About Rongo Backpackers

Rongo Backpackers & Gallery grew out of a desire to build a centre for artistic excellence and a place for artistic and creative people to meet and share their knowledge, abilities and talents for mutual benefit - The LivinginPeace Project.

Rongo, which means “Peace” in Maori, was formally the Karamea maternity hospital and was purchased in June 2004 and converted into a backpackers and gallery space. The backpackers and associated motel business (Karamea Motels) are designed to fund the expansion of the art centre.

A team of volunteers from around the world has been working since mid-2004 to convert the building into a hostel. The backpackers business provides accommodation and full use of all facilities for the volunteers in return for helping run the business.

Today Rongo is a microcosm of the LivinginPeace project and has very much become a steppingstone toward the eventual goal of establishing the art centre. The building has been transformed inside and out into a fabulously vibrant, colourful and creatively inspiring place, which now includes a community radio station, organic vegetable and aesthetic gardens, a fire bath and gallery of exceptional local and international art.

The concept of both Rongo and LivinginPeace is to create an artistically inspiring environment where people can live as they want in return for helping maintain and develop the venture, with the only rule being to respect the rights of others and to take responsibility for your own actions - common sense. The project is open to everyone, all nationalities, sexes, religions, ages etc, but it is especially hoped that artistic and creative people will come and stay and that the venue becomes a centre for creativity, invention, innovation and artistic excellence.

Wwoof, Wwoof!

Rongo Backpackers & Gallery has been a Wwoofing host for two years and we have hosted about 100 Wwoofers from all over the world. Wwoofers help us run the business, tend the gardens, look after the guestomers, maintain the buildings and keep the radio station going.

We ask prospective Wwoofers to stay a minimum of two weeks (most stay much longer) and we provide accommodation, some food and all the facilities and services available to our guestomers - Internet, firebath, radio station, library, kitchen etc, etc.

We work hard, but we also have a lot of fun and having fun is a top priority at Rongo!