October 2020 Mens Wellbeing Retreat - A week of pure goodness

“A miraculous healing awaits this planet, once we accept our responsibility to collectively tend to the garden, rather than fight over the turf” Bruce H. Lipton, PhD

We’ve just finished up a really special week, with four awesome guys, who joined us in the first week of October 2020 on our second Provider Men’s Wellbeing Retreat. These retreats are all about providing a healthy space for men to learn to heal themsleves and the planet, through nutritional kai (food) gathered by the group, movement (walking, diving and yoga) , connection (with nature and other like minded guys), growth, journaling, reflection and having time and space away from the narrative of modern life. We feel immense gratitude these awesome humans joined us and as usual, everyone brought some of their own gifts, stories and learnings to the table to create a space that everyone benefited from.

The retreats are held in our special town of Tairua (which translates in Maori to two tides). You can’t help but feel a deep connection to the whenua (land) and Tangaroa (ocean).

WHENUA

The first morning we always spend some time connecting to the land, collecting spray free herbs and veges, from our whenua, which we use together with the kaimoana we catch over the week. Anything not sourced from our gardens, or from foraging, is sourced ethically from organic market gardens, and free range suppliers. Goodness collected for the week included cabbage, cauliflower, mint, thyme, spinach, parsley, sage, dandelion, plantain, avocado, kakakawa, celery, broccollini, cos lettuce, kumara plus plenty more goodness. The first morning of the retreat we ate a healthy kai of free range chicken, stuffed with a paleo herb stuffing, and salad before we each dived deep into why we were here on the retreat.

TANGAROA

We are very blessed with an amazing backyard to hunt kaimoana (seafood) from, and this week was no exception. All the boys caught some hard fighting haku (kingfish), and tamure (snapper), and we caught an incredibly diverse range of species to sample including hapuku, terakihi, gemfish, red snapper, perch, scallops, paua and kina.

Nga mihi Tangaroa!

KAI

Food is medicine. Our belief is that the best way to look after your mind and body, is to nourish it with fresh heathy plant and animal based protein and fat, and largely remove processed carbohydrate/sugar.

With fresh kai provided from the Whenua and Tangaroa, you can’t go wrong really!

All our meals on retreat are cooked paleo or ketogenic style in this philosophy.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, there is nothing processed, we take care of everything food wise, and there is very little carbohydrate, but plenty of protein and healthy fat. For a lot of participants it is the first time they have every gone without bread, wheat or grains for the week, so it is a learning curve, and we focus on educating and demonstrating how to cook each meal we prepare and all the ingredients.

Paleo tacos on the boat and our kumara fish cakes, are good examples of ways you can jump on the boat without the usual processed carbs most blokes take in a packed lunch. Tia made a few desserts over the week that had no processed sugar or carbs. Our breakfasts are sponsored by the good team at Cathedral Cove Naturals, their healthy coconut yoghurts and but and plant based cereals, and that is backed up with some paleo or keto bacon and egg muffins to set everyone up for the big day ahead. One of the highlights food wise, was a ketogenic seafood chowder on the last night, with a base made from hapuku frames, celery and other plants, and with most varieties of seafood from the week added - it was epic! A big thanks to our other sponsors including Be Nourished (kimchi), Chantal Organics (coconut oil, sesame oil, arrowroot powder, organic peanut butter), and Uncle Duncle’s Chilli. Our fish was prepared a lot with the skin scaled and still on, with maximum fat content and Omega3. After so much kaimoana during the week, we finished up on the last day with an epic crockpot hangi, . eautiful melting fatty meat and cabbage, it was such a nice way to finish things off.

RELAXATION, BREATHING, MINDFULNESS & MOVEMENT

Humans are the endurance athlete of the planet. Yet, our day to day life takes us away from natural movement. Over the course of the week, we had plenty of time to move, including diving / snorkelling / freediving every day, walking and an awesome Yoga, mindfulness and relaxation session with the most epic setting!

CONNECTION

One of the awesome things about fishing, hunting gathering, is it brings humans together, back to our origins, as Providers.

It is always awesome to see four humans from different walks of life coming together to form friendships and we always love welcome them into our whanau (family) too. It is always a really positive experience to look back the the growth and learnings that has come from these four days together and we feel very humbled by everyone who has taken part.

Here’s what a few of our retreaters thought about the experience:

"Men's mental health & overall wellbeing is still so often overlooked, by ourselves as much as anyone. I found the Provider men's retreat an ideal opportunity to put myself first for a few days, in the company of some fantastic men, all of whom I learnt from. Acknowledging what makes men tick, & how our daily lives often isolate us from this, means that the opportunity to spend some time in the stunning Coromandel marine environment, under Carl's laid back but very insightful guidance, is something that you will never regret. I found that the benefits did not become fully apparent until after returning home, with renewed strength & clarity. This is just a great experience on so many levels. You will catch more fish that you've ever dreamed of, eat like a king, & sleep like a baby. It is not an indulgence, it is an investment in yourself & those you love. Just do it." James, Warkworth

"Carl & Tia were exceptional hosts, loved Tia straight away,... Have known Carl for some years now. Who knew he was a great cook. Meals were of restaurant standard. The accomodation was exquisite. They took great care of us. Eating what you catch & harvest from the sea, just enriches your wairua (spirit). Meeting & getting to know the other guys on this retreat was a great experience. All from different walks in life. Yet with a lot of things in common. Carl & Tia you’s were amazing, Thank You’ very much for the opportunity to be apart of this fantastic experience, love you both.. Take care & God bless.... Would love to do this again in the future.." John, Auckland

This, quite simply, is why we do what we do. Connecting humans back to the land, ocean and wairua, and the gifts we are given for a long, healthy and happy life.

If you think this is an experience you would like to join in, get in touch via our Retreats page

All the best

Carl and Tia