Emma from Heke Homemade Herbals
This month’s cool human is Emma Heke- 54 year old solo mum and eco-entrepreneur Tea Lady. You might have sipped Emma’s fragrant Heke Homemade Herbal creations, which are for sale in the shop. Her mission: to provide affordable, accessible, organic loose-leaf tea that uses NZ herbs wherever possible and comes in compostable packaging.
Emma’s tips for reducing waste:
Target one thing at a time and find an alternative.
Don't get overwhelmed.
Walk your talk and enable others to reduce their waste too.
”Heke Homemade Herbals was born in 2015 from a desire to provide an income that didn't involve wrecking the planet; to utilize our steep, urban section; a loathe of lawn-mowing and a love of herbs and tea. We started by digging up all the lawns, mulching and planting herbs throughout and have never looked back!” A multi-talented lady, Emma also has a fine art degree, was a high school art teacher for many years and also a filmmaker (environmental films) prior to utilizing all those skills in her current business capacity.
Emma is passionate about reducing her impact on the environment, both at home and in her business. “In our household, we rarely put out rubbish bags anymore. We reuse or compost most things. We have a lot of food allergies so make most foods from scratch which hugely reduces packaging waste. Business-wise we are plastic-free. We deliver our wholesale teas to shops in brown paper bags and re-used cardboard boxes for shipping, so we don't add to backroom plastic waste. We offer mailbox drop jar-refills for locals and all our other options are pre-packaged in certified compostable bags. Even though not certified home-compostable, they actually totally are. We regularly compost them at home as do our customers.”
Hopper’s focus for June is on wellbeing, something Emma also wants to promote with her products. “Wellbeing to me is quite a holistic word encompassing physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual health. Living a life of integrity and empathy. Oh, and one that involves drinking a lot of wellness promoting tea!” You can support Emma’s mahi by sharing her teas with friends and family, and following her journey on social media.
