Submitted by Kayla Neiderfer on the 2016 winter session program in New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences…
In 2012, a series of four earthquakes rocked the city of Christchurch. Since this disaster, Christchurch has been working to rebuild their demolished city. Through the struggle, this community has made every effort to keep the city strong. When shops and restaurants were destroyed, citizens created a Re:start mall using shipping containers. Empty shipping containers were moved into the center of the city and shops were set up inside of them to provide resources to locals who had no other way to get what they needed. Today our class had the opportunity to visit this mall and a local flea market, Riccarton Market, which is open every Sunday. Clearly by using shipping containers to create a new mall during their time of need, the people of Christchurch have shown their resilience and resourcefulness. Many citizens found ways to use their professional craft to help in any way they could as well.
Today I met a man who is a prime example of putting his professional skill to the rebuilding efforts. While walking through Riccarton Market, I came across a woodworking stand where the craftsman offered to create handmade furniture made to order. When I asked him about one of his pieces, he explained that it was made from New Zealand timber that he collected after the earthquake. Working as a woodcraftsman for thirty-five years, this man decided to collect the fallen timber from the rubble after the earthquakes and repurpose them to make furniture and other small crafts. This resourcefulness absolutely amazed me. I would never have thought to take the rubble around me and turn it into such beautiful craftsmanship. Although his skill in woodworking was impressive, I was more amazed at how he turned an event in his life that was so disastrous into something that could support himself and his community through their rough times. Even when he described his trade to me, it was evident how much the earthquake had impacted him and how emotionally connected he is to his work. After only a week in New Zealand, I have seen so much of this emotional connection that their culture has to the earthquakes. It is not merely seen as an unfortunate event in their lives, but as a way that they have since been able to grow from. One hundred and eighty-four people lost their lives during these earthquakes, and thousands of other lost their homes, businesses and friends. Although the rebuilding process is not nearly finished, the city has grown in leaps and bounds, and they will continue to do so.
