We are a rural internet business and we just love our local community and rural life. We want to see thriving communities everywhere in New Zealand, so we’ve combined our great passion with our business experience and technical know-how to create Heartland.

Our whole aim is to help people see where their networks are, use them well and interact more with each other and with their school. We want to motivate people to get connected, give local businesses and community groups a boost and really promote the think local, buy local attitude.

We have three guiding principles:

• Take responsibility and get involved Healthy communities need people to put their hands up and get involved. By creating Heartland we have shown we are prepared to get stuck in and we hope you want to get involved too.
• Buy local We believe whole heartedly in the buy local ethos and Heartland is all about promoting a think local, buy local attitude.
• A sense of fairness It seems only fair that schools entering into a fundraising partnership with us to launch Heartland should have a share in the income we generate. That's why we split the income made from local and regional listings 50/50. That's pretty fair isn't it?

Who’s behind Heartland?

Heartland is the baby of Brazen Image Limited an internet company established in 1998. The Heartland concept was created and designed by Kathy Craw and Gay Hamilton, a couple of (not so) old hens based in The Hen House, Tadmor (population bugger all).

Kathy Craw - Design girl, strategic planner and everything promotional

I'm from everywhere and nowhere. The product of a nomadic childhood with a Dad who worked with rural farmers building agricultural co-operatives all over the world, I learnt very early on about the value of people pooling resources to survive.

Living and travelling across Africa, I experienced cultures where community is valued more than the individual or money. And so my passion for community was born and has stayed with me ever since.

Rural New Zealand offers so many of the very positive aspects of community and living in a small place reminds me of all the things that are important in life. Taking responsibility, a bit of give and take, a willingness to get involved and some good solid relationships. And that's what I want to see more of.

Work-wise, I originally come from a background of community work but over the last 8 years, I have been the designer and marketing specialist for Brazen Image. Heartland is the ultimate for me. It combines my personal passion for people and community with all my skills and talents in design and business. I love it!

Gay Hamilton - Ideas girl, project manager and everything technical

I'm originally from Turua, a very small dairy farming community on the Hauraki Plains. I'm from the days of Calf Clubs and Gala Days and farewell dances in the Hall when people left the area. I was very pleased to find those places do still exist.

Over the years I have had a fairly varied work history including lots of hort and ag - the lure of getting my hands dirty usually wins over sitting in front of a computer screen. Some people think I'm mad, but I think silage smells sweet, so the country must be in my blood.

Since settling in Tadmor it has really brought me back to my rural roots, where you know your neighbours well and you help each other, just because you want to. Where community events are well supported and fun. To me, this is an important part of New Zealand and these values are in danger of being lost.

That's why we set up Heartland.