Aid in times of need is a great help but it is not a long-term solution as not only is it unsustainable, but it can also create long-term dependence. We believe that supporting local self-sufficiency projects results in longer term benefits for everyone. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” (Chinese Proverb).   In April this year we had the opportunity to spend time working with a local Karen tribe on the border of Thailand/Myanmar (formerly Burma) supporting them to establish a community food garden. Click to learn more about our most recent Community Development Project.

This month, Michael presented two food security workshops at a state conference for community service workers and volunteers. Many of the participants are involved with setting up and maintaining community gardens and teaching local community members how to grow their own food. Michael’s workshops covered the what, why and how of local and global food security. Conference participants had the opportunity to learn what true food security is, why we all need to be concerned by this issue and how we can all at some level be involved in food security solutions whether this be on an individual and/or collective basis. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 1996 describe food security as being achieved when “…all people […]

There is a myth that you can’t grow veggies without lots of direct sunlight. Whilst this is true to a certain extent you can also do a bit of a slight of hand trick by planting the right variety of vegetables at the right time that will do well in shaded conditions. Choose leaf or root veggies and sow and establish them before the shorter months when the sun is low in the sky. This bed of leafy greens was planted on April 1st (this is not an April Fool’s joke – we promise). They received about 4 hours of sunlight at that time but no direct sunlight from the middle of May till the beginning of September. Look at […]

This month we thinned out our autumn sown mixed veggie bed. This bed has a mixture of onion varieties such as Gladalan White, Red Shine, Spring Onion and Gladalan Brown. Other rows include Garlic, Bulgarian Giant Leek, All Seasons Carrots, Silverbeet Fordhook Giant and Radish Cherry Bell. The onion and leek seedlings that have been thinned out can be planted in another bed to grow out or used for cooking. Yummy… can’t beat the taste of young fresh produce. The carrots and radishes are also delicious when picked small. No need to peel the young carrots, cook with the skin on roasted or in stir-fries. The silverbeet can be picked as baby-leaf and cooked up stem and all – very […]

We harvested our Cayenne Chillies very late this season. The peppers hung on the bushes and turned a brilliant red by March, but we did not harvest them fully until June this year. We had been picking fresh chillies as early as November from the same bushes, so it goes to show what a prolific variety the Long Cayenne is for all round Australian conditions. Just a note that this variety is not for the faint hearted. They are very hot, especially once they have turned red in colour. We find that 1-2 full chillies with seeds is about enough to put the heat into most dishes, unless of course you are one of those rare people who can literally […]