as do your
(21:15):
in laws, because they've been so instrumental and where.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
You are today.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
But are there people specifically and even a story that
you could tell, because here we are looking at how
some other women.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Can follow in your footsteps.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So mentors, champions, whatever you want to call them, who
are those benefically Bradley.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
My grandmother, Rosemary, my dad's mother, was a fierce, fierce feminist.
She was a talkback radio host at once. She joined
the Navy so that she could protest against the Mudadora
at all atomic bomb testing. She was just one of
these fearless, strong, pennant woman and she's always challenged me intellectually,
(22:04):
you know, she never just you know, yes, she supported me,
but she also challenged me a lot. So I think
that's holped my sort of fighting spirit absolutely. My husband
Karne and his family and his mother, Jill is the kindest,
(22:25):
most generous woman I've ever met, hands down, and that's
part of winning that Jack Pott and lottery in life
is meeting her. And you know, she's so kind that
I had to stop commenting if she looked good in something,
because she would literally take it off and give it
to you. You know, She's just that that kind. And
(22:46):
I often find myself in business now, you know, wondering
about what she would say, and talking to her about
how if I get stressed about something, or I doubt
ourselves or I'm worried. You know, she often says, all
this matter in ten years, and it kind of puts
things into perspective. You know that this challenge I have
(23:07):
today that's draining me and taking my energy, actually that's
not going to matter in ten years. So that plays
in my head often, and that's kind of like one
of those, you know, keels that steadies the ship when
I'm a bit worried.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
That's beautiful. I'm really understanding now why you think that
you've run the checkpost with the picture that you're painting
of your incentive Fano. I love it thinking about Fino again.
You've got one daughter, two daughters, two daughters I've got
two daughters and one son. That's right. So you studied science,
(23:48):
and we know from the stats out there that scientists
are going to be so highly valued going forward to
help solve some of the world's really complex problem. What
kind of conversations are you having with your children, in
particular your daughters, around the future, and how are you
(24:14):
shaping them up for the future, whether it's career or
whether it's just around conversations around expectations for how they
might travel going forward.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
That's a good question, and it's a tough world at
the moment to be you know, my eldest daughter is sixteen,
and it's a tough will to be in at the moment.
As a teenager, she wants to be a marine biologist.
So that's one, you know, one thing, And I think
it's that kind of wonder, that sense of wonder and
curiosity of the world around you that enables you to
(24:49):
be curious and be your problem solver, whether that's in
science or humanity or sociology. And so I think all
of those times, I'm so lucky and I'm so blessed,
and I so thank my grandfather and future generations before
me that I get to still take my children to
that island in the Bay of Islands where I grew
(25:11):
up every summer, and I take two weeks off every
January to go up and take my children there and
go fishing, go diving, just kind of recreate that sense
of wonder in the world. So I think it's providing
in those rich experiences.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
It's so beautiful. I'm actually super interested into this which island.
This is actually I've been thinking about my experiences stuff
on the Bay of Islands.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
I'm imagining how this might be.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
But my curiosity has been picked a little bit when
you mentioned the mother in law. And obviously your in
laws have founded this company and I've let it and
you and Tanny are now taking over. You or your
the next generation, right, And I'm really interested in different
(26:02):
styles of leadership because I think that as woman, and
I would say all of us are sitting here in
some form of leadership role.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
We kind of tend to.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Just copy that we're not copy, but you know, we
tend to follow that very masculine form of leadership.
Speaker 5 (26:20):
And I'm sort of learning this a little bit at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
So this is why I'm super interested in your feedback
and your comments, But I think my.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Question is.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
How do you think you develop your own way of
leading effectively and then how do you bring your people
along on the ride with you.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
That's such a good question, and I do think you're right,
you know, there is a real you know, we do
often see a different style in leadership from a feminine approach,
and it is sometimes that nurturing sort of approach that
are around looking after people and it's less about what
(26:59):
you want to do in the world and how you
want to be in the world. And I think that
we all have a chance to be a leader, whether
it's in business or you know, making an impact, and
it might be just the opportunity to make the impact
to the woman that you're talking to at the service
station that day. You know, who you are every single
(27:21):
day in the world can make a difference to someone.
So I think that that's really important that never underestimate
at what time you could be showing leadership or leading
someone unknowingly. And in terms of kind of developing it
and being aware of those styles and skills and stuff
(27:42):
that you have is definitely having those support networks of
people that tell it to you straight you know, like
when you're being a bit of a dick. You need
those people around you who are not afraid to say
come unclear, pull your blood ahead, and you're not being
called today. So yeah, honesty is very important. And I
think a lot of women have good networks. And I
(28:03):
think that's one of the benefits of rural communities in particular,
is that we do make real life relationships rather than
necessarily only digital, sort of fragmented, not so much time
together with each other. So yeah, those networks of people
is really important.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
M I think you're right, there's such a I think
a real positive aspect of rural community life for sure.
I actually like your comment before around you know those
I call them truth tellers, the ones that, like you say,
just give it to your straight. A spade is a spade,
and you know you can trust them. But speaking of
(28:42):
living rurally, now you're well ingrained into the rural community.
But having come from that urban background, what is it
that you love about rural life.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
Being a mum and raising three children in a rural community,
I mean, I would never ever ever contemplate raising them
in a city. You know that it's like a it's
like a town of a thousand aunties. You know, it's
like this whole, this whole idea that this you know,
it takes a village to raise the children child you know,
(29:14):
it's so true, and it's such a blessing when you
live in a rural community, you know. I, like I
said earlier, I had a real privilege to be a
stay at home mom in the early days, and I
was involved in my local play center and I was
the president of my local place center and I loved it.
And all of those women my children's aunties, and they're
still involved in their life today. And I think it's
(29:37):
that kind of sense of camaraderie, whether you're playing social sports.
I think the touch field goes from five year olds
through to sixty year olds on a Thursday night and
it's everyone gets down there and sees each other. And yeah,
I just I wouldn't change it for the world.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think that sense of community is something that
so many reural people appreciate, like, and it's just another
amazing way to give your children different experiences to you know,
if you've got Auntie, you know Helen who's really good
at cooking, and you've got Auntie, you know Theresa who's
awesome at touch, like completely different things and just so
(30:16):
cool to have different experiences.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
So, Claire, we've.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Talked about your roles both in your family and the
family business. It sounds to me like you've also got
quite a few roles in not for profit type spaces
as well. And I can tell, like all of us,
you're very busy. So one of the things that we
love to ask about is what kind of things do
(30:42):
you do to make sure that you're fill in your
own cup up and that you're the best version of
yourself for those people around you?
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Because you do tend to I think, lead from the front.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
What kind of things would you be doing day to day,
week to week to make sure that you're the best
vision of yourself.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
So definitely, trying to practice gratitude is something that I'm
really focused on, especially in this year. You know, whether
it's riding down a few things or and it changes
your frame of thinking so dramatically, Like you can be
like pursed off that someone's left the towel on the floor,
Like you can just really go on that tangent if
you want to, But all of a sudden, if you're like,
(31:24):
actually that person does this for me and that for
me and you just it just changes your thinking and
I think it's that mindset that is so powerful. So
taking time to be grateful is really important. Yeah, like
all of us, probably there needs to be more time
and energy, you know, kind of looking after yourself. You can't,
(31:46):
you can't pour from an empty cup. But also my
cup gets filled by being with other people as well,
so that so that is part of what I do
to fill my cup, whether that's coaching the kids rugby
or or knitballed or touch and so taking time off
work to ensure that I can do that. That means
(32:06):
that I can be really fulfilled in my life and
what I want to be and do.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah, awesome. I love that way of changing that framework
of your attitude. I think it's hard to do sometimes
in the moment, but you're so right when you start
taking it that the gratitude perspective, it kind of yeah,
aligns things a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Yeah, just like anything, like any new skill, it's always
weird and wacky when you first try it on. It's
just kind of like that weird coat that doesn't fit
you properly. But the more you try it, the more
you wear it, you know it becomes habit and it's
really comfortable and good for you.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
That's right, And all of a sudden it's your favorite
and you're dragon and out all the time. So Clear
the next twelve months for Clear Bradley, what do so?
What do those months? What does it look like for you?
What are you hoping to achieve personally and professionally? Because
I know there are some amazing things in the pipeline
for a grec but also for you as a woman
(33:14):
and also as a key lunch pin to your family
as well. What are you hoping to achieve?
Speaker 4 (33:20):
So there's always the drive to ensure I get enough adventure.
That's really important to me. So taking my son reef
out fishing is really definitely something I want to focus on.
Is So it's called reef because that's where seaweed grows,
you know. Coincidentally, we couldn't call them a clony radiata,
which is the name of the seaweed we use. That
(33:41):
was a bit long winded, So reef will do. But yeah,
from a work perspective, we've got some awesome projects, both
from that kind of environmental perspective as well as working
alongside farmers to introduce things like marte Ang Mimali alongside
western science and local practitioner knowledge. So I've got some
really cool proa in that space. And I think it's
(34:02):
also for me personally is recognizing where I need some help,
because you know, when you've got that strong, independent sort
of backbone and role models in your life, it's also
learning to reach out and say, actually, this is not
my area of strength. I need some help here. So
that's another focus for me personally. And then celebrating I
(34:26):
think so often we get on this kind of treadmill
of what's next, what's next, what's next, and sometimes we
stop to forget to stop and just kind of look
at where we've come from in the last twelve months
or last month or whatever it is. And so it's
celebrating those little winds along the way.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, for sure, celebrating the winds is so important, and
you're right, not enough people do it, and not enough
people I think make it genuine. They kind of go oh, yeah,
oh yeah, I did that thing and then next thing now,
so that's really nice. And I totally failure on asking
for help thing. This is something I am too learning
At the moment, we're like, oh, I meant.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
To be, you know this person.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
I've got to do all these things and actually we
just have to achieve the outcome.
Speaker 5 (35:10):
So let's do that together, cleiar.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I just want to say a really big thank you
to you, not only for joining us today on the podcast,
but for being such a shining light in a very
I suppose an industry that's growing so much, with so
much promise ahead of it, and with you being so
abundant and your thoughts and the way that you all
(35:35):
act as a business as well as a person, I
just want to say thank you, and yeah, thank.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
You for being a wonderful example of a rural woman.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Thank you, thanks, thanks for giving me the opportunity to
chat with you ladies tonight. It's been an absolute pleasure
and I've enjoyed myself.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Rural Woman New Zealand is a community of like minded
women who are doing amazing things respective regions and communities.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
This podcast celebrates the achievements, successes and stories of our
rural Women, which are also the foundations for our organization's
rich history.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
We want you to be part of our future story,
so please join us by clicking on the link in
the show notes, and we look forward to welcoming you
into the fold,
Welcome to the Black Keels and Tractor Wheels podcast, where
we are sharing stories from a range of women from
around New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
For nearly a century, Rural Women New Zealand has been
dedicated to strengthening and supporting women and children to become
empowered members of their communities.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
We hope that by hearing these stories from inspiring women
all around the country, you'll feel inspired yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We're your hosts, Emma Higgins and Claire Williamson and would
love for you to join and subscribe to our podcast
so you don't miss our rural stories.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
By the way, this podcast is supported by f CO
keep We to the Bone since nineteen oh four and
working with their farming families to supply the world with
top quality beef and lamb since then.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
All Right, well that's a really great place to start,
because obviously you are part of the rural world now
and particularly with your company focused on helping our amazing
people who are doing great stuff in the egg or space.
But clear have you always lived rurally or is this
something that's come a little bit later on in life.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, so definitely rule by choice. And I was actually
brought up in Auckland, so the biggest city in altid Or,
New Zealand. So yeah, very not rural. But I think
I had the opportunity very lucky all through my childhood,
since I was born just been months upon an island
in the Bay of Islands, where there were no roads,
(01:29):
no cars, no shops, and as long as we had
a life jacket on, we were able to do whatever
we liked. So I grew up in between two boys,
and so I did my best to keep up with
them at all times, and learned to kind of fish
and fill at fish and gutfish and keep up with
the boys. So I think I've always had a real
love of nature and the natural world, and even though
(01:52):
I grew up in the middle of the city, that's
something that stayed with me for life.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Oh my goodness, that is awesome. It sounds as though
you've had the most idyllic childhood in a way with
some of those experiences, and I can empathize of being
the only girl amongst two boys. It's a great lot
of fun I think growing up in it, and gender's
some amazing characteristics in us, I feel. But tell us
(02:18):
a little bit more about how you move from from
that position in your life to where are now based
in Pidor. You've got an amazing husband and we'd love
to hear about your journey for how you met him
as well.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Yeah, so definitely a pretty amazing husband. I often say
that I hit the jackpot when I met Pantier, and
it has nothing to do with money, you know, Like
in my mind, a jackpot is around shared values and
what you want to see in the world and how
you want to be in the world and what we
get to do together. So I think, you know, like
(02:54):
his mum actually brought me a pillow once called I'm
a gold digger because I use that phrase of the
fact that I hit the jackpot when I met him,
And yeah, like I said, there's nothing to do with
monetary jackpott. It's just yeah, feeling like you win the
life lottery. And so we met. I had just come
home from almost two years in the Amazon rainforest and
(03:16):
I got a flesh eating disease and so I had
to come home. It wasn't wasn't my choice. And so
I met him and I was just getting well and
I'd already signed up to go to Costa Rica and
start a new expedition, and it was one of those
things that I had to go because if I didn't go,
I'd hold it against him for the rest of his life.
So I went and he stayed living with my mum,
(03:37):
so that was handy, and he was still there when
I got back.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
I love that. It's so awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I can also emphathize with the hey, I need to
go because if I don't not hold it against you.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
I had a similar, similar experience, but.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
We kind of skipped over some kind of a bit
of an amazing experience there, which was something that's quite
a long way away from ARTI at or So, can
you tell us about how how did you get to
be living and working in the Amazon rainforest?
Speaker 5 (04:06):
Why did you go there, and what kind.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Of experience did you have, because I feel like that
would just be something incredible for our listeners to hear
all about.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah. I was at Auckland University studying biology. That was
kind of my thing. That's what I really enjoyed. And
I was probably actually in a bit of a rut,
you know. I was kind of unsure, like I liked
the science side of the world, but I didn't see
myself in a lab coat, and that's all I could
see that science was and I was in a bit
(04:35):
of a rut and I needed a bit of a
circuit breaker, and so, yeah, why not throw yourself in
the weirdest, most remote place in the world see if
you can swim. And so for me, I found out
about a program where you could go and be a
volunteer on a science expedition. And so it was supposed
to be five weeks and I was supposed to come
(04:56):
back after the UNI holidays and get back into my degree,
and I just didn't come home. So it was the
I was the intern and then the science coordinator for
the expedition. And yeah, like I said, it was close
to two years. And we lived with a really remote
community in the Amazon rainforest out of Ecuador, and we
(05:19):
used to fly out of a town called Shell. And
the only reason that this community had a landing strip
is because Shell Oil had been there to prospect. And
so this community really wanted to make money and give
opportunity for their future generations if they wanted it without
(05:40):
selling to Shell. And I think that's one of the
kind of polarizing things that we think can't happen together.
It's like it's money or environment, but it doesn't have
to be like, there are ways to make a good
living and a good impact while looking after the environments.
So I think for that community, they were really future
thinking in that that aspect. And we were an hour's
(06:02):
flight from Shell on these tiny little five seedter Cessna
aeroplanes that often you'd hear over the SAT radio one
going down, one going down. So I'd always have my
compass and a water bowl on my backpack and always
knew which side of the river was on when we
were flying. But we had no water, no power, nothing.
(06:22):
It was it was absolutely the time of my life.
I loved it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Wow, this is amazing. So can you just tell us
for some of us haven't been to the Amazon rainforest,
can you expand a little bit about that whole experience
around day to day life? What does that what does
it actually look like for the people living there and
you yourself when you were there at that time.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
It's the whole idea of you are working to live.
You know, you're not working for money or you're not
working for anything else, You're just working hard to live.
So we would get up at depending on if we were,
you know, waking up for dawn chorus and recording bird
sounds to identify what birds were there. But we would
(07:08):
wake up very early before the crack of dawn and
start a fire. You know, whoever was on duty would
be cooking for about twenty people and your job was
to keep the fire going all day, cook giant pots
of porridge. I've never hated porridge so much in my life.
There's no milk, no like brown sugar on top or
grated apple or nothing. It was the beer basics over
(07:30):
a fire, had a pretty smoky flavor, but it was
really around that just substance, you know, being able to
go and collect water from the river, drain it through
bags to filter any nasties, or treat it with iodine
so it was drinkable. Yeah. It was a really physical,
tough life, but beautiful. And I think for me, having
(07:51):
grown up in Auckland and been a bit of a
wayward teen that I remember standing, you know, on the
edge of the river as sun was going down and
just thinking, this is all you need for life.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
You know.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
All the rest of it is just an added bonus.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Yes, yes, I love that. That is awesome. I've been
to kind of the Amazon they called it on the
Travel brochure the Amazon River, but it was actually like
a tributary that runs into it from the Bolivia side
of things. And my favorite memory was going to one
of the toilets in this little place that we were
(08:29):
staying in the middle of nowhere, and frog came out
and met me after I'd been at least it wasn't
a snake, but it was just I yeah, just beautiful.
I remember again looking out over the sunset and watching them,
you know, go over the trees and just thinking, Wow,
this is so special. So I just I just love that. Yeah,
(08:50):
how that description of of what it's like to live
there on that day to day basis. It's so far
removed from where we are today here in alt on
a dead air basis. Pivoting slightly so went to the
You had some time overseas and then came back. Husband
was to be. Husband was still very much part of
the picture. Fast forward to where you are here now today.
(09:13):
A greasy tell us a little bit about the family business.
I understand it was your your in Lawns that founded it.
Is that correct?
Speaker 4 (09:21):
So it's a second generation Faro owned company. My husband,
Pani and I are the second generation to run agracy,
and we're basically creating a whole range of products from seaweed.
It's always New Zealand seaweed. We're really committed to growing
a seaweed sector here in altild Or New Zealand. We
(09:42):
believe it's got a really bright future for our remote
coastal pharo, for our economy, for our enrichmental environment. There's
so many good things about seaweed, and most people would
know our products as ones that are sold into the
primary sector as kind of soil by a stimulants, plant
by a stimulant, and animal nutrition supplements. But we're making
(10:03):
all these really cool products out of our waste streams.
And for us, it's around that kaitiakitunga and circular economy
and moving away from this kind of take, make and
waste sort of model. So it's trying to think, if
we're building a new sector from seaweed from the ground up,
what does good look like? You know, if we look
(10:24):
ten twenty fifty years into the future, how can we
learn from some of the things of industries that have
gone by, and how can we reimagine it if we
got to start fresh. So, yeah, we're really lucky to
be in this sort of sunrise industry and trying to
make the positive impact it is.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It is so exciting. Sorry, clear, I'm just sorry. I
just have a whole lot of questions around seaweed, So
I hope you'll bear with me. But I'm just really
interested in understanding I guess a couple of things. So
the blur they talk about it being the blue economy,
and I as I understand that seaweed is one big
part of that and hugely a potential for New Zealand.
(11:03):
How do you see this industry potentially helping our farmers
achieved some of the really hard, well ambitious I'll put
it in a different way. We've got some really ambitious
targets that the primary sector need to meet, and we
know that there's a role for technology to play. How
can seaweed help with some of this?
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yeah, there's so many ways that seaweed can help. And
one of the things that have stopped seaweed helping in
a more meaningful way so far is the ability to
farm it. So at this present time, a lot of
our supply chain is based on storms washing up on
the beach. We've got a couple of projects now both
(11:45):
farming it in the ocean and on land, and our
on land farming system means that we use a seaweed
to soak up all the excess nitrogen and phosphorus that's
coming down our rivers. So it's like a sponge, a
natural sponge that soaks us up that we can then
turn into products to reduce synthetic fertilizer use on farm
(12:06):
and an orchard's. So again it's almost like the circular
economy of nutrients. So that's the kind of plant and
soil side of things, and from an animal side, like
most people, there's been a lot of media around Asterogopsis,
which is a red seaweed and it's methane reducing potential.
So that's an interesting journey that people are starting to
go down. But I also think it's really important to
(12:31):
think about. I'm just a big person on ecosystems, say
like it's just my jam, and you know, like if
we think of just growing monoculture seaweed in the ocean,
then we're going to run into some of the same
issues we've had on land. So my thing is is like, well,
we should be looking at what flourishes really well in
(12:51):
the ocean. Muscles always grow with seaweeds. For example, if
you're a diver or someone who's in and on the ocean,
you'll know that. And so let's grow them together. Holyiculture,
Let's look at thriving ecosystems and recreate them. And so
I think that while we can't get too hung up
on any silver bullets, it's going to be a systemic approach.
(13:12):
And see, we does have a role to play to
help farmers meet their environmental and profitability targets.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
How do you go about scaling up and developing the sector?
So how would it work practically for someone to enter
into the industry.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
It can be quite tough, like from a aquaculture perspective,
And so like what we're doing in some of the
projects that we've either applied to estribof or other entities
to have funded, the IP is open because we actually
want to see the scale. We actually want to see
people take up the sort of technology to be able
(13:51):
to grow seaweed for all its potential uses, whether that's bioplastics, cosmetics, biostimulants,
animal feeds. You know, there is a huge opportunity out there.
So if people are wanting to get into seaweed. It
probably should do a plug for our New Seaweed Association,
which is ALTI or New Zealand Seaweed Association, which I'm
the current interim chair of. I think the website goes
(14:13):
live next week. But really this is about creating a
hub of people to get together who are enthusiasistic about seaweed,
because not only do we need people who know about it,
but we need the people who are enthusiastic and passionate
and are going to provide that kind of next generation
of input and excitement into the sector. So, you know,
getting together with people who are learning about seaweed and
(14:38):
people are really open about it and wanting to share.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Just going to take a short break so you can
hear a word from our sponsors.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
EFKO has been part of the fabric of rural New
Zealand since nineteen oh four, partnering with livestock farmers across
New Zealand supplying quality beef and lamb to markets across
the world. This naturally means CO works closely with individual
farming families and wider rural communities, providing the support where
it's needed, nurturing the grassroots of New Zealand's farming success story.
(15:10):
That's af coat give me to the bone since nineteen
oh four.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
One thing I think I'm going to take a little
bit of a broad approach to kind of response here,
because one thing I love about what you say is
it's also abundant. You're not saying, hey, you know we're
on incompany. It's going to like have sewed and we're
going to create it, and it's just like, hey, how
do we work together to get a better result for
New Zealand for all of the places that we're providing
(15:38):
our products and services to. But one thing that was
sort of sitting in my mind, and I suppose, just
to give you a bit of background, I've got this
imnt to my hude of your entirely out on the beach.
It's unset collecting seaweed, and I just can't help but
connect that with your experience in the rainforest and how
you kind.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Of, you know, brought that all together. So I feel
like it's not so.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Prising that you ended up and the role that you're in.
But one thing I'm particularly interested in, aside from the
product itself, is how you actually run your business. So
we obviously talk about a lot bets of people, planet
profit right, which you touched on a little bit before.
And I know that you support your people, we obviously
you're supporting the planet. And how do you bring those
(16:20):
three together in your business because I feel like you're
shining lights for this and it's one of the reasons
why you won our Supreme Reward a couple of years ago.
So can you talk a little bit about just that
structure I suppose of your business and how you support
your people?
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Yeah, well, yeah, thank you. First of all, is really
kind of you, And I just feel like sometimes people
say you're so unique, you know, it's a unique place
to work, and we kind of don't see it that
way because it's just what we do. So sometimes it's
a little bit hard to articulate. But I think for us,
like we've got this underlying value set that just means
(16:58):
to be a good human, actually look after people, be
nice to people. We feed our staff, I cook them
lunch every Wednesday. You know, we've got a really family
friendly approach. I feel really privileged to have been a
stay at home mum for a really large part of
my children's life, and it's about bringing people up with
(17:22):
you along with you. Like I said, it's quite a
hard thing to articulate. And I think for us that
you know, there's a whole idea of chasing unicorns, and
not in the theoretical sort with those you know, kind
of horse looking things with big horns on their head,
but this whole idea of like the big Googles and
the Amazons and the big money makers, Like that's quite
(17:43):
boring in my mind, you know, like money, Like money
is useful, right, but what about valuing businesses on the
impact that they make on our planet, the impact to people,
the impact to the environment, the impact of culture, Like
isn't that a better way to do things? So yeah,
I just I struggle to articulate, like I said, what
(18:05):
it is that we do. We're just a family being ourselves.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I often think that wouldn't it be amazing if businesses
were judged on the successes of what you just talked about,
as opposed to success being monetary, success being around how
well it's people do, and even broader for society. I
often think about that with their healthcare and things like that,
you know, and nurses and are amazing people who just
(18:33):
do awesome stuff, but sometimes aren't paid necessarily to reflect
their awesomeness. Wouldn't that be an amazing society to be in?
Speaker 4 (18:43):
And farmers, you know, like the amount of people that
they feed, you know, like there's a basic human need,
right Like it's that's valuable, it's.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Hugely absolutely absolutely, yeah, yeah, incredibly. So you've talked about
it being quite a family business, and I guess understating
a little bit what you guys bring to the operation,
if I may say so, what has been your proudest
moment so far amongst everything the business that you're in now,
(19:15):
your family life and even before that, what would be
some of your proudest moments?
Speaker 4 (19:21):
I guess, you know, I remember being a little kid
and you know, being asked what I wanted to do
when I grew up, and I did. I said, I
wanted to make an impact on the world. I wanted
to make a difference in the world. And a friend
of mine, Jennifer still friends with today, I remember, you know,
we were young teenagers. It's just cracking up laughing to
think it was a hilarious, you know, very eerie, fairy
(19:42):
thing to say. And if I reflect on that, you know,
we've been working with some farmers and doing a whole
lot of research around soil house and things, but also
looking at a real holistic view of some of the
changes we can make, and that includes the social changes.
And I remember going up to their farm and they
(20:03):
were talking about how their son wanted to do a
speech on working with aggracy and soil house and worms
and things, and the teacher had said, whatever you're doing
with this child, carry it on, because I've never seen
him so passionate about something ever. And so when you
get to see those moments where you help people and
(20:23):
you're helping those future generations have hope for farming and
food production, I think for me that's hugely rewarding.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And there's something more rewarding as well than actually looking
at something in a slightly different way with a person
and then having them light up, you know, And I
think everybody, everybody has a different way that they light
up and then evidently also a different way that they
have an impact on the world. So yeah, I know
that's incredible. And what I'm interested in, which has sort
of linked a little bit to this as well, is
(20:55):
usually throughout life, throughout a Korea and also in a
family life as well. There are people who stand out
for you, you know, there people who push you along,
There are people who believe in you, and you just
really don't know how to believe in yourself. And I'm
really interested into who those people are for you. And
I'm sure that Tanya gets a mention, as do your
(21:15):
in laws, because they've been so instrumental and where.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
You are today.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
But are there people specifically and even a story that
you could tell, because here we are looking at how
some other women.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Can follow in your footsteps.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So mentors, champions, whatever you want to call them, who
are those benefically Bradley.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
My grandmother, Rosemary, my dad's mother, was a fierce, fierce feminist.
She was a talkback radio host at once. She joined
the Navy so that she could protest against the Mudadora
at all atomic bomb testing. She was just one of
these fearless, strong, pennant woman and she's always challenged me intellectually,
(22:04):
you know, she never just you know, yes, she supported me,
but she also challenged me a lot. So I think
that's holped my sort of fighting spirit absolutely. My husband
Karne and his family and his mother, Jill is the kindest,
(22:25):
most generous woman I've ever met, hands down, and that's
part of winning that Jack Pott and lottery in life
is meeting her. And you know, she's so kind that
I had to stop commenting if she looked good in something,
because she would literally take it off and give it
to you. You know, She's just that that kind. And
(22:46):
I often find myself in business now, you know, wondering
about what she would say, and talking to her about
how if I get stressed about something, or I doubt
ourselves or I'm worried. You know, she often says, all
this matter in ten years, and it kind of puts
things into perspective. You know that this challenge I have
(23:07):
today that's draining me and taking my energy, actually that's
not going to matter in ten years. So that plays
in my head often, and that's kind of like one
of those, you know, keels that steadies the ship when
I'm a bit worried.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
That's beautiful. I'm really understanding now why you think that
you've run the checkpost with the picture that you're painting
of your incentive Fano. I love it thinking about Fino again.
You've got one daughter, two daughters, two daughters I've got
two daughters and one son. That's right. So you studied science,
(23:48):
and we know from the stats out there that scientists
are going to be so highly valued going forward to
help solve some of the world's really complex problem. What
kind of conversations are you having with your children, in
particular your daughters, around the future, and how are you
(24:14):
shaping them up for the future, whether it's career or
whether it's just around conversations around expectations for how they
might travel going forward.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
That's a good question, and it's a tough world at
the moment to be you know, my eldest daughter is sixteen,
and it's a tough will to be in at the moment.
As a teenager, she wants to be a marine biologist.
So that's one, you know, one thing, And I think
it's that kind of wonder, that sense of wonder and
curiosity of the world around you that enables you to
(24:49):
be curious and be your problem solver, whether that's in
science or humanity or sociology. And so I think all
of those times, I'm so lucky and I'm so blessed,
and I so thank my grandfather and future generations before
me that I get to still take my children to
that island in the Bay of Islands where I grew
(25:11):
up every summer, and I take two weeks off every
January to go up and take my children there and
go fishing, go diving, just kind of recreate that sense
of wonder in the world. So I think it's providing
in those rich experiences.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
It's so beautiful. I'm actually super interested into this which island.
This is actually I've been thinking about my experiences stuff
on the Bay of Islands.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
I'm imagining how this might be.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
But my curiosity has been picked a little bit when
you mentioned the mother in law. And obviously your in
laws have founded this company and I've let it and
you and Tanny are now taking over. You or your
the next generation, right, And I'm really interested in different
(26:02):
styles of leadership because I think that as woman, and
I would say all of us are sitting here in
some form of leadership role.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
We kind of tend to.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Just copy that we're not copy, but you know, we
tend to follow that very masculine form of leadership.
Speaker 5 (26:20):
And I'm sort of learning this a little bit at
the moment.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
So this is why I'm super interested in your feedback
and your comments, But I think my.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Question is.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
How do you think you develop your own way of
leading effectively and then how do you bring your people
along on the ride with you.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
That's such a good question, and I do think you're right,
you know, there is a real you know, we do
often see a different style in leadership from a feminine approach,
and it is sometimes that nurturing sort of approach that
are around looking after people and it's less about what
(26:59):
you want to do in the world and how you
want to be in the world. And I think that
we all have a chance to be a leader, whether
it's in business or you know, making an impact, and
it might be just the opportunity to make the impact
to the woman that you're talking to at the service
station that day. You know, who you are every single
(27:21):
day in the world can make a difference to someone.
So I think that that's really important that never underestimate
at what time you could be showing leadership or leading
someone unknowingly. And in terms of kind of developing it
and being aware of those styles and skills and stuff
(27:42):
that you have is definitely having those support networks of
people that tell it to you straight you know, like
when you're being a bit of a dick. You need
those people around you who are not afraid to say
come unclear, pull your blood ahead, and you're not being
called today. So yeah, honesty is very important. And I
think a lot of women have good networks. And I
(28:03):
think that's one of the benefits of rural communities in particular,
is that we do make real life relationships rather than
necessarily only digital, sort of fragmented, not so much time
together with each other. So yeah, those networks of people
is really important.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
M I think you're right, there's such a I think
a real positive aspect of rural community life for sure.
I actually like your comment before around you know those
I call them truth tellers, the ones that, like you say,
just give it to your straight. A spade is a spade,
and you know you can trust them. But speaking of
(28:42):
living rurally, now you're well ingrained into the rural community.
But having come from that urban background, what is it
that you love about rural life.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
Being a mum and raising three children in a rural community,
I mean, I would never ever ever contemplate raising them
in a city. You know that it's like a it's
like a town of a thousand aunties. You know, it's
like this whole, this whole idea that this you know,
it takes a village to raise the children child you know,
(29:14):
it's so true, and it's such a blessing when you
live in a rural community, you know. I, like I
said earlier, I had a real privilege to be a
stay at home mom in the early days, and I
was involved in my local play center and I was
the president of my local place center and I loved it.
And all of those women my children's aunties, and they're
still involved in their life today. And I think it's
(29:37):
that kind of sense of camaraderie, whether you're playing social sports.
I think the touch field goes from five year olds
through to sixty year olds on a Thursday night and
it's everyone gets down there and sees each other. And yeah,
I just I wouldn't change it for the world.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah, I think that sense of community is something that
so many reural people appreciate, like, and it's just another
amazing way to give your children different experiences to you know,
if you've got Auntie, you know Helen who's really good
at cooking, and you've got Auntie, you know Theresa who's
awesome at touch, like completely different things and just so
(30:16):
cool to have different experiences.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
So, Claire, we've.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Talked about your roles both in your family and the
family business. It sounds to me like you've also got
quite a few roles in not for profit type spaces
as well. And I can tell, like all of us,
you're very busy. So one of the things that we
love to ask about is what kind of things do
(30:42):
you do to make sure that you're fill in your
own cup up and that you're the best version of
yourself for those people around you?
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Because you do tend to I think, lead from the front.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
What kind of things would you be doing day to day,
week to week to make sure that you're the best
vision of yourself.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
So definitely, trying to practice gratitude is something that I'm
really focused on, especially in this year. You know, whether
it's riding down a few things or and it changes
your frame of thinking so dramatically, Like you can be
like pursed off that someone's left the towel on the floor,
Like you can just really go on that tangent if
you want to, But all of a sudden, if you're like,
(31:24):
actually that person does this for me and that for
me and you just it just changes your thinking and
I think it's that mindset that is so powerful. So
taking time to be grateful is really important. Yeah, like
all of us, probably there needs to be more time
and energy, you know, kind of looking after yourself. You can't,
(31:46):
you can't pour from an empty cup. But also my
cup gets filled by being with other people as well,
so that so that is part of what I do
to fill my cup, whether that's coaching the kids rugby
or or knitballed or touch and so taking time off
work to ensure that I can do that. That means
(32:06):
that I can be really fulfilled in my life and
what I want to be and do.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah, awesome. I love that way of changing that framework
of your attitude. I think it's hard to do sometimes
in the moment, but you're so right when you start
taking it that the gratitude perspective, it kind of yeah,
aligns things a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Yeah, just like anything, like any new skill, it's always
weird and wacky when you first try it on. It's
just kind of like that weird coat that doesn't fit
you properly. But the more you try it, the more
you wear it, you know it becomes habit and it's
really comfortable and good for you.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
That's right, And all of a sudden it's your favorite
and you're dragon and out all the time. So Clear
the next twelve months for Clear Bradley, what do so?
What do those months? What does it look like for you?
What are you hoping to achieve personally and professionally? Because
I know there are some amazing things in the pipeline
for a grec but also for you as a woman
(33:14):
and also as a key lunch pin to your family
as well. What are you hoping to achieve?
Speaker 4 (33:20):
So there's always the drive to ensure I get enough adventure.
That's really important to me. So taking my son reef
out fishing is really definitely something I want to focus on.
Is So it's called reef because that's where seaweed grows,
you know. Coincidentally, we couldn't call them a clony radiata,
which is the name of the seaweed we use. That
(33:41):
was a bit long winded, So reef will do. But yeah,
from a work perspective, we've got some awesome projects, both
from that kind of environmental perspective as well as working
alongside farmers to introduce things like marte Ang Mimali alongside
western science and local practitioner knowledge. So I've got some
really cool proa in that space. And I think it's
(34:02):
also for me personally is recognizing where I need some help,
because you know, when you've got that strong, independent sort
of backbone and role models in your life, it's also
learning to reach out and say, actually, this is not
my area of strength. I need some help here. So
that's another focus for me personally. And then celebrating I
(34:26):
think so often we get on this kind of treadmill
of what's next, what's next, what's next, and sometimes we
stop to forget to stop and just kind of look
at where we've come from in the last twelve months
or last month or whatever it is. And so it's
celebrating those little winds along the way.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, for sure, celebrating the winds is so important, and
you're right, not enough people do it, and not enough
people I think make it genuine. They kind of go oh, yeah,
oh yeah, I did that thing and then next thing now,
so that's really nice. And I totally failure on asking
for help thing. This is something I am too learning
At the moment, we're like, oh, I meant.
Speaker 5 (35:04):
To be, you know this person.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
I've got to do all these things and actually we
just have to achieve the outcome.
Speaker 5 (35:10):
So let's do that together, cleiar.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I just want to say a really big thank you
to you, not only for joining us today on the podcast,
but for being such a shining light in a very
I suppose an industry that's growing so much, with so
much promise ahead of it, and with you being so
abundant and your thoughts and the way that you all
(35:35):
act as a business as well as a person, I
just want to say thank you, and yeah, thank.
Speaker 5 (35:43):
You for being a wonderful example of a rural woman.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Thank you, thanks, thanks for giving me the opportunity to
chat with you ladies tonight. It's been an absolute pleasure
and I've enjoyed myself.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Rural Woman New Zealand is a community of like minded
women who are doing amazing things respective regions and communities.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
This podcast celebrates the achievements, successes and stories of our
rural Women, which are also the foundations for our organization's
rich history.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
We want you to be part of our future story,
so please join us by clicking on the link in
the show notes, and we look forward to welcoming you
into the fold,
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