Just north of Adelaide, en route to the Barossa Valley, is one of Australia's most impressive sustainable farms. Drawing upon elements of the permaculture tradition, and utilising organic methods, Graham and his wife Annemarie have traded a modern acquisitive lifestyle for their freedom, independence and a great sense of community wellbeing.
The Gawler farm of 15 hectares has taken 20 years to develop, but pistachios, carobs, olives, pears and wine grapes are grown and processed for income from organic retailers in Adelaide. Whilst the rest of us think of imports being brought across the sea in containers, the Brookmans draw the line at their front fence. Inside the fence they utilise the free energy that comes from the sun to combine with water, air and soil to produce their food and export their surplus. With their straw bale house, solar hot water and solar exported power, they have few bills to pay. Living close to Adelaide's transport system, petrol inputs are reduced and supermarkets are largely unnecessary because of their huge vegetable garden. When we shared lunch we enjoyed home grown wine or orange juice with pistachios and carobs and a beautiful salad dressed with home made olive oil. Bon appetit for us and the environment!
The fruits listed above are just some of the 150 different plants on the 15 hectare property, so if your garden has frosts (150-240 growing days), and a hot dry summer you can be guided by his success. As we walked about the farm we noticed that around some of his fruit trees were deposited 4 bales of hay to both feed his trees and reduce evaporation in summer. Along his orchard lines he had 60 apple varieties and 20 pears and between the trees, pilgrim geese grazed. The geese are biological mowers that are so effective they even remove the runners of couch and kikuyu. Graham has reintroduced the Brush-tailed Bettong, a sort of mini kangaroo that pays its way by excavating bulbs of that beautiful but pernicious golden oxalis. (No need for Zero™ or Roundup™.)
If Graham hadn't established a permaculture farm, what would those 15 hectares look like? If it were a conventional farm (like 99% of farms), it would be planted in canola. The canola would have been bred in Canada, ploughed by imported tractors, reliant on imported oil and Monsanto's chemicals. To pay for all these imports this farmer would have borrowed from a bank who would borrow overseas. Most of the trees and shrubs would have been cut down, eliminating birds and animals, for there can be no wildlife without food and shelter. These are the devastating impacts of our globalised food supply on our soils and biodiversity. |
Graham is a permaculture ‘high priest' who works and teaches permaculture at a nearby university, which helps not only improve his off-farm income, but his farm is the living proof of all he has learned.
Instead of growing the usual one crop on 15 hectares, Graham has 150 varieties of trees and shrubs, an extensive vegetable garden, as well as trees he is growing for wood lots and timbers; so his biodiverse farm is teeming with life. He uses no chemicals (except copper sprays), no fertilisers and little diesel, ensuring his ecological footprint is microscopic!
Graham uses the permaculture design system with organic techniques applied in harmony. They are a means to an end – that of sustainability.
Being a member of the Permaculture and Organics group is rather like joining a green brotherhood; everyone is helpful, cooperative and willing to share and help. When Graham has more work than he can cope with, he contacts Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF), with whom work is exchanged for board, lodgings and an educational experience. This spirit is reminiscent of the communal values of a small country town before the materialism of our big cities destroyed it.
Permaculture, which is short hand for ‘Permanent Culture', is based on three ethics; care of people, care of the earth and acceptance of personal responsibility for our ecological challenges.
At the 1992 Convention of Biodiversity three similar aims were confirmed – conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits. These ethics are being proposed as a more simplified code for Organic Movements. Living from the land by a set of ecological and ethical principles requires extraordinary commitment and fortitude, which makes Graham's and Annemarie's achievement at Food Forest truly inspirational. Back |
