Fab Feathy Overview

OVERVIEW

Fab Feathy formed from a hui held in September 2016, where the Featherston Community Network discussed the possibility of joining a Department of Internal Affairs’ program, designed to support communities in achieving shared aspirations. This program promised up to five years of intensive support for community-led development initiatives if Featherston was selected.

The response from the community was overwhelmingly positive, leading to the formation of an inaugural working group made up of Kara Pennington, Siv Fjaerestad, Sarah Taylor-Waitere, Mark Shepherd, Alan Maxwell, Phil Dittmer, and Liz Mellish.

The project was aptly named “Fab Feathy,” an abbreviation of “Fabulous Featherston,” symbolising the focus on positivity and building upon the town’s existing strengths.

A number of people in the town felt that Featherston often got ‘the short straw’ compared to neighbouring towns – and that things were often done to them, rather than with them. Fab Feathy would be about the community being in the driver’s seat – shaping and making the change for itself.

The first task for the Fab Feathy Working Group was to engage with the Featherston community, in order to identify shared aspirations and document the community’s ideas for actions that could be taken. By using a number of different tools – and promoting these through different channels – the project group gathered input from a wide range and diversity of local people.

These engagement activities were publicised through Featherston’s community newspaper The Phoenix, posts on Facebook and other websites, a mailbox flyer drop, a flyer hand-out to commuters, and posters around the town.

The Fab Feathy Working Group was supported and mentored by Megan Courtney, a consultant with the community-led development consultancy Inspiring Communities.

After the engagement, the material that had been gathered from the community was collated. Funding was obtained for a small contract for this work (while all the other work was carried out voluntarily).

Fab Feathy then hosted a community afternoon tea where the themes and ideas from the engagement were presented and discussed. The next task was to create a community plan. Much of this work was done by Kara Pennington.

Fab Feathy and the Department of Internal Affairs signed a partnership agreement in February 2018. REAP Wairarapa became the Fab Feathy fundholders and provided a huge amount of support throughout the partnership.