Vic & NSW Road trip Report from our travels - CERES Global We had a wonderful adventure, connecting to indigenous, sustainable, and alternative ...
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CERES Global
Vic & NSW Road trip
Report from our travels
We had a wonderful adventure, connecting to indigenous, sustainable, and alternative
communities; to land, and our incredible local environment.
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Map Showing places we visited Map showing Indigenous Languages of South East Australia 2
Community Partner Visits:
Agari Farm – Kinglake:
Agari Farm are involved in building the first council
approved Earthship in Victoria, and we headed out
there to help out! There had been a team working
away on it for a while so we were given a quick
orientation and then a got to work on a cob slip
mix and earth render. www.agarifarm.org
This was the first camp site on our trip. As we pulled the coaster bus into a side street in town, wheelbarrows and
orange clay abound, although the build itself was not apparent. Instead, we were greeted by wide grins- eager hosts
who seemed very glad to finally meet us and share with us their work. The fist permitted Earthship in the State- its
passive solar design and closed systems- a truly resilient gem hidden behind the tyre, clay and water tank wall it was
being built into.
Taking a tour of the property we glimpsed at an exciting future- a property harvesting its own food and water, a
home, a hub full of learning and community, a sharing economy. We also glimpsed at the effects of the utterly
devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires now synonymous with the township. Everything about this build- from
the design to the community fostered within Agari and further into Kind Lake at large- is a direct and constructive
response to that fateful disaster. And how fruitful this building- through clay and through relationships is proving to
be.
We spent two nights camped in a field behind the local pub down the road, learning about Earthship principles and
techniques, being nourished by the generous and delicious food, and connecting with each other and the Agari crew
around the fire at night. The highlight, of course, came when we got to get our hands and feet dirty, stomping down
cob and mixing clay slip. Many hands and feet made light work. It was a very satisfying day cobbing a couple of
walls- our contribution to the build we all look forward to returning to in the future as it nears its completion, and as
it solidifies its place at the centre of resilient community life in a recovering King Lake.
Jess
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Yandoit Farm - Castlemaine:
Yandoit Farm is a beautiful 140-acre natural farm in
Central Victoria focusing on diversified small-scale
animal husbandry, annual and perennial food systems
and broad scale regenerative agroforestry. Our
wonderful hosts Lisa Marie and Michael Jackson (yes,
that’s right) were absolutely gorgeous opening up their
home, hearts, and minds to challenging conversation
on natives vs permaculture crops and a whole range of
permi-topics.
http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/30/broadacre-farm-design-regenerative-agriculture-work-australia/
“After leaving the earth ship in Kinglake, we drove to Yandoit to spend a couple days with Michael and Lisa Jackson.
I didn’t know what to expect, but was absolutely overwhelmed by their hospitality and enthusiasm. Although
Michael tended to ‘speak a lot’, his enthusiasm and passion and knowledge was simply oozing from every cell of his
body. He was keen to include us, teach us new things and give us full use of ‘everything’... Even his lounge room!
As for Lisa – I could not believe she was for real! Not only did she cook for us, bring us coffee, give us fresh produce
from the garden, take someone to the train station in the middle of the night, but it was all topped off by her
saying... “and if you have any dirty washing, just leave it at the back door, I’ll do it and hang it out for you”. Oh wo-
man. Where do we go from here?It was truly amazing. Thanks.
- Jonathan Levin, 2017 participant
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Tarnagulla “Wonderful to visit the weekender of a fellow CERES GoLocal crew member, we had become like family by this stage. Tarnagulla is a little town in the Goldfields - Wikipedia notes it as at the heart of the Golden Triangle and it was a perfect lunch stop on our way to Boort. The gold history is staggering - in 1865 the town had peaked with a thousand Chinese migrants and had groups of Greek and Italians, and in 1906 a 26.6 kg nugget was found at Tarnagulla! It was magic to welcome our little band of travellers by playing an LP record in Colin's 1860 Miners cottage - awesome to see its mud bricks have stood the test of time. The visit really personalised the trip. We could see how Colin had sustainability challenges and goals regarding waste management and general wear and tear on the old cottage (termites for instance). Really heartening to see the forest looking healthy, as I recall passing by the town often over the past few years and the forest seems often to be suffering a succession of insect plagues with unhappy stressed looking trees. Always pays to slow down and be amazed at what you can learn - to my amazement Izzy found a Sugar Glider tail nearby, highly likely it had been nipped off by an Owl. Impressive Tarnagulla! So on the road again and we headed across Jarra country toward its North West corner at the amazing wetlands of Boort and Jida Gulpilil's tour.” - Donald Butcher, 2017 participant 5
DjarDjar Wurrung - Boort:
Our CERES indigenous educator Jida Gulpilil was very excited
to show us around his country, and share with us some very
special stories of the scar trees in the DjarDjar Warrung region
of Boort in central north Victoria. Jida welcomed us with a
traditional smoke ceremony and introduced us to significant
sites around the lake. We sat up late in to the night listening to
important stories with some of us drifting off by the fire after
some incredible indigenous dance and didgeridoo.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/into-the-aboriginal-
world---victorias-secret-emerges-from-lake-and-creek-20161229-gtjok8.html
Leaving the Jackson's farm in Castlemaine, the gypsy cuddle bus headed off on a long journey to Boort in Central
Northern Victoria. Boort is the home of Jida Gulpilil, the larger than life character we were greeted by when we
finally rolled in. Following a quick stop we trailed Jida's 4wd to the big lake for an information session on the local
fauna and flora revegetation and subsequent Welcome to Country smoking ceremony. Many of us who had never
experienced a smoking ceremony were swept up in the excitement. So much so, we learned we had left one of our
own at the previous stop! Whoops! Ben saved the day by heading back and collecting our lost family member,
returning her to a group of red faced and abashed travel companions.
The Welcome to Country smoking ceremony was a fantastic experience. We covered our skin in ochre and bathed in
the smoke whilst the sun set behind us. The group sat and listened to tales about Jida's people, the land we sat on
and his big plans for Boort. Jida shared that he believes that Boort deserves the recognition for its heritage and
environmental diversity that Kakadu enjoys and is on a mission to ensure he delivers. The energy and determination
felt from our friend couldn't be faltered. We set up camp, fed the group and prepared for our campfire session of
music and stories with Jida and his brother Andrew. Jida once again regaled us with tales of his people and even
brought his own beautifully designed and painted possum skin rug for us to admire. Stunning!
The next morning was a busy one. Jida had plenty to show to the group and we were eager to learn. We started the
day on the big lake on Jida's boat. Jida impressed us with his boomerang accuracy and spear throwing technique.
We were lucky enough to walk through country and view sacred scar trees and historic campsites only known to the
well-trained, culturally sensitive eye. It was amazing to see ancient clay balls pressed together for use in camp
ovens. Jida pointed out that all of the rocks we saw were clay balls as there are no natural rocks in that area. He was
right! It was starting to become apparent why Jida has such a vested interest in protecting the sites of Boort with
signposts and shelters. There are tens of thousands of years’ history in all directions. Unfortunately, we had to set
off quickly following the morning session given there was a new location and experience awaiting our arrival,
however we did manage to fit in plenty of exciting activities. Activities that will be cherished for many years to
come. I think we all agreed it will be thrilling to watch Jida's progress and negotiation with council unfold over the
coming years.
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Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY):
Hosted by Ali & Matt, we learned about a
community group bringing together people
passionate about the notion of powering
their town with 100% renewable energy,
and aiming to achieve “energy sovereignty”
for Yackandandah by the year 2022 through
community owned energy that will
decarbonize, decentralize and democratize
their energy supplysystems.
http://totallyrenewableyack.org.au/
Yackandandah's beautiful township is nestled in-between mountains, forests and sits close to the border
of Victoria and New South Wales. It is located far from any main townships and more importantly - very
far from power generation plants. The township aims to go completely renewable energy by 2022 -
setting its own target in the face of climate change.
As a township that has supply issues when bushfire, storms or flooding hits the lines; power companies
have jumped aboard their enduring enthusiasm more than a year down the track. To get aboard this
target, Ausgrid are trialling micro-grid technology with TRY, which has been in development for years. The
final aim of this is to reduce the burden of the major grid network to meet remote township needs, while
remaining financially efficient; this will in turn reduce the need to run huge supply lines through
mountains and precious land spaces prone to nature's wrath.
At the moment the township is being supported by the corporate interests with low cost investment and
infrastructure; but as a trial town, where their data is being fed back to the company to gauge profits,
costings and income - there is a mixed sense of hope that power companies will begin to march forward
with renewables but this is tainted with their persistent desire for increasing mega-profits which does not
bode well for communities and people.
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From Yackendandah we headed right over the Alpine Ranges to Bega! An epic trip with some stunning scenery
and rolling commentary from Co-facilitator Don Butcher, what a treat it was to have Don share his knowledge
and passion for our watershed forests as we travelled through such a beautiful environment – not just over the
Alpine Ranges but on the entire trip! Thanks Don for being amazing.
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The Bend – Bega: An eco-neighbourhood in the small town of Bega on the far south coast of NSW, Australia. Bend is an incredible success story designed using permaculture principles that value environmental sustainability, social diversity, food production, and energy conservation. As a community the residents share conservation areas and certified organic agricultural land, as well as neighbourhood fire fighting, photovoltaic, and grey-water recycling systems. http://bend.org.au/ It was an absolute pleasure to be hosted by the wonderful Pip and Peter staying in their earth brick guest quarters and having a really good sticky beak around the neighbourhood inside residents homes, right in to check out their composting dunnies, in the garden, checking out solar passive lighting and temp regulations; such an incredible community to allow us in to learn and be a part of their home spaces – thanks so much for having us stay! 9
Goolengook & Jill Redwood:
Goolengook forest in the far eastern corner of
Victoria was the centerpiece of a campaign to
protect all of the regions old growth in the
1990’s to early 2000s. Jill Redwood lives in
Goolengook and for the last 30 years has lived
a completely an off grid life. Living on around
$80 a week, Jill has over sixty animals and an
abundant garden right outside her doorstep.
Generating all her own solar power and
collecting water from the local creek Jill lives a
totally self-sufficient life.
http://www.naturalhomes.org/permahome/offgrid-jill-redwood.htm
Visit to Jill Redwood, Goongerah.
What a treat it was to visit legendary forest activist Jill Redwood at her home in Goongerah. We camped
next door (alongside G.E.C.O’s citizen scientists) and Jill welcomed us early despite having been up until
1am. “Best time to save the planet” she said, “less distractions!”
It seemed to me that Jill hasn’t lost her concentration on planet-saving in all the time she’s been in this
patch of beauty. She’s been honoured by an Environmentalist of the Year Award from Bob Brown, but
what we witnessed was Jill’s more domestic care for this small patch of her own, purchased over 30 years
ago and single-handedly rescued from blackberries and erosion. Jill lives fairly self-sufficiently amid her
orchard and gardens, complete with guinea fowl and guinea pigs, chooks, geese, dairy goats, horses,
vegetables, herbs and numerous fruit varieties, all organically managed.
We visited Jill’s original bark hut, built and inhabited pioneer-style after she moved out of her tipi in the
early days. Also the solar systems, compost-warmed propagation trays and the ingenious, stream-driven
water wheel that pumps to a header tank. Stepping under the wasp-comb decorated verandah and into
her more recent home, we admired Jill’s impressive self-stocked larder … “There’s more food grown here
than I can eat, but I can’t waste it” … her crocheted rag rug in progress and her own feral tanning efforts…
“A flat cat’s a good cat!”, finishing off by riding the bicycle-driven juicer and pressing Jill’s apples –
enjoying fresh juice with a hint of mandarin.
Jill is a true pioneer. Much of what she’s built here was gathered on site or scavenged secondhand and
it’s all happened alongside countless hours at the computer for Environment East Gippsland, agitating for
forest preservation. “How do you manage it all?” one of us asked. “I really don’t know” she said, “If you
find any stray wives on your travels send them my way!”I reckon she might just have some applicants
amongst our mob.
– Ilka, 2017 participant
10Wurruk’an Traralgan – Gippsland:
Wurruk’an is a humble but beautiful body of
land, water, and forest in the Gunai district of
Gippsland. In recent years it has become an
inclusive gathering space for people seeking to
pioneer and demonstrate a ‘simpler way’ of
living based on permaculture principles.
Although these are still early days, the emerging
vision is aglow with promise and potential. As a
strategy for social change, their small and
evolving community is trying to build a new
world from within the shell of the old.
Wurruk’an signifies an act of defiant positivity.
http://www.wurrukan.org
Wurruk'an is a comparatively new and young community in Gippsland, built around shared ideals and
spurred on by a documentary covering the first year; "A simpler way: crisis as opportunity". On arrival, we
were given a warm welcome followed by dinner, and a cello and video performance. The next day we
were given a tour of the flourishing permaculture gardens, and a variety of dwellings and alternative
building techniques. There is a small earth ship with an adjoining cob pizza oven, an earth bag house, a
mobile tiny house, a cob round house, a tiny shack built for $425 and a big community house.
An amazing and inspirational community visit to experience!
11And finally a lovely lunch on the way home to CERES at the incredible Peace Farm, an active market garden
with food box scheme, seasonal permaculture gardens, propagation, weekend workshops, tiny house, 3
families, and a community with a huge heart for welcoming guests and sharing a delicious hearty soup lunch.
We’re heading off on another road trip March 2018, we’d love to have you come along.
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