Spend a day at Jonai Farms getting hands-on with agroecology and what it really looks like to build food sovereignty on the ground. We’ll share how we farm with care for land, animals and people, and how being open, honest and deeply connected to our community of eaters is central to everything we do — including the joys and challenges of running a CSA (community-supported agriculture) model.

Agroecology is about growing food in ways that work with nature, not against it, while keeping farmers and communities strong in the face of climate shocks and pandemics. It prioritises feeding local people and sharing knowledge farmer-to-farmer, learning from the land and from each other rather than relying on costly external inputs or “experts”.

Throughout the day we’ll walk through our whole farm and business model: pastured pigs and cattle, using food waste streams responsibly for pig feed, running a tiny supply chain with on-farm butchery, and the development of a collective micro-abattoir. We’ll also talk about direct sales, education and advocacy, and why we see all of this as part of a degrowth approach to farming.

We’ll share practical details too — including designs, costs and lessons learned from building our butcher’s shop, curing room and commercial kitchen, and what’s involved in navigating planning and regulatory hurdles for on-farm processing. There will also be a session on how we’ve successfully crowdfunded essential food system infrastructure.

You’ll hear about our rent-free land-sharing partnership with Tumpinyeri Growers, and how working together across enterprises helps us care for Country while building resilient livelihoods.

We’ll finish by zooming out to the bigger picture: how organising together through democratic movements like the Agroecology & Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) gives farmers and communities real political power to push for policy change — not just farm-by-farm fixes.

Numbers are capped at 12 to keep the day intimate and conversational. Lunch is a potluck: we’ll provide Jonai meats and preserves, and invite you to bring something you’ve grown or cooked to share — along with a healthy side of food politics. The day runs from 9:30am to 5pm.

Agroecology Dialogues run on a mutual-aid basis, with a sliding scale from $50 upwards — pay what you can, so others can too.

For more on our micro-abattoir project, or to grab one of Tammi’s cookbooks, head to the Abattoir page.