IndieBakehouse

04/03/2025

04/03/2025

It feels like there is A LOT going on right now. I like routine and predictability. At the moment, all aspects of life are all over the place. It doesn’t help that in two days a cyclone is expected to hit land right where I live: Sunshine Coast. I don’t know how to prepare for a cyclone. Do you? The petrol station is chaos. The grocery store is giving me terrible flashbacks of covid with bare shelves. On top of that, I’m meant to be hanging a solo art show on Friday. So I am frantically trying to finish artworks while still working on client projects, while still going to gym and eating healthy, while being a mum and a wife, while adopting another kitten (good timing Sarah!) last night, while organising my sons soccer team (or cancelling all the things this week), while managing two murals being painted at the school (although school may be cancelled on our paint day), while prepping to run a QATA workshop on Thursday night, and also freaking out a bit about the half built shed and gym that has no cladding, just blue sarking wrapped around it. Oh, and the studio. I’m at the studio today to paint, but I think half today will be running empty paint pots to the tip (paint back), cleaning up plants and all the weird things I keep outside my studio (which happens to be surrounded by epic gum trees). Oh and we had earthworks in our front yard and it’s currently not levelled correctly and the slope is right to our front door. So I need to pick up some sandbags at some point. Or do I just go all-in and pick up some agi-pipe and dig a trench and lay the drainage in the cyclonic weather? Who knows. I can hear myself spiralling. So let’s look at the positive… I had a great nights sleep last night even with a new kitten in the house and adorable little kitten hisses going on all night. We had group coaching last night and the artists in the group are doing so very well. Everyone is moving their business forward in leaps and bounds AND they are all exhibiting work as part of the show I am hanging on Friday!!! I have all day today and tomorrow to paint and get the show done! I do love painting days. ❤️

03/03/2025

24/02/2025

24/02/2025

Supporting small farmers isn’t just about buying fresh produce—it’s about investing in healthier communities, sustainable agriculture, and food that nourishes both body and soul. These hardworking individuals bring us real, natural ingredients without the heavy processing or additives found in mass-produced food. When we choose to buy from local farmers, we contribute to their livelihoods, reduce our carbon footprint, and prioritize health over convenience. Every purchase is a vote for a better food system—one that values quality, tradition, and the well-being of future generations. Let’s choose food that fuels us, not just fills us 🥦🌱🚜

21/02/2025

Are you interested in being part of our next Slow Food Market? Expressions of interest are now open.

We showcase small local growers and makers committed to good, clean and fair food. We are passionate about connecting you to eaters and drinkers.

Our next market is Saturday 10 May 7.30am-12pm at the QRoasters factory, 44 Wolverhampton Street Stafford. Thanks again for supporting us with your wonderful all weather venue.

Slow Food Brisbane aim to support small producers, encourage consumers to shop local, and build community. Our markets are a key way to achieve this, and a modest stall holder fee helps us raise funds for Slow Food projects.

Get in touch if you are keen! Email us at [email protected].

20/02/2025

A modest loan and a good deposit was all it took to launch one of Bank Australia's most prominent and successful investments: Bellis, Brisbane’s award-winning, affordable, model sustainable house and garden.

Affordability is as vital now as it was in 2003, when Bellis was founded by owners Jeff and Jerry with a mortgage from another bank. Back then Bank Australia was known as M.E.C.U. (Members & Education Credit Union) and they were sufficiently impressed with Bellis that they requested the owners transfer their mortgage to them (2006).

Bellis was the first customer to have an evergreen contract with its energy supplier. Bellis produces more solar power than it consumes; this household is in credit.

Bellis is the only place in Queensland where sterile, treated waste water has been used to grow a food supply. It operates on the basis that 100 sq metres of soil can feed an adult all year round. Jeff and Jerry were surprised to discover they had become pioneers.

Bellis is carbon positive: Soil improvement (4kg compost per square metre per year) ensures more atmospheric carbon dioxide (the major Greenhouse Gas) is sequestered than is generated by everyday working and living.

Bellis is drought-proof. During the Millennium Drought, the entire house and garden operated on less than the amount Level 6 water restrictions required. Throughout the drought the garden coped with using just recycled waste water and managed to produce 70 different plants for the menu. Bellis won a National Save Water Award in 2009.

Bellis is also flood proof, thanks to its novel ‘Whole of Site Water Management Plan’ created by Jerry. This is detailed on the website www.jerry-coleby-williams.net. It continued producing food, capturing rainfall and preventing the loss of stormwater during the memorable floods of 2011.

Following the equally memorable 2022 flood event, the garden captured 803mm rain over three days with zero runoff, and Bellis was used as a model for water management. Jerry spoke at the Queensland Flood Recovery Community Forum hosted by Queensland Conservation (15.3.22). Bellis has also been used as a model for water management by the European Union.

The website, created by Jeff and filled with sustainable living information by Jerry, was placed on the National Archive by the State Library of Queensland and the National Library of Australia in 2020. Jerry’s Public page and website are currently followed in 137 countries.

In 2003, the emerging new garden was filmed by ABC TV’s ‘Gardening Australia’ Programme. They have been filming there monthly ever since, informing their national and international audiences with sustainable gardening advice.

To date, more than 50,000 visitors have toured Bellis. The first Open Day was Solar House Day (2005). Owners Jeff and Jerry persuaded the Australian & New Zealand Solar Energy Society, to rename their event Sustainable House Day, then opened twice for this consciousness raising community event before opening for several years with the Australian Open Garden Scheme, a national gardening charity, from 2008.

Due to COVID lockdowns (2020), on line gardening questions doubled and more than 15,000 questions were answered free of charge. The annual average hovers around 10,000.

Bellis also filled the community need when supply chains failed due to COVID. The Open Days of 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to social distancing. Nursery supply chains broke down, so while supplies of food plants - seed, seedlings and potted plants - dried up especially affecting the major chain stores, Bellis sold half its surplus plants to Northey Street City Farm.

Remaining surplus plants and seed were sold to home gardeners in a series of ‘Drive By Plant Sales’. People pre-ordered stock, brought the exact amount of cash sealed in plastic, brought boxes or bags which were filled and put in their cars - contactless service.

As lockdowns regulated how far people could travel and how many people could meet in a group in public, the first Drive by Sales were for the local page Wynnum What? and Bethania Street Community Garden. As restrictions eased, garden clubs further afield, such as the Sunshine Coast’s Perennial Poppies Group Inc. and the Gold Coast Organic Growers Inc., participated.

Results in sustainable living have seen Jerry share his knowledge and experience in conferences, expos and societies around Australia, and he was invited to speak about Sustainable Food Production at the United Nations in Geneva (2017). In 2024, Jerry was invited to speak about cultivating garden biodiversity in a pocket botanic garden at the International Botanic Gardens Conference in Singapore.

In 2017, Jerry married Thuan, a cook and 3rd generation Vietnamese market gardener who joined Jerry shortly afterwards. In 2019, Jeff moved out to live with his partner. Fortunately, Jeff still supports the website. And Thuan has added a new dimension to Bellis - the food garden has been 'Vietnamised' and his first cooking demonstration is next month.

When you’re applying to a bank for a mortgage - or to refinance an existing one - there is nowhere on the forms to explain just how powerfully beneficial investing the banks’ money into a sustainable house and garden can be. How do you account for money not spent on common goods and services? What is the value of the new insect species discovered at Bellis?

Jeff and Jerry were happy to pay to swap their mortgage from Bank West to what is now known as Bank Australia because it says:

“We put our customers at the centre of everything we do... so it made sense for them to be the stars of our new campaign”.

Jerry Coleby-Williams
Director, Seed Savers Network
Patron, Householder’s Options to Protect the Environment
20th February 2025

HOPE Inc. Australia
The Seed Savers' Network, est.1985

fans

19/02/2025

📍 Do you live around the Burpengary area? Did you know that there is a Grow, Make & Bake Community meet-up in Burpengary on the first Sunday of every month?

🌸We welcome new members to our community, to interact with people who love to Grow, Make or Bake and want to share or swap their excess with others. 🧺🥬🥚🍆🍌🌽

👩🏽‍🌾 UPCOMING MEET! Sunday 2nd March 2025
I (Sarah) have put my hand up to do a Hydroponic talk, where I'll be condensing down the hydro gardening essentials to help your garden thrive! 🌱💦

🙂 Come along and join us from 9am to 10:30am at CREEC Environmental Education Centre @ 150 Rowley Rd, Burpengary. We are a friendly group and would love to meet you. 🤗

💚 Learn more about how we meet, feast, swap & share by joining the Grow, Make & Bake group page. ⤵️
https://www.facebook.com/groups/523377504526394

*We've also added a bit more information in the comments section with a brief explanation of how swaps work.👇🏽😉

13/02/2025

The Principles of Biological Systems has been taught around the globe and to many different scales and types of farmers. The BFA exists to educate and empower growers and consumers to make informed decisions about our food and how we care for our planet. Visit bionutrient.org to learn more!

05/02/2025

Rather than selling Bob’s Red Mill to a large food corporation, Bob Moore chose to transfer full ownership to his 700 employees. He founded the company at 49 and passed away at 94 on February 10, 2024. In 2010, Moore established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), giving employees collective ownership of the business. He made the announcement on his 81st birthday, emphasizing the importance of sharing the company’s success with those who contributed to its growth. The ESOP helped protect the company’s values and mission from external influences or potential takeovers.
Moore’s decision to keep the company independent reflected his commitment to the well-being of his employees and to long-term success. This move not only ensured financial security for the workforce but also strengthened the sense of ownership and community within the company. Moore’s legacy lives on through the employee-owned business, which continues its focus on producing wholesome, natural foods.

15/01/2025

So interesting

10/01/2025

Every dollar spent at a local business strengthens your community, creating jobs and keeping wealth within the local economy. Yet, chain stores dominate, offering convenience at the cost of community resilience.
Studies show that locally owned businesses reinvest twice as much into their communities compared to corporate chains. The ripple effect is profound: better schools, improved infrastructure, and more vibrant neighborhoods.
How can we shift our spending habits to prioritize local over corporate? What small changes can you make to support the heart of your community? Let’s talk.

08/01/2025

🌳🌳 The Ketelbroek food forest is located in Groesbeek, a little south of the Veluwe region in the Gelderland province. The Food Forest was started in 2009 by Wouter van Eck and Pieter Jansen and now contains 32 food-producing species of plants on its 2.5 hectares (6 acres) of land.

Surrounded by monocropped fields containing plants like corn for animal feed and rye, Ketelbroek food forest has a significant visual impact and ecosystem service impact. About a kilometer away, there is a heavily managed natural preserve, so the location of the food forest, situated between these two different landscapes (agricultural field and forest preserve), has made studying the biodiversity and water retention impacts of the food forest possible.

For example, the food forest has equivalent or higher counts of nesting birds, butterflies, and ground beetles. In 2016 when heavy rains struck, the food forest absorbed water and avoided major flooding while the neighboring fields were inundated and suffered greatly. During a drought in 2018, the surrounding fields were completely brown or required heavy watering while the food forest remained stable. Additionally, the food forest fixes more carbon annually than a field of crops on the same size plot.

30/12/2024

29/12/2024

Golding's View: Leunig.
Illustrator: Matt Golding.
Read the letters to the editor here: https://tinyurl.com/4fvm2pdb

23/12/2024

❤️ This one was always my favourite. Thank you for the beauty.

20/12/2024

Farewell to a national treasure.
Vale Michael Leunig 1945 – 2024

Michael Leunig, The Adoration of the Magpie, 1972, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 1979 © Michael Leunig

12/12/2024

Happy Friday...

If you are anything like me, you have been waiting, not so patiently, for the Onegirlstudio Pop-Up Store. Today's the day (well, tomorrow too!)

WHEN: Friday (TODAY) 10-4pm / Saturday, (TOMORROW) 10-2pm (two days only).
WHERE: Graceville Presbyterian Church Hall, 12 Bank Rd, Graceville (just across the raod from three girls skipping)
WHAT: New work from many of our best loved hand makers and artists along with some new artisan friends
WITH: beautiful, meaningful gift wrapping by
WHY: to make it easy and fun to purchase local and handmade this Christmas (since intentional shopping can change the world).

I love Lijean's words, "...intentional shopping can change the world", becasue we know it does.

(We are just across the road if you need a cold drink...or a scone!!).

Here's to a great day... whatever you get up to (I'll be shopping - see you there!!)

Caroline

03/12/2024

Our young pigs have stopped dying. After consultation with the vet and other experienced producers, we treated the affected pigs with antibiotics.

We didn’t really want to do this, but the loss of life was unacceptable on animal welfare and economic grounds.

This is a good moment to talk about antibiotic use in livestock. We have never used an antibiotic on any animal in ten years of farming.

This is largely because of our discomfort with antibiotics in the food chain, which we know our customers share.

I think there’s an important distinction between our treatment this week and general antibiotic use in factory farming.

Of all antibiotics sold, 80% are for use in livestock. Factory farms that are vulnerable to disease outbreaks regularly treat animals (sick or not) with low doses of antibiotics to improve herd health and growth rates.

This bakes in antibiotic resistance, and high levels of antibiotics in the food chain. It’s a bandaid for poor management and animals kept in horrific conditions.

This isn’t us. Keen to hear your thoughts. 🌱💪🏽❤️

03/12/2024

25/11/2024