What have the happy piggehs at Jonai Farms been up to during the pandemic?
After a couple months interruption to our waste-stream feed supply, the piggehs have again been enjoying a diet of spent brewers' grain from Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend, mixed with whey from Azzurri Cheese in Bolinda, and strawberries and organic German bread from a distributor in Melbourne, plus occasional broken eggs from Creswick Open Range just down the road. When they aren't pigging out on treats diverted from landfill, they're frolicking in the long, spring grass with nearly 100% groundcover this year as we reduced the herd size over the past 18 months. We also move them more frequently under the calm, methodical care of Buck, lead farmhand for most of 2020. They enjoy this life on volcanic slopes of unceded lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, where this year we started to pay the rent, because 'sorry isn't enough'. We pay our respects to their elders past, present, and emerging, and seek to care for this land with grace as the First Nations peoples did for millennia before us.
Meanwhile, Clarabel the house cow gave birth to dear little Stormborn last week, and spends her days stashing her in the high grass in order to graze in peace, giving us over 15 litres of milk each day. In return we make sure she has access to fresh grass, hay, dairy pellets, and sourdough bread treats, and a roof to shelter under for stormy nights like the one on which Stormborn arrived.
The big herd of cattle are circling the higher slopes of the volcano with daily moves now managed by young Adam, the newest member of team Jonai, who transitions from intern to farmhand on the first of December. An emerging farmer in his own right with a couple of seasons of market gardening under his belt, Adam has a bright future growing food in ethical and ecologically-sound ways, and we are delighted to be part of his farming journey.
In the boning room and kitchen, head charcutier Simon keeps many pots on the boil, developing new treats for our CSA members (and us!), like the crunchy perfection of his chicharonnes and the perfection of Simon's Blumen Burgers (based on a technique by Heston Blumenthal), heading out in members' bags for the first time next week.
The garlic is nearing harvest and looks to be a bumper crop, with Stuart's biofertiliser made from waste whey, molasses, cow manure, bonechar, and rusty nails to give it a boost this year. Next to them the solar greenhouse slowly takes shape as Stuart salvages the next stage of materials to help harness the sun and shelter from wind and frost our dear little tomato and chili seedlings - the first I've had in the ground so early since moving to the central highlands. More red tomatoes than green this year? Whatever will I ferment and pickle? Chilies and garlic, she says. :-D
Interns have come and gone, and most are now farming nearby on other peoples' land, with the support of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance's (AFSA) Farming on Other People's Land (FOOPL) project. All remain friends we look forward to feasting with again when restrictions allow.
We very clearly saw and felt the rich rewards of community-supported agriculture (CSA) this year, as our members supported us through the horrors of January, and we supported them through the ensuing pandemic, keeping them fed no matter how far they lived from their hubs. This is what solidarity looks like - we're all richer for it.
Finally, there's me and my bossy active optimism, rallying the troops, wielding my knife, and now once again my pen as I finalise the research proposal for the PhD in anthropology at UWA I commenced in July. With a focus on farmers raising rare- and heritage-breed livestock, I'll be investigating the ways the movement of agroecological farmers are working to 'stay with the trouble' and decolonise agriculture in Australia, and how to enable this promising movement for a food sovereign future for all. I also accepted the challenge to continue as president of AFSA for my seventh year, to work alongside comrades from across the country and the globe to globalise the struggle, and to globalise hope!
Viva la via campesina!
Viva la revolución!
