Why We Do What We Do | Actions and Belonging | Nurturing for Years to Come…
At REAL we believe that community resilience coupled with environmental empathy and regeneration are essential as we move forward. We know that, in our communities, different skills will become valid as we face change.
It is our goal at REAL to assist skill development both in individuals and our community, which is why we put community skill-building and environmental education before economic reward.
Our-Story-1-about
At REAL, what we do and how we do it are measured firstly against an environmental reward scoresheet, secondly in relation to their role in building community capacity, and thirdly, economically. We know that a local community with embedded skills makes as much sense as sourcing ingredients locally.
Putting into Practice…
Looking back in time and giving thanks to those who came before is becoming more and more transparent and accepted. Looking forward, being empathetic and anticipating the needs of future generations requires a different momentum with an evolving set of visionary glasses.
What might generations (of all living entities) need in the future?
At REAL, we like to make decisions and choices that minimise the impact of our actions on the ability of future generations to live a sustainable lifestyle. Many of these actions are around resource use, particularly shortening the food chain and applying all our resources effectively. But they also impact our desire to support community connection and our decisions on the end-of-life phase of resources.
In short, we want to be mindful of what we leave for the next generation.
What is good ancestry?
It’s a walk down the street, a skip through a paddock, a jiggle in a forest, a paddle across a lake, a discussion with a supplier, a nod with a builder, a reason to plant a tree – it’s all part of life’s journey!
Good ancestry includes acknowledgment in decision making today, that generations of people, animals and plants will follow us in the future.
Looking back in time and giving thanks to those who came before is becoming more transparent and accepted. Looking forward, being empathetic and anticipating the needs of future generations requires a different momentum with an evolving set of visionary glasses. We need to ask ourselves;
What might generations (of all living entities) need in the future?
A deep dive reveals that in a recent future, their shoes are likely to be similar to ours. The ability to produce and/or procure food, a secure space in which to live and love, community connections for relationships, family, and the continuation of predictable natural systems are likely to be high on their needs list.
At REAL we like to make decisions and choices that minimise the impact of our actions on the ability of future generations to live a sustainable lifestyle. Many of these actions are around resource use, particularly shortening the food chain and applying all our resources effectively, but they also impact our desire to support community connection and our decisions on the end-of-life phase of resources. In-house, our ‘Pay-it-Forward’ option encourages customers to think ahead, encouraging conversations about good ancestry.
At The Place of Wonder garden, we are always planning for the future. Every tree planted is an ancestral investment. Every act that maximises diversity brings resilience and security to those future generations.
As we progress, we are excited to spread good ancestry principles into embedded food chain systems and to increase natural habitat. There is much that we can do to pave a liveable path for future generations, all it takes is a mighty dose of empathy coupled with an informed approach to natural systems.
After all, good ancestry is the reason that I smile at strangers and plant trees…
Love where you live and where you visit xx
Nurturing for years to come…
At REAL we believe that community resilience coupled with environmental empathy and regeneration are essential as we move forward. We know that, in our communities, different skills will become valid as we face change.
It is our goal at REAL to assist skill development both in individuals and our community, which is why we put community skill-building and environmental education before economic reward.
Our-Story-1-about
At REAL, what we do and how we do it are measured firstly against an environmental reward scoresheet, secondly in relation to their role in building community capacity, and thirdly, economically. We know that a local community with embedded skills makes as much sense as sourcing ingredients locally.
Our impact goes beyond our actions today,
how can we ensure what we leave behind is valuable to the next generation?
There’s nothing more powerful than knowledge. Together, we can support future generations by developing our community skills and understanding, especially in relation to food systems.
Skills and understanding can be either your internal skills, such as your mindset, or external skills, such as how to cook with a solar oven. We have been, and will continue to, celebrate these various skills at REAL throughout 2023.
Moving forward, at REAL, we will be encouraging a natural curiosity amongst our community which encourages individuals to seek and develop their internal and external (physical) skills. To do this, REAL by day offers events, activities and workshops focused on holistic wellbeing. These may include; understanding your watershed (the natural water pathways), where your food comes from and the exploration of alternative food systems, or how to cultivate your intuition. In this way we can learn from each other, connect, and build community capacity aimed at passing a toolkit with relevant skills to the next generation.
Making time to grow… will you join us?
We invite you to expand your learning with us – attend a REAL by day event. Subscribe or connect to our socials to hear about what workshops and events are taking place.
Expand your knowledge and grow your skills and understanding – it could be around composting and gardening, or fermenting and making sourdough! Our learning calendar and events are ever-changing, and influenced by our community.
Become a good ancestor by upskilling in one of our small-group workshops by day, and dining with us by night.
Our aim is to build a community of knowledge that can be kept alive and passed through generations to come.
If you’d like to know more, head to our FAQ where we explain how we’re helping grow our community skills.
What? Returnable Forks???
I’d like to loan you a mirror. Those mirrors that show off our external reflection are useful but it’s not one of those. It’s a mirror capable of showing assumptions behind your actions. A linking mirror, a cause-and-effect mirror, an examination-of-actions mirror.
There are many actions that we undertake at REAL which fly in the face of typical. For example, rather than issuing takeaway, single-use cutlery, we give real, metal forks with which to eat takeaway meals. We have a ‘Returns box’ outside our front door into which the used metal forks can be returned at any time.
Giving metal forks isn’t meant to be confrontational but it often is.
“And would you like cutlery with which to eat your takeaway meal?”
I bend to the shelf below the counter to grab said cutlery, in this case a metal fork and offer it to the customer. Nine times out of ten their jaw drops, their hands flutter negatively like uncertain butterflies and they take a step backwards.
Until I put their mind slightly at ease by introducing them to the Returns box at the door saying, “forks can be returned at any time, even tomorrow is fine”, they are hesitant, reluctant and thrown completely off kilter by the offer of reusable cutlery.
What are we doing as a climate-challenged society if we not only expect single use but run a mile from the offer of something that involves a ‘return’ commitment?
After all, it’s only a fork. I believe that we have to understand that we no longer have the earthly resources to be able to make and apply something, expecting it to be used only once. As a consequence, we need to embed actions into our lives to commit to this and, yes, maybe that involves sharing freely the items that we think we own, with friends and strangers alike. Use that mirror which I loaned you. Identify where you might avoid or refuse single use items.
A change of habit through the return of a metal fork we hope, may invite an examination of other non-earth friendly habits.
And if you don’t return the fork, does it matter? No way. You will have the fork lurking in your bag or car, ready to use for your next takeaway meal.
The Place of Wonder is a 3-acre, edible habitat on the outskirts of Port Campbell, which is a place of learning and living. It is my home, my connection to the environment and my teacher.
The Place of Wonder garden helps supply seasonal produce to REAL Pizza Pasta Salads, and is where the art of producing and preparing sustainable wholefoods combines. It is the site of edible gardening workshops, occasional garden tours and fresh produce tastings.