Gardening with Soul - film night # 53

Don't miss this film for all the family Subtitled Love, Faith and compost. Come and follow Sister Loyola through four seasons and her ninetieth birthday

                          At the Savoia, 7.30pm Thursday November 27th

GET ON BOARD

and Support Your Community Bus Service

Consider a trip to Glenlyon Store for high tea, Bullarto for a wonder (and wander) in the bush or Trentham's Redbeard Bakery for lunch.

 A day trip where you can be collected and dropped off anywhere all for just a gold coin donation-bargain!

Catch a bus today to keep this wonderful service viable.

Ebola - a Threat to the World

The Ebola virus is rapidly developing into a serious problem and we have very little time to contain the spread before it gets really difficult to contain it. We are a very mobile population and this can occur much more easily than at the time of the Black Death. Now is the time to direct help through Brett Adamson, one of our community gardeners, at present back in Australia from working in Liberia with Medecins Sans Frontier in a field camp treating Ebola victims. Please dr cr whatever you can to the HRN bank account and it will go directly to help them in Liberia and other effected areas.  Brett says he believes MSF spends the money well and we can direct it to Ebola affected areas. Alternatively make the donation directly to MSF
This video is from some time back and the situation has worsened since then.
Read more

Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images

Family members peer into a bedroom as the body of a man awaits the arrival of an Ebola burial team to take him for cremation in Monrovia, Liberia, on Oct. 17, 2014. Close

THIS FRIDAY 7pm 2014 Bushfire Forum

HEAR ABOUT THE LATEST  BUSHFIRE BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH & WAYS WE CAN HELP OURSELVES & OUR COMMUNITIES

HRN is running a BUSHFIRE FORUM this Friday 17 October 7-10pm

The following speakers are featured:

    Kevin Tolhurst Firestorm Physics

    Joan Webster OAM Household Fire Planning

    Daryl Taylor Personal Resilience

Venue: Daylesford Town Hall

$15 at the door/ Prebook $10/ Supper and discussion afterwards
Bookings:hrn@internode.on.net / 5348 3636

ALSO,

Join us at the Absolutely Fabulous Fresh Food Festival, also at Daylesford Town Hall on Thursday 16th Oct (noon-5)

Bushfire Forum

Sunday's soap

Well, Angela did take us on an interesting little journey in the world of soap and now our soaps are unmoulded, cut up and maturing. Thanks Angela for a great workshop!

Soap and laundry liquid making on Sunday morning

Don't miss this great opportunity to make all the soap things you need - it is not difficult but just requires know how and time. Angela will take us through the necessary steps then away we go. No looking back to a continuing happy soap making. Book your spot now.

Last night's miso making workshop
15 enthusiastic fermenters attended the Miso workshop on Tuesday.
Here are some snaps ...draining the cooked soy beans, Su adding beans to the food processor, weighing out the koji and salt mix and Rick adding the koji to the mashed up soy beans, with Su mixing thoroughly by hand.
         

Bushfire prep - just a part of life

Now that the weather is so absolutely gorgeous with the blossoms emerging one by one, outside in the garden or on a piece of public land nearby is the place to be and do some planting of good species for fire retarding and continue to do your clean up around your buildings of flammable things such cardboard boxes, old furniture etc.

In the garden, de-twig your shrubs and and trees, lop off the dead branches and rake/remove the litter from close to the house. Clear old blackberries and dry gorse and compost them.

 Don't forget the HRN slash hooks, fire rakes and loppers are available for you to borrow.







Do a working bee with friends; it is fun and you can be sure the kids will like it too.
You could join us this weekend down Spring Creek at our big working bee with the Melbourne contingent blackberry clearing, track making and other fun things and kids are super invited.

And coming soon     BUSHFIRE FORUM

Another good reason NOT to go to the supermarket

Now that you can get your bulk organic dry goods with ease and veggie boxes are still available, the only other reason to go to the supermarket is to get soap and toilet paper isn't it?
Let's start with soap then shall we?
Join us in getting the lowdown in how to make your own soap with Angela Enbom on Sunday September 14th at Melliodora at 10am. Don your dungarees and we will be down at the barn dipping into the whole process.  BYO lunch contribution. and we will chat about the whys and wherefores of this art. Cost is $40 and bookings are required.

No Such Thing as Waste - Live & Pumping with Ensemble Formidable!

Miso Making Workshop reminder

We need a little help

Over the past months, quite a few people told us that they were not receiving notifications of our posts and  we made a change or two that seemed to fix the problem for some but not others...
Can you help us by emailing us if you do receive this post?
This may help us investigate further......

 Many thanks.

Nicole Foss on ABC radio tonight

 If you missed the Foss/Holmgren tour (it was recorded in Melbourne) on the tour) then listen tonight to Big Ideas on ABC Radio National at 8pm. Well worth a listen, even if you have heard it before.

Milpirri - winds of Change

                                   

Words in Winter HRN special

Yarns on the wild side of sustainability Sunday August 3rd at the Rex.

1 - 1.45pm

The Sound of Music - some favourite tools   Stephen Oram

Ferment, foment and froth        Raia Faith

Gum leaves, lettuce leaves         Vasko Drogriski    

2 - 2.45pm

 Hawksbeards & catsears       Alexis Pitsopoulos  

Serendipity, snakes and the other  's' word       Laurel Freeland

Chopsy the Goat   Sebastian Klein

3 - 4pm

Zen and the art of vegie oil motoring  Tim Burns

What, only a bag of dried apricots, tea and salt for 10 days?   Ruth Bray

Sci fi Hepburn   scenarios, imaginary or real ?          David Holmgren

Don't miss these entertaining stories!!! It's free.

Strategies for a Changing Economy national tour

Hey folks, don your thermals and come on down to the Town Hall tomorrow night to hear Nicole Foss and David Holmgren give you their latest version of that message that encourages us to scale down our consumption, increase our community activity and our enjoyment factor. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired or re inspired! Bring your friends and neighbours.

See you there

Fermentation get together

Here's your opportunity to either strut your stuff or see what others have made and learn some new tricks. This is a practical sharing afternoon with others from Central Victoria to broaden our horizons and get fermenting. We got a big buzz from the Sandor Katz visit...let's see what others are making. Town Hall, this Sunday 29th June between 12 midday and 4.00pm

Demos & tasters: ** Clare O'Bryan .... Kraut & kimchi Demo
**. Dora Berenyi......Bulgarian yoghurt sample
**. Raia Faith Baster.....carrot ginger ferment demo
**. Marita. ..... Kefir cheese demo and beet kvass demo
**. Su Dennett.......sourdough starter... How to start it, feed it and use it.

Kombucha (more correctly - ko cha kinoko)

Add caption

Miso making workshop Sunday June 15th

Haven't learnt how to make your own miso yet and add great ferments to your diet for better digestion for the whole family, not to mention the pampering of the taste buds?

Well, here is your opportunity to do a workshop with our resident miso master, Rick Tanaka.
Book now for Sunday's workshop that starts at 10am and finishes at 12.30pm with a bowl of miso soup and sour dough bread. You will get koji and soy beans to take home to make your own batch as well as learn the history of miso and how to make it.

 
Cost of the workshop is $45. Book now and join us for the fun!

Strategies for a changing economy – survive and thrive

Hepburn Relocalisation Network

presents

Nicole Foss and David Holmgren with Strategies for a changing economy –

survive and thrive 

at the Daylesford Town Hall July 11th at 7pm

Over the next several decades we face many challenges as a consequence of the approaching many limits to growth. Finance, energy, environment, resources and climate will all impact on the single-minded, one-dimensional trajectory human society has been on in our present era of growth imperative. Our current path is unsustainable. It cannot and will not continue, so we must adapt our societies in order to build a new future.

The first challenges are being presented by the on-going global financial crisis, which is far closer to its beginning than its end, and by the geopolitics of energy. Events in Europe, particularly in Cyprus, Detroit and latterly the Ukraine, represent a major wake up call that financial crisis is about to resume in earnest and that energy issues are moving towards criticality in many places. We must anticipate and navigate a period of rapid economic contraction and increasing risk of resource conflict, punctuated by the emergence of geopolitical wildcards.

Building Resilience in an Era of Limits to Growth

Nicole Foss will explore the links between the converging pressures facing us – economic contraction, peak energy and geopolitical stress.
She will outline the implications for our everyday lives and share practical solutions she has observed from around the world.

Permaculture Surfing the Property Bubble Collapse

Drawing from 30 years of permaculture teaching, designing and demonstrating rural and urban agriculture food production systems
for sustainable living, Transition activism and personal example,in David Holmgren will outline practical strategies to help households
and communities survive, thrive and contribute to a better world.

Permaculutre co-founder David Holmgren toured the country with Richard Heinberg in 2006 informing the public of the threats of imminent peak oil and the permaculture responses. Eight years on, more people have installed insulation and solar, started growing food, raising chooks, and buying from local producers.

Only eight years on, the peak of conventional oil is already in the rear view mirror and the first stage of the second Great Depression is pulling apart economies and nations around the world. The mining boom has allowed Australia to dodge the worst, but the signs are not good. Government plans for austerity highlight the need for households and communities to increase their self reliance.

David’s updated presentation uses permaculture design principles to interpret the signs and show how getting out of debt, downsizing and rebooting our dormant household and community non-monetary economies are the best hedges that ordinary citizens can make. The idea that these household and community economies could achieve unprecedented growth rates if the monetary economy takes a serious dive is a good news story you won’t hear from mainstream media.  The shift of metaphor from ‘retrofitting’ to ‘surfing’ suggests a stronger role for positive risk-taking behaviour change without the need for expensive changes to the built environment that few will be able to afford.  Returning to Aussie St, David shows how the permaculture makeover and behaviour change is progressing through the Second Great Depression.  Aussie St is not only surviving but thriving through the “dumpers” that property bubble collapse, climate chaos and geopolitical energy shocks have unleashed on the lucky country.  An endearing, amusing and gutsy story of hope for in-situ adaptation by the majority of Australians living in our towns and suburbs.

On this tour Holmgren is joined by Nicole Foss, leading system analyst, who explains how the deflationary dynamics that always follow finance and property bubbles, will rapidly impact individuals, families and communities, while the longer acting forces of Peak Oil and Climate Change will determine and limit the nature of any economic recovery.  Nicole will paint a comprehensive picture of where we stand today globally, how our human operating system functions, how and why it is acutely vulnerable, and what we must do about the predicament in which we find ourselves. The focus will be financial, social, and geopolitical, reflecting the priority of impacts likely to be felt in the relatively short term. The critical factors for change will be highlighted, with an outline of the possibilities that exist within the scope of the emerging reality. We must plan to restructure our societies from the bottom up, so that both the transition period and our eventually recovery from the coming upheaval can rest on a solid foundation. That foundation requires the resurgence of resilient communities and the development of true human capacity.

Foss’s succinct and riveting presentation sets the scene for the positive permaculture strategies. More than just an affirmation of what many are already doing, Foss’s systemic perspective is a wake-up call for those concerned about environmental and social issues, to understand how their own exposure to financial collapse will determine whether they can shape a better future for themselves, their children and their communities.

The two will inform Australians how it’s possible, although not inevitable, to weather the coming storms with grace, rebuild community solidarity and provide a bulwark against the worst expressions of fear, blame and zenophobia that naturally arise in times of hardship.  Most importantly, it will highlight how a small but significant minority following a path of enlightened self interest, and informed by permaculture design principles, may have a more powerful and positive influence than mass movements demanding their rights from weak and ineffective governments.

Humanity stands on the edge of a precipice, and where we go from here is in our own hands. There is both considerable danger, and the opportunity to address what is arguably the most challenging situation in human history constructively.

Cost:  $15 (pre booking)  $20 (at the door)

Booking at hrn@internode.on.net
 http://holmgren.com.au/product/survive-thrive-daylesford/

The Chikukwa Project

Our next film showing at the Savoia Thursday June 12th 7.30pm is

The Chikukwa Project

Where once the people of the Chikukwa villages in Zimbabwe suffered hunger, malnutrition and high rates of disease, this community has turned its fortunes around using permaculture farming techniques. Complementing these strategies for food security, they have built their community strength through locally controlled and initiated programs for permaculture training, conflict resolution, women’s empowerment, primary education and HIV management.

The Chikukwa Project - Trailer from Gillian Leahy on Vimeo.

Now they have a surplus of food and the people in these villages are healthy and proud of their achievements. Their degraded landscape has been turned into a lush paradise.
A brother and sister team travelled to Zimbabwe and made this film which shows why this project has been so successful.

Last year, John Seed and David Holmgren did a fundraiser for this remarkable project that has existed for the last 20 years. The villagers  wanted to replicate their programs in further villages with the help of Ulli & Eli Westermann and now this is happening.
HRN is fundraising for Permaculture Aid Yolanda in the Phillippines so your $5 donation will go towards the people trying to rebuild their lives post typhoon
Click to enlarge the report

Bushfire Season 2015

Just as we are feeling safe and comfortable with the bushfire season over for another year, now is the time to be out and about, reducing bushfire risk. With winter just starting, we have the months ahead to prepare for what is shaping up to be a fearsome summer with a very severe risk of fire. Let this be a motivator and empowerer for us to prepare and be confident. Joan Webster can certainly continue to be our guide. Here is her bulletin Winter preparation for summer bushfire safety to remind us

Come and visit the gully below Melliodora to see the work I have been doing with the goats to reduce vegetation for fire protection and make it more inviting. It is looking lovely. Let us know if you would like to join the gully crew in a working bee to cut a track up Doctor's Gully between the fire trail below the swing bridge and the confluence of Spring Creek. Date tba

Remember, HRN has rake hoes, loppers and slash hooks that you can borrow to do work at home for yourselves or out and about on the public land.

Go visit the gully work that Peter Sagittarius and others have done at the bottom of third street. It is park like and much safer for summer. Could we manage to make more of the areas adjacent our homes safer?  Hand clearing is a great social activity, fun and gives a good work out; much safer than burn offs!  Let us,  hrn@internode.on.net know. 

Su

Tempe Making Workshop

Our local tempe maker Edward Brand (you may have met him at the Dylesford market and sampled his wares) will teach us how to make some for ourselves, send us home with a fresh block and the ingredients to make several batches.....
We will have a light dinner with tempe and miso soup to sustain and nourish us. Do you want to join us?
Thursday, April 10th 6 to 9pm   $55   Maximum 8 people   venue tba

go here to book

hrn@internode.on.net

Equinox dinner and talk by James Henderson

In ten days time we will reach the autumn equinox, what better time to celebrate the universality of the peoples and places of the world than when we all have the same length of day and night?

On Friday March 21st, we will be having a celebratory dinner  with Alexis of Continental House
and local food, including weeds fame, and a talk by James Henderson (from Henderson Clayworks) about earth render, including the presentation of his new book on this subject.

Dinner at 7pm at the Senior Citizens rooms at the Town Hall and James' talk at 8.15pm 

The dinner and talk will cost $17pp.  Book here
HRN events are waste free. We use ceramic crockery, reusable packaging, and take home any food scraps to feed the chooks.

Sandor's food frenzy workshop

On Thursday evening, local food enthusiasts flocked to the town hall for the workshop hosted by the world fermentation food expert, Sandor Katz. Once described by the New York Times as "one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene" he was on a month long tour around Australia running workshops in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne. His visit to Daylesford was for one last workshop before flying out to New Zealand the following. Aren't we lucky to be able to host events like this, right on our doorstep. Thanks Sandor !

We were first told the benefits of fermented food such as kimchee, sourdough, miso, cheese, kafir, yoghurt etc. and the cultural importance of these in our culinary history. Native of New York and collector of fermented food techniques from around the world, Sandor stressed the significance of improvisation, using what is locally available, to suit the local conditions, once the fundamentals are understood. 

After a bowl of miso soup, made with locally grown vegs and miso (fermented bean paste made at Melliodora), it was time  to get into action. In frenzied chaos we chopped and shredded carrots, cabbages, cucumbers and other vegs supplied by local organic farmer Rod May, then we salt pickled them, while asking Sandor all sorts of questions about every aspect of fermentation. 

"Don't be afraid of making mistakes and be creative once you understand the basics,"  Sandor said when he had to wind up his four-and-a-half-hour workshop. Everybody seemed to want some more, not too unlike at the end of a good rock music gig. There was no encore, unlike at concerts, but everyone left the hall with huge grins on their faces as well as a jar of freshly made fermented veg. 

No doubt an even bigger grin will return in about a week, when the fermented veg is sampled, with fond memories of the evening. 

Sandor Katz in Daylesford

Don't miss this unique workshop in Daylesford!!!!!!

                                                      Thursday February 27th  

                                                                  at the 

                                                      Daylesford Town Hall

                                                  5pm - 9.30pm  Cost $220  

For bookings and a local's discount click here

Art of Fermentation Workshop

        Yes I know,  many of you have been waiting impatiently for this event! Well, here it is..
                                           Hepburn Relocalisation Network presents

                                                      Thursday February 27th  

                                                                  at the 

                                                      Daylesford Town Hall

                                                  5pm - 9.30pm  Cost $220  

the Art of Fermentation:

Come and learn how simple it is to make your own kimchi, kefir, and other fermented delicacies. Learn about the healing qualities and nutritional importance of live-culture ferments, as well as their illustrious history and integral role in human cultural evolution. Empower yourself with simple techniques for fermenting these healthful foods in your home. Be part of the fermentation revival!

Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist. His book Wild Fermentation (2003) and the hundreds of fermentation workshops he has taught across North America and beyond, have helped to catalyse a broad revival of the fermentation arts. A self-taught experimentalist who lives in rural Tennessee, the New York Times calls him “one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene.” His latest book, The Art of Fermentation (2012), is indeed a precious resource. Sandor's reputation precedes him and his fermentation workshops are highly sought after. See more at www.wildfermentation.com.

And.... you can get a copy of his book from HRN

 Limited places      Bookings close Feb 20th

For bookings and a local's discount click here

Formidable Vegetable Sound System at the Hepburn Hotel last Sunday

Here's just a few pics.....

First up Mal Webb did what he only can do with his looping machine, various trombones,  a mouthful of amazing sounds and a faster-than-lightening brain ........ to the exquisite violin (too beautiful for the term 'fiddle') accompaniment of Kylie,

...... then, after a short break, Mal and Kylie returned to join Charlie to form the The Formidable Vegetable Sound System.


A musical tour of the twelve permaculture principles could sound a bit dry... but, well, you had to be there!






I haven't had so much fun thinking about Catching and Storing Energy, Obtaining a Yield, Using and Valuing Diversity, or any of the other permie principles.

Charlie Mgee, Mal amd Kylie knocked our socks off!











The Formidable Vegetable Sound System was a hit with young and old alike at the Old Hepburn Hotel on Sunday.

Formidable Vegetable Sound System Permaculture: the Musical

Live ukelele quirk and speak easy electro swing with the message of  simple solutions for sustainable living. Don't miss Charlie Mgee and Mal Webb together for inspiration to"garden the funk up' and grow food everywhere.   4pm at the old Hepburn Hotel  $10 and kids free.

Veggie boxes start next Wednesday

For those of you who are not familiar with our CSA,
check us out and order your box by Tuesday if you
would like one. Boxes start this Wednesday, January 8th.

Freshly picked and packed on the day, you can  pick up your box any time between 3.30 and 9pm. Great value




Order here

Charlie Mgee back in Hepburn with Mal Webb!

Just back from a knockout reception at the Woodford Folk Festival, Charlie will be back in town to bless us with his presence and quirky music again but this time with Mal Webb for added craziness.
Grab your friends and head down to the Old Hepburn Hotel on Sunday, January 19th  at 4pm for some family entertainment