| 39 RURAL PEOPLE » Rewa Rewa Station Major awards for Rewa Rewa Station Russell Fredric The passion of Patrizia Vieno and her team, combined with a strong value-add focus culminated in Rewa Rewa Station being named Supreme Winner at last November’s Wairarapa Business Awards. The Supreme Winner category is the “ultimate accolade, presented to the standout business among all category winners” the award citation says. Rewa Rewa Station also won the Diversification Award for its multi-faceted operation on the 1000 hectare/600-hectare effective extensive hill country breeding operation. Patrizia previously ran the station with her partner Rod Clutton who passed away in May 2023. Rewa Rewa supports about 2600 Romney breeding ewes, 700 hoggets and 140 Angus cows at Tinui, Wairarapa, employing Les Eden as its longtime stock manager. Patrizia is strongly focused on adding value across the business and the awards are a huge achievement for the station and its staff, Patrizia says. “I was not expecting that. It was not just a farming award – the good thing is it was competing with all sorts of other businesses.” Rewa Rewa’s diversification strategy has three streams which comprise forestry and carbon plantings, farm stay accommodation, and leather and fibre manufacturing. Thoroughly passionate about natural fibre, Patrizia has small flocks of coloured sheep – Corriedale, Gotland and Polwarth – numbering about 150 in total, complemented by 40 Cashmere goats and a few alpacas, which altogether provide the foundation for the fibre and crafting arm of the business. In 2024 Patrizia invested in Belfast Mini Mills machinery that can each process three kilograms of wool at a time. “This allows us to create an array of high value, saleable, yarn products. The mill process includes washing, drying, carding, spinning and is one of only few on-farm mills of its kind in New Zealand.” “The total capex spend is over $1 million with the build of a 240 square metre shed and the purchase and installation of the mill components, imported from Canada.” The shed has been fitted with solar panels, producing enough energy to run the mill at full capacity. The yarns produced are sold to crafters and knitters, at markets and via the Rewa Rewa website, or further processed into blankets. “We are learning how to weave our yarn into fabric with our looms. Creating a wool fabric as opposed to a yarn is creating an additional product within our range and creating more value from our fibre product.” This includes venturing into producing fine tweed cloth, which is another means of adding value to the primary product. Patrizia undertook a study tour mid-2025 in the United Kingdom and Scotland where she researched mill processing with a focus on wool fabric production. Viewing Harris Tweed processing facilities in the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, was an amazing learning experience and she came away with new ideas to create fabrics from Rewa Rewa’s yarns. Rewa Rewa Station’s diversification streams currently make up 50% of its total revenue. “The mill has made a big difference and the website sales were four times higher in 2025 than the year before.” www.sosa.co.nz E: ca@sosa.co.nz P: 06 3700811 Masterton 5810 110 Dixon Street W Proud to support Rewa Rewa Station Contact us for a noobligation chat about how we can help you today. Leanne Southey BBS, FCA Becks Scho�ield BBS, FCA Roy van Barneveld 027 254 7174 roy.vanbarneveld@hah.co.nz Wairarapa Awarded NZ’s most trusted solar retailer AIKO Winner #1 Retailer in Aus & NZ Tesla Winner #1 Retailer in Aus & NZ Rewa Rewa Station partnered with Harrisons Solar for this project Proudly supporting Rewa Rewa Station ORDISH & STEVENS “We will continue to focus on farming well, increasing the use of technology on farm, looking after our environment and our animals and growing the capability of our farm and mill team.” “We have been travelling the North Island, attending numerous events for several years now, promoting the super fibre that is New Zealand grown, and to introduce the Rewa Rewa Station range to fibre artisans and crafters.” Last year’s Wairarapa Business Awards follows a string of awards in 2022 and being named an MPI finalist for Fibre Producer of the Year in 2023. Patrizia is strongly focused on adding value across the business and the awards are a huge achievement for the station and its staff.
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