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Shop for Good
Casita in Greerton is opening up a world of new opportunities for people with disabilities as well as local creatives looking to sell their work to the community.
Creating opportunities for those who wouldn’t get them otherwise is the theme running through Casita, an organisation dedicated to the growth of people with disabilities.
With the recent move into a Greerton store, it not only gives opportunities to their “Casitians”
— clients with disabilities — but to local businesses who want to test out retail and to artists
looking to sell their work. This new store is just one step towards a bigger dream for Charrissa
Taylor, Casita’s founder.
Charrissa has taught in the Ōtūmoetai College special needs department for the last 14 years
and has always been struck by how hard it is for many students leaving school. “You spend
five years getting them ready for the outside world but for the high-functioning students, who
have the most potential, there isn’t really anything for them to go on to. They sometimes end up
being at home, losing many of the social skills, life skills, and health and fitness they’d gained
through school,” she says.
It’s this gap that lead to the creation of Casita. Charrissa and her team provide the things that
fall away when school ends, through work experience, outings and soon — once they’ve raised enough to fit out the kitchen — a life skills area.
The organisation started out of an op shop in Te Puke five years ago, before the birth of her
second baby led Charrissa to close the doors and instead use a van. Upon reflection, Charrissa admits this wasn’t sustainable, especially with a young family. “Driving around in a van, collecting clients, finding them work experience like dog walking, and taking them to the pools and the library… I knew something had to give but I couldn’t leave them,” she says.
It was then that months of searching led to the Greerton store and the newest evolution of Casita.
“It definitely wasn’t because I have all the skills to make this happen,” said Charrissa. “The rest
of my team fills the gaps for me. I have ideas and then hope someone else has the skills needed
and the heart to use them to help.”
This team effort extends to the wider community, including the vendors who line the shelves,
a waitlist of volunteers, and even a 19-year-old ex-student, Nathan, who has severe cerebral palsy (pictured in the wheelchair, above), who donated $1000 to the cause. “That was a really proud moment. I couldn’t believe it when Nathan told us he wanted to donate that much — but he was adamant he wanted to help us, help others, like he’s been helped,” she says.
When they first moved into the new space it felt very big and daunting, but within a few months
they can already feel themselves growing out of it. “When we came into the building we had no idea what we were going to sell, but one by one, over the course of the first two weeks, vendors came in and the walls were filled up.”
Charrissa’s referring to the marketplace-style model. The stores’ walls are filled with different local businesses — including prints by artists and photographers, jewellery, handmade soy candles, baking mixes and even a beauty room where you can get eyelash extensions and nails painted for $5, with more treatments to come. Each vendor pays a donation to have a retail space, allowing them to
both partner with people with disabilities and test out being in a real store.
With a waitlist already, Charrissa thinks the demand for the marketplace has come down to the opportunity it creates. “There are so many talented and creative people who want to try out their
own business. This way they have the chance to try something new without the risk.”
The marketplace sits alongside their op shop and has helped make Casita a destination for anyone seeking cool local businesses, as well as providing another gateway for people with disabilities, like Charrissa’s previous student and incredible photographer, Stephanie. “Stephanie was one of our first vendors and we’ve sold quite a few of her pieces. She’s really talented but she feels like sometimes people see her disability and don’t realise she can create this beautiful work. When they see her photography, they see a different side to her and respect her talent.”
That’s the beauty of Casita. Whether it’s putting their work out into the world or feeling comfortable enough to try new skills, every Casitian or vendor who comes through the doors is given the
chance to grow.
As for Charrissa, this is just the start. She sees so many more gaps to be filled for people with disabilities and Casita as the vehicle to help do this. “I’ve always had big dreams — bigger dreams than what we have now. The sky’s the limit because there’s just so much need.”
FANTASTIC THINGS TO BUY AT CASITA!
JEWELLERY @thirtytwohalloos bright and bold handcrafted jewellery (a fave at TLBM).
BABY ITEMS @featherandfantail cute bibs and teethers that look like an accessory rather than a necessity.
ART @stephaniemartelliphotography prints (that this writer is very tempted to go back and buy!), also @hiriwanz stunning black and white digital prints of New Zealand flora and fauna.
PAMPERING @alchemyandme soaps, soaks and clays that nourish your hair and skin, as well soy candles by @maxiekcreations and @cinnamonquills
DELICIOUSNESS @unrefined_cakery cake mixes that are free of nasties, @kingdomhives honey and honeycomb, and @solomons_gold vegan chocolate.
First published in issue 34 (June/July 2021) of Our Place Magazine.
