A Parish Story from Morningside | Auckland, NZ

Inhabiting your parish can be as simple as looking for creative ways to make your neighborhood a better place to live. That’s what Nigel Cottle and Tim Shallard, some friends in New Zealand, set out to do in their neighborhood of Morningside, in Auckland.

Tim Shallard

“Morningside was a neighbourhood where people slept, but they 'lived' in other neighbourhoods. We decided we wanted to try and make Morningside a better place to live, not just a place to lay your head at night.”

They started out in 2009 by creating Crave Cafe, a 20-seat cafe that they hoped could be a space where neighbors could connect, get to know each other and create a sense of belonging to their neighborhood. In the years since, Crave has expanded to a 200-seat capacity and they’ve opened KIND, a (mostly) vegan café, that specializes in healthy, delicious food options. These two cafes are frequented by New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.

After a trip to Seattle for the Inhabit Conference, they came back home and launched Morningcider, New Zealand’s first dedicated cider bar. They have given away over 100 apple trees around their neighborhood in hopes that in due time, their urban orchard and backyard fruit trees will be used to create their annual “neighbourhood brew.”

Nigel and Tim have turned their sights to the idea of co-housing. We can’t wait to see what they’ll do next! Click to hear more from them in their own words from the story they shared during Inhabit Connect in 2021. To connect with them, message them through their website. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought Stephen Colbert to KIND Cafe. Pictured here with Cathie Cottle, Nigel’s wife who runs KIND.