It’s ten years now since we opened the doors of Fair Harvest Permaculture, ten years of events and courses, community and food, yoga and art, farming and family.
Swap Shuffle Share at Fair Harvest
It’s been a huge ten years in which we have worked hard to create a business based in the things that we believe in…. We have expanded and renovated, built buildings using our home grown timber and watched trees that we’ve planted grow to provide shade for campers.
Fair Harvest Campground
We have welcomed grandchildren into the world and then had their school groups come back to learn about permaculture.
Children learning in the timber plantation
We have invited people to share their knowledge of food growing, soil building, tree growing, composting and so much more. We have been part of a community that cares for its environment, nurtures its children and looks deeply into how to move forward into the future.
PDC students in the food gardens
Food has been so central to our lives. Do has been an incredible student of the earth, “Observe and Interact” is the first principle of permaculture and this is what I see her doing every day as she enters her garden. Watching to see what is growing, what is being eaten, what is going to seed, what is thirsty and then interacting ….doing the stuff that needs doing!!
The Fair Harvest Gardens
The amount of wheelbarrows of food that has come out of that garden has been phenomenal, and that’s where I come into it, turning loads of amazing fresh organic produce into meals of every variety. Loving the challenge of not knowing what the meal is going to be until the wheelbarrow is unpacked into the kitchen and my creative juices start flowing.
A wheelbarrow of food on its way to the kitchen
We have cooked up so many hundreds of meals and worked with so many great people. Food straight from the garden always requires many more hours of work so plenty of time to gather and chat.
Family and friends peeling broad beans
Ten years feels and the same time like a life time as it does like the blink of an eye. Fair Harvest is about permaculture, and permaculture as many of you who have stayed with us and come to know us know is way way more than gardening, it’s about a way of living. Permaculture it as much about how we build our buildings, look after ourselves and interact with our community as it is about how we grow our veggies.
In the camp kitchen built from timber grown on site
It’s also about how we respond to change and change has been a big feature in all of our lives over the last couple of years. The changes that COVID restrictions brought us have definitely given us a chance to think about the changes that we would like to keep and how best to move forward into the next decade of Fair Harvest.
Changing zucchini into a huge range of products
What we have come to realise it that what we love most and what we feel gives most to our community and customers is the long stay. The opportunity to stay on the farm, enjoy the produce, learn a little, relax a little, go for long walks, work in the garden, talk to the animals. We love welcoming groups that settle in and create their own version of retreat.
Exploring the farm…cows in the plantation
Our 2 week live in Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC)has of course been the big one that we have offered, and during this course we do as best we can to create a full experience, camping, eating the food, talking about the world we live in, making change and moving forward. Our groups arrive thinking that they have come to learn about how to grow their food and they go away part of a family.
A “silly” PDC group pic 🙂
Opening the space for more people to use this way has become higher on our priority, We always come away thinking that we want more people to make the use of the space we offer in this holistic way, we look back and see that what we have created is this beautiful space that can offer it all.
The beautiful yoga barn
Some of the other beautiful retreats and courses we have had include yoga retreats, mindfulness retreats, art retreats, school groups and family groups. We love most of all when people get what we have created, understand that the spaces can be used and adapted to meet their needs.
The barn set up for Yin Yoga and Sound meditation
As a cook, I enjoy nothing more that cooking up big pots of deliciousness for groups. Watching people discover the garden through their tastebuds, finding out about new veggies or how to use them in different ways. I love catering for different dietary requirements and making sure everyone feels equally catered for. I love feeling the mood of the day, of the energy and the weather and creating what I think will suit just right, sometimes it’s experimental and new other times it’s comfort food at it’s best.
Roast veggie and goats cheese tarts ready for the oven
We love seeing people taking the time to just be on the farm without pressure. I suppose these are all of this things that we love doing over the winter months while we are closed to the public. The great slowing down and feeling the earth.
Around the campfire
Yes we will continue to offer short courses, community events, open days, camping, but we encourage you to discover Fair Harvest as place that can offer the most beautiful wholistic, permaculture stay that will cater to your needs.
Exploring the bushland
So really I feel like I have hardly touched on our last ten years, just a glimpse of things. Change has been central to our lives and “Creatively Respond to Change” is the final permaculture principle. As our lives change, we age, we grow, the land changes, the world changes and the people around us change, we hope we can continue to offer a place of beauty healing and creativity that can support our community.
Find out here about upcoming courses and retreats
Find out here about our next Open Day
Find out here about coming to camp at Fair Harvest
or contact [email protected] to organise your own retreat or catered event
