Laura Koot is the woman behind the Fairlight Foundation.
Laura Koot is the woman behind the Fairlight Foundation.
Content brought to you by Farmstrong
Monthly here on The Country, we catch up with a Farmstrong farmer, someone who is doing the right thing when it comes to looking after the top paddock. This month, Rowena Duncum has a yarn to Laura Koot, about how she dealt with a challenging time in her life.
Heading to the southern end of Lake Wakatipu, Kingston, you will find mum of two Laura Koot, who is part of the Farmstrong supporters’ network.
She’s also been really proactive in supporting and connecting farmers affected by the recent extreme weather down south.
“I, like many others, have been through some really challenging times, both very recently and throughout my 30-odd years,” Koot said.
“[I] have been really proactive in getting on top of my mental health, really proactive in developing confidence in who I am, in my abilities and have been steadfast in creating a life that I am really proud of.
“It hasn’t been easy, but it has been the most meaningful work I have done.”
The work she does at Real Country, with the confidence-building workshops, and with the Fairlight Foundation, building really well-rounded confident women for our ag sector; all of these are really important to Koot.
Everyone has their own approaches to how they proactively manage their mental health, but Farmstrong with their messaging around their five ways to wellness with connecting, giving, taking time to notice things, continually being a lifelong learner and being active, personally connects with Koot.
“It has been a great thing to be part of because the other ambassadors see things similar to me, so we just get out there and get stuff done.”
Koot has had a challenging time this year, so she decided to do something about it.
First Covid, then her shed getting destroyed, Koot thought she would be in for a bit of a cruisier time this year.
But juggling two businesses, two children and two houses, it has personally been a challenging time.
Laura Koot put on free day of fun for her community.
She sat down a few weeks ago and knowing she could be efficient when she needed to be, she ended up spending three hours looking at her computer screen and achieving nothing.
She wondered why, with all the time in the world, her kids were being looked after, she needed to get stuff done and her to-do list was insane.
She was under a lot of pressure, overwhelmed, even biting her nails and knew she was not in a good space.
Listen below:
Koot is a giving person and doing for her community makes her feel good about herself.
Crossing off jobs from her to-do list doesn’t help her at all.
So, she put on a free day for farmers in the community, with a BBQ, clay shooting, and axe throwing, just because it had been a tough spring for the community.
While the weather decided to put on a show, causing farmers to make the decision to get on with their tractor work, the farmers that turned up had a great time.
Getting Through: Farmstrong’s new resource
Farmstrong has put together a 130-page book called Getting Through - What it Takes to Recover from Extreme Weather Events, to help farmers and growers get back on their feet after these types of events.
It’s full of helpful, practical advice from other farmers and growers who’ve been through the cyclones and floods of last year.
They pass on what helps and what doesn’t when you’re trying to get going again.
It also features a mental fitness skills toolkit at the back of the book that passes on expert advice on how to deal with a long-haul recovery and stay in a good headspace.
The book is free to farmers and growers and available on request from Farmstrong or through sector organisations. Just head to the Farmstrong website to order.
If you’re feeling ‘under the pump,’ check out the Farmstrong website and watch their videos. You’ll soon understand why you feel the way you do and what you can do about it. There is excellent material on the website plus Farmstrong has some great ambassadors including Sam Whitelock.
