Out of the gate and onto the map.

GateShare founder Em Nesbit with her children, Anthony, 7, and Layla, 6, at their Kekerengu lifestyle property.

For two months, Em Nesbit watched thousands of vehicles pass her roadside stall on State Highway 1 near Kekerengu.

Only one stopped.

The sale was a meagre two seedlings, for $6.

A few weeks later, she packed up the same produce and drove an hour to a growers’ market, where she sold out before lunch.

“That was when I could see it wasn’t a problem with the produce,” Nesbit said.

“It was just that people weren’t stopping to see that it was there. How does someone flying past at 100 kilometres an hour know that I’ve got eggs and they’re available today, or that I’ve sold out?”

That question became the starting point for GateShare, a new nationwide online map and marketplace designed to connect people directly with roadside stalls, honesty boxes, growers, crafters and makers.

“The best way I can describe it is Trade Me, but for produce and arts and crafts,” Nesbit said.

“Anyone can list. You could be in the middle of town with one spare courgette and no gate at all, and it won’t cost you a thing.”

GateShare has a free plan for sellers listing one product at a time, with paid options available for those wanting to list multiple products or operate commercially. No commission is taken on sales.

Nesbit and her family moved to their Kekerengu lifestyle property about three years ago and have been steadily working towards a more self-sufficient way of living.

That inevitably created a surplus.

“I ended up planting way more seedlings than I needed and having way more vegetables than I needed.”

With a large bus shelter-style structure beside State Highway 1, a roadside stall seemed like an obvious solution.

It was not.

Despite signs and local advertising, hardly anyone stopped.

At the same time, Nesbit was seeing regular posts in community Facebook groups about roadside stalls being targeted by thieves, with produce and cash tins stolen.

Her husband, Aaron, suggested she build an app.

“I said, ‘No way. That’s way above my head.’”

Nesbit had built several websites before, but nothing on the scale of GateShare.

She eventually decided to give it a go, building the platform herself without investors.

“If I knew how much work would go into it, I don’t think I would have even started,” she said.

“When I thought I was 90 percent done, I was probably 10 percent done.”

GateShare allows sellers to list anything from eggs, vegetables, honey and flowers to baking, seedlings, firewood, pottery and handmade goods.

Sellers do not need a physical roadside stall. Goods can be collected from a front door, driveway or another agreed location, while made-to-order options allow sellers to produce items only once an order is confirmed.

Privacy and safety were central to the design.

A seller’s exact address is hidden, with the map showing an approximate location within 500 metres of the property. Depending on the payment and sale options selected, the collection address is only released once an order is confirmed or paid for.

Buyers and sellers can also review each other.

Nesbit said one of the most time-consuming parts of building GateShare was not the map itself, but working through the rules around selling different types of food.

“There are quite a lot of different rules.”

The platform does not police compliance, but prompts sellers with relevant information when they list products such as eggs or baked goods, while responsibility for meeting legal requirements remains with the seller.

Nesbit believes the platform could also strengthen local food networks when communities are disrupted by road closures, something Kaikōura and Marlborough residents know only too well.

“We weren’t here for the major Kaikōura earthquakes, but the area was cut off,” she said.

“It’s easier when you know your local community to be able to buy food from each other and bring back that old-school method of shopping, where you share food, exchange things and buy from your neighbours.”

GateShare also allows sellers to list goods for koha, swap or free.

At the time of writing, the platform had 57 live stalls and 72 stalls created in total, with sellers able to switch listings on and off as produce becomes available.

GateShare founder Em Nesbit checks the newly launched GateShare platform, which connects buyers with roadside stalls, growers, makers and producers across New Zealand.

The project has been built around an already busy life.

Nesbit has two children, Anthony, 7, and Layla, 6, works part-time, helps with her husband’s business, The Shed Specialist Co, serves on the school board and runs the family’s lifestyle property.

Asked how she fits it all in, she laughed.

“I don’t.

“Something has to give and it’s usually the housework.”

For now, she hopes GateShare will make it easier for people to bypass the supermarket, support local growers and discover what is available just down the road.

The idea is simple.

Know what is at the gate before you drive past it.

GateShare can be found at gateshare.co.nz or downloaded from the Apple App Store.