Written by Louise Wilkinson
Kia ora e te whānau,
There’s been a fairly lengthy gap between Kumanu articles, which may leave you wondering what has been going on at Wangapeka Retreat Centre over the last few months, and what is going on with that Board of Trustees!
Well, with certainty you will not get all the answers you seek from this issue of Kumanu! Hopefully it will help you, as someone who sees the precious gift the Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre is, (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this!), to know a little more of what is going on on the ground, and posssiblly (we are all hoping), ways in which you might consider offering to support this ongoing Dharma experiment.
This issue of Kumanu will cover:
- Responding to uncertainty- the reality check
- The view from the ground
- Trees, trees, trees
- Previous minutes and reports
Responding to Uncertainty – the reality check
This seems like the steep learning curve we are all reckoning with in all aspects of our lives, and Wangapeka Retreat Centre is no different.
Sacred places of practice and liberation teachings are rare in the world. As I’m sure you know and have experienced, being able to retreat to the Wangapeka provides unique and supportive opportunities for awakening that are the remedy to the struggles we are all marinated in. Sarva Mangalam!
But how would it be if Wangapeka Retreat Centre no longer existed? Is there another potential 50 years? Please…take a moment to see what shows up in answer to this reflection. And in response to that, how much energy in some form are you willing to offer to the continuation of this Dharma experiment we call Wangapeka Educational Trust?
Ok, nuff said about that piece…hold on to that for a moment, and I’ll update you with what the Board of Trustees are chewing over.
Income
Prices are rising, people need paying, legislation needs following, buildings need fixing. Sound familiar? The centre is subject to all these changes, and to put it plain and simple- we are not covering our costs with the retreat income we make. By A LOT. Like tens of thousands of dollars. This means we are using untagged donations to pay our bills. It’s great we have had some big donations in this year, however what we want to do is use those donations to upgrade things- Omahu hut, the water supply, kitchen equipment, roofs…Ideally, we don’t want to use these donations to pay our every day costs, because then over time, our buildings and infrastructure start falling down (which they already are).
So, as a Board we have been asking:
- How do we diversify our income streams so we can still keep the heart of Dharma at the Centre but don’t just rely on retreat income?
- Do we need to change the way the Centre is run?
- What is the bottom line if the economic situation gets worse and we need to cancel retreats, shut the gates and keep everything maintained and running at a base line?
- Who will do this work of maintaining, sustaining and upgrading – where are the people who will come, not just with ideas but time and energy to offer?
- What operational changes would benefit the Centre and ease the Board of Trustees workload?
People, not just ideas
The Board regularly receives great ideas from people who have been reflecting on how to support the Centre. What we don’t see often are offers from people to actually do the work and put these ideas into practice, and it is this that we really need.
Reading the summary above might spark all sorts of ideas for you and we definitely want you to join us! Before you jump on the email and send it to the Board, please think of what you can also offer to lift these ideas off.
We have said it before and we need to say it again… we need more people doing the work of joining sub committees and joining the Board. We have been re-purposing people for a long time, and some of those people are now ready to put down that form of offering to offer in other ways. It is incredible that Wangapeka Retreat Centre is built on Dana – offerings visible and invisible from numerous beings! Can you add to this puna, this wellspring of Dana now?
So…back to that reflection piece of what can you offer to sustain the Wangapeka Educational Trust for another 50 years… can you look at these areas and see if you would like to dip your toe in? Contact one of the Trustees to have a kōrero/ talk about what you might be able to help with. We are all householders with families, jobs, life admin, and nowhere near enough time, doing what we can to keep the Wangapeka Retreat Centre running. A reasonable number of us need to step away soon. No people = no Centre.
So come and join us!
We need asap :
- Two new Trustees (It’s ideal if these people are local or can come to in-person meetings every few months)
- People to join the maintenance sub committee (it’s useful if these people are local and have maintenance skills and/or understand building and maintenance). We don’t currently have a sustainable maintenance committee.
- People to join a fundraising committee (these people can be remote)
The view from the ground
As part of our movement to a more sustainable Centre there are explorations underway :
- 2027 Awakening in Community – this theme and exploration is underway, looking at how we have Dharma and the running of the centre held by community in 2027, and beyond.
- Shifting our water source. After decades of reliable water supply from the dam at the end of the Waterfall track we have reluctantly deemed the track to be unsafe. Three massive pine trees have toppled over the track and over each other, making them unsafe to remove. Also beyond that blockage, the track has disappeared into the stream below. Investigations have begun into a solar pump system on Wangapeka land lower down in the same stream.
- The establishment of The Michael Elliott Legacy Trust Fund – more to come on this soon!
Trees Trees Trees
Many trees have fallen, many of you have donated, and we have needed to invest energy and money into bringing down much of the pine forest and other dangerous trees to ensure tracks are safe. There is still more to be done, with more trees to come down and tracks to repair as well as continuous Health and Safety risk management. Attending to Health and Safety during this event, and as an ongoing focus, is a large ongoing piece of work.
Donations
We are existing as well as we are currently because of Dana. This flow of generosity is what has always sustained the Centre, and is fundamental to the path of awakening. Please consider giving regular Dana to the Wangapeka Educational Trust. Financial donations of any amount can be receipted for a tax refund within New Zealand. Details on how to donate are below.
Recent Minutes and Reports
From September 2025, February and March 2026, and the most recent Treasurer’s report
Can all be found in this folder
Board of Trustees Contact Details
Whole Board – board@wangapeka.org
Louise Wilkinson (Coordinator) – louise@wangapeka.org
Graham Price (Secretary) – secretary@wangapeka.org
Graham Sandlant (Treasurer) – treasurer@wangapeka.org
Chani Grieve – chani@wangapeka.org
Ross Inness-McLeish – ross@wangapeka.org
Donate to Wangapeka
You can make a donation to Wangapeka anytime.
Your gift brings huge benefit, both now and into the future.
Donations within New Zealand are tax deductible.
Thank you!
Within New Zealand :
Wangapeka Educational Trust
03-0703-0156597-03
International :
If you have a PayPal account you can easily use it to make a donation to info@wangapeka.org
OR
Use our Stripe payment link to make a donation
Sarva Mangalam!
All is Blessing
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