Innovate to Regenerate Grant from WWF Australia
HOFC was awarded a grant from WWF Australia’s ‘Innovate to Regenerate’ funding. WWF-Australia has deployed $2 million of seed funding to 25 game-changing regenerative solutions which span a variety of sectors and communities across Australia. These solutions represent a ‘virtual’ regenerative place-based community. This opportunity is currently enabling us to document the history & work of HOFC to share with the wider community. This work has included examining potential future farm models for HOFC, a study on small farm viability and a Whole Farm Planning process, along with work on improving our systems and processes at HOFC.
Watch this space as we begin to upload resources & share the wider learnings from the project.
Land-sharing models
With the help of Open Food Network Australia, we documented HOFC members experiences with the Co-operative farming model, what’s worked well and what has been challenging. We explored possibilities for other models to help us consider ‘what next’ for HOFC.
“I feel very invested in that place…”
Whole Farm Planning
With the synthesis and facilitation of Anne Maree Docking at Thriving Rural, and input from workshops with Djaara, David Holmgren at Holmgren Design and the local CFA, HOFC worked on seeing the farm as a whole; ecologically, agriculturally and socially. We think working on a process like this could be a great help to anyone considering collaborative farming.
“This Farm Plan aims to give clear direction for land management, biodiversity enhancement and farm productivity…”
Small Farm Viability
Friends of HOFC & food system practitioners, Jess Drake and Meg Roberts, explored the viability of each small farm enterprise that is part of HOFC. This included analysis of financials, and extended to holistically consider values, business intentions, livelihood and skills. All of these dynamics interplaying to create very different ‘ingredients’ for viability in each enterprise.
“Let each story of HOFC enterprises serve as a lighthouse to any ships starting their journey — whether it’s land sharing, a small-farm business or a collaborative endeavour...”
