Why we built Village Gatherings (and what to expect)

At a glance: Village Gatherings are real-life community events for NZ parents and sitters, run by The Village Co. This founder-voice piece explains why we built them — because finding childcare and finding community aren't actually separate problems, even though they're usually treated that way.

By Nikki and Sophia, Founders of The Village Co.

We want to tell you about something we genuinely didn't plan to build when we started The Village Co — and why it ended up feeling essential anyway.

The problem we didn't expect to find

When we started this business, we were focused on solving a logistics problem: connecting families with vetted, reliable babysitters. That's still the core of what we do, and it matters enormously.

But somewhere along the way — talking to families, talking to sitters, and honestly, just living our own lives as parents — we kept bumping into the same thing from a different angle. Parents weren't just short on childcare. They were short on people. Community. The kind of casual, low-stakes connection that used to happen more naturally — over the fence, at the school gate, in a neighbourhood where everyone had lived for twenty years and knew each other's kids by name.

A lot of that has thinned out, for lots of understandable reasons — people move more, work differently, live further from family. And into that gap stepped... apps. Including, frankly, ours. Which is great for the logistics. But an app doesn't replace a person to actually talk to.

"Finding your village" was never just about sitters

Our tagline has always been about finding your village — and from day one, we meant that a bit more broadly than just "finding a babysitter." A village, in the old sense of the word, was never just a list of people who'd watch your kids. It was a web of relationships — people who knew you, who you could ask for help, who you might help in turn, who made the whole thing feel less like you were doing it entirely alone.

We can't recreate an actual village in the literal sense. But we can create moments where parents — and sitters — actually meet each other, in person, without an agenda beyond "let's hang out."

What Village Gatherings actually are

Village Gatherings are real-life events for parents and sitters in our community — think casual meetups, family-friendly get-togethers, the occasional bigger event. The exact format varies, but the underlying idea is always the same: create a low-pressure space for people to actually connect.

For parents, this might mean meeting other families in your area who you might not have crossed paths with otherwise — people who might become part of your actual support network, not just names in an app.

For sitters, it's a chance to connect with other sitters (which, if you think about it, is a slightly unusual kind of work — often quite solo, in other people's homes) and with the families and community they're part of.

Why this matters for a "tech" business

We'll be honest — from a pure business lens, in-person events are a lot more effort than, say, sending another email. They don't scale the way an app does. But we think that's actually the point.

If The Village Co only ever exists as something on a screen, we think we'd be missing the actual thing we set out to build. The app is the tool. The village — the actual community of people — is the point. Gatherings are how we make sure we don't lose sight of that as we grow.

What's next

We're continuing to build out Village Gatherings, and we'd genuinely love for more of our community to be part of them — whether that's attending, or telling us what kind of gathering would actually be useful for you and your family.

If you want to hear about upcoming Gatherings, you can let us know — we'll keep you posted as things come together.

Find out about Village Gatherings

Thanks for being part of this with us.

— Nikki and Sophia

FAQ

What are Village Gatherings?
Village Gatherings are real-life community events for parents and sitters in The Village Co's community, run by The Village Co. They're designed as casual, low-pressure opportunities for people to connect in person, beyond the app.

Who can attend Village Gatherings?
Both parents and sitters within The Village Co community are welcome — Gatherings are designed to build connection across the whole community, not just one side of the platform.

How do I find out about upcoming Village Gatherings?
You can register your interest through The Village Co's Gatherings page to be notified about upcoming events.