If you’re interested in permaculture, chances are you’ve heard about, or visited, The Food Forest. An award-winning property spanning 50 acres, it is a certified-organic, permaculture farm and learning centre based in Gawler, an hour north of Adelaide, and is the life’s work of Annemarie and Graham Brookman.
Now in its 41st year, The Food Forest was established in 1983 with the intention of demonstrating how Australians can grow their own food, create a productive and diverse landscape, live in a low-energy, passive-solar house and earn a comfortable living, all while living relatively softly on the planet.
But this couple isn’t messing around. On their semi-arid property, they produce over 150 varieties of fruit including grapes (and wine), nuts, grain and vegetables and sell most of their produce at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market (which Graham helped found in 2006). All while raising two topnotch kids, juggling off-farm jobs in the earlier farm years and running a calendar of workshops – including their renowned Permaculture Design Course.
I first met Annemarie and Graham in 2003 when
