We’ve always got projects ticking along here at the Harcourt Farming Coop. Things don’t necessarily move quickly, but there’s always something on the boil.
For example, we’ve been working on our Outdoor Kitchen space for a couple of years now – you might remember one of our recent big milestones, when we built a rocket oven in a series of workshops on the farm.
Another theme we revisit regularly is supporting connection to Country through what we do here on the farm.
We formalised this when we completed our Whole Farm Plan and committed to building our knowledge of Djaara culture and supporting their leadership in managing our local landscape, Liyanganyuk Banyul.
Both of these ongoing projects got a big boost recently when we were lucky enough to win a Mount Alexander Shire Council Local Impact Business Grant.
Our grant is called Growing Cultural Understanding through Bushfoods Education at Harcourt Farming Coop.
OK, it’s not a very punchy name, but it’s a great little project.
How we’ll use the grant
The project is a collaboration between the Coop and Murnong Mummas, the bushfoods enterprise here on our farm, coordinated by Ira Barker.
The goal is to create a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible educational space and program that enables First Nations leadership, knowledge-sharing, and economic viability.
To achieve that, the grant is divided into three parts:
- Culturally informed signage. Djaara people have been growing food sustainably on this land for thousands of years. We’ve only been here for 5 minutes, so Ira is creating a sign (with input from Djaara) to honour the long history of food growing that has come before us. We’ll put the sign right at the Farm Shop, where all visitors to the farm will see it.
- Improved all-weather seating. We’re already using the outdoor kitchen for internal events, but once we’ve finished, we want to hold public events there. We intend to welcome First Nations people, elders, businesses, and community groups to use the space, so we need somewhere for them to sit! This part of the grant includes undercover seating, a level floor, and improved accessibility access.
- Bushfoods education materials. This is where it gets exciting. Ira has created a fabulous range of educational t-shirts about local bushfoods, including Pepperberry, Pale Vanilla Lily, Murnong, and Quandong. The t-shirts introduce the wonderful qualities of these undervalued bushfoods, and feature Ira’s original artwork.
We’re very close to launching the t-shirts, so stay tuned – we’ll drop some news into your inbox as soon as they’re ready to order!
The Harcourt Farming Co-operative gratefully acknowledges the support of Mount Alexander Shire Council through the Local Impact Business Grant program.
This funding has helped support the ongoing development of our co-op and strengthens our ability to contribute to a resilient local food system, regional economic activity, and community connection in Harcourt and the wider Mount Alexander region.
We thank Mount Alexander Shire Council for recognising the value of locally-based agriculture, collaboration, and community-led enterprise.
