What Is Organic Wine?

When you’re next sniffing the woody bouquet and tasting the essence of spice in your favourite drop of wine, consider what else you might be imbibing.

Has it been made using organic or non-organic practices, with or without preservatives? If it is organic, what does that really mean to you – your palette, purse and pleasure?

David and Barbara Bruer are the founders of Temple Bruer winery situated on the ancient flood plain of the Angas and Bremer Rivers in South Australia’s Langhorne Creek. The temperate climate is people-friendly making it a perfect spot to grow grapes and attract tourists.

In 1973 David and Barbara Bruer saw the potential for growing grapes with minimal sprays and purchased 50 acres of flat land with sprawling gums and meandering tributaries.

Then twenty-years later it all changed.

“It was 1993 and the kids were young,” remembers David. “After our house was crop dusted Barbara, told me that if we were going to continue farming we had to do it without chemicals.”

Trained as a chemist Barbara was concerned about the potential hazards from the sprays to their children’s health.

From that day on, David, also a chemist, was on a steep learning curve with a two-fold mission: to utilize his knowledge of chemistry and learn how to grow grapes without chemicals, using his skills as a winemaker, to create wine that won gold medals.
Organic Certification

In 1993 Australia’s wine industry had few organic standards. David was commandeered to lead the charge back to the future.

“Barbara pointed out to me that growing our grapes organically is only doing what farmers had done before World War II,” David says.

“She told me that if we didn’t convert to organic, it would be the end of our days as vignerons. She meant that she wouldn’t support me using chemicals anymore but with hindsight I can see that she also saw the future for the wine industry.”

Theirs was a partnership of equals and David immediately set to work to gather the information needed for the conversion.

He joined the Organic Growers Australia – at that time a fledgling organization – and argued the case for establishing standards that could be followed by anyone wanting to convert their produce to gain organic certification.

These standards state that organic means the products is not just chemical free but also grown and handled in a way that benefits all parts holistically – soil, plants, animals, food, people and the environment.

“We were lucky because our practice had always been to use minimal sprays. We didn’t use pesticides so we only had to find natural alternatives for the chemical fungicides,” says David. “We use a vegetable oil spray on the leaves and grapes and we’d always used plant-based compost made from crops, sawdust, grape seeds and skins, grass and hay – anything that’s not an animal product, so our soil and ecosystem was pretty healthy.”

This ideological dedication has earned Temple Bruer the ‘vegan friendly’ label, popular with an increasing number of wine drinkers. “We developed ways to clarify the wine without using the usual milk, fish or gelatin substances,” says David.

Preservative free?

“The benefits of organic growing are that the wines taste better, and it gives health benefits to humans and the environment,” says David. “We’re increasing our range of preservative-free organic wines which is both challenging and exciting.”

Temple Bruer has won a mantle-piece full of medals, but David’s particularly proud of the gold medal for their 2007 preservative-free Shiraz Malbec.

The preservative in wine is sulphur dioxide and some critics1 claim that it’s impossible to make a sulphur free wine because the sulphur dioxide is produced by yeast during the fermentation stage of winemaking.

“You’ve got to rigorously exclude oxygen at all times and control secondary fermentations, but the proof of the pudding is in the tasting,” David claims.

The Future

“If I could wind back the clock I would have started on the road to organic wine growing much sooner,” David says. “But we’re happy with what we’ve achieved and we have a good reputation both at home and overseas.”

About 40 percent of Temple Bruer’s wine production goes to the UK, US, Canada and China. “We’d like to enlarge our market share so that more people can enjoy the benefits of organic wine. Our new range of sparkling reds are just hitting the markets and the white’s soon to follow,” David smiles with satisfaction, but it’s a hard-won prize.

“Barbara died of cancer last year and it knocked the wind out of my sails. We’d always been a team. Now more than ever, I’m committed to the organic practices we started together. It’s like a legacy to Barbara because it was her foresight, wisdom and strength of will that started us on the path to conversion. For that I’m eternally grateful.”

David’s dedication to the science of wine making, coupled with his passion shows in the quality and range of wines produced at Temple Bruer.

As increasing numbers of us are becoming conscious consumers, we’re keen to embrace a more natural life-style, and part of that journey is returning to enjoy and appreciate the age-old benefits of organic wine.

1. http://www.rosnay.com.au/the-wines/sulfur-use-in-organic-wine.html]

Long before biodynamic wine and cheese were found together in the same sentence, Ulli and Helmut Spranz were building the foundations for their dairy farm, at Paris Creek, forty minutes drive from Adelaide, South Australia.

Biodynamic comes from bios – life, and dynamos – energy. If you see a food product like wine or cheese labelled biodynamic, then you know the food has been grown using methods that nourish not only the consumer but also the whole ecosystem in which it is found.

After emigrating from Germany in 1988, Ulli and Helmut travelled around Australia in a campervan for a year with their two children, Krischan five, and Siri, eight-months, looking for their dream farm.  They thought they had found it in a 170 acre dairy property complete with 40 cows, situated amid apparently green, fertile, undulating land with abundant water – idyllic for Australia’s notoriously driest state.

“We bought the farm in winter and by the time we moved in it was January and the height of summer,” Ulli remembers. “When Helmut and I walked around the parched paddocks, dust rising behind us, the cows lacklustre, the hay shed bare and irrigation system dismantled, I just cried. I couldn’t face it and begged Helmut to just take us home.”

The results from the soil test confirmed their worst fears – overuse had depleted vital minerals from the soil leaving it unable to support healthy pasture. Ulli and Helmut were determined to avoid using artificial fertilizers which offer a quick fix, but damage the soil. “We knew the only long-term solution was to use the biodynamic techniques we’d learned in Germany.  We could revive the soil, and thereby the pasture and the cows,” Ulli says.

Working day and night they started the regeneration process. “We made compost from the cow’s manure impregnated with the horn manure and horn silica compost preparations. Then we spread this over the land a section at a time,” Ulli remembers.

“We had little cash so I used my knowledge of wild edible plants taught to me by my parents, so that we could eat off the land while waiting for our vegetable garden to mature. We made tea from dandelion and other herbs.  I made cheese from the milk, and ground grain to make bread in the kitchen’s wood oven. We made jam from the berries and fruit collected from the trees growing on the property.”

Krischan and Siri attended the local Mt Barker Waldorf School, and when they brought home their friends, Ulli found herself inundated with requests for milk from the children’s mothers. “That’s the first cash I had in about three years,” Ulli says.

Then the neighbouring farmers started to comment on the Spranz’s high quality hay and healthy-looking cows and calves. “The preparations were working,” says Ulli. “The other farmers noticed and wanted to know what we were doing so we told them.” By now Ulli had managed to fit in birthing another three children, Merlin, now 19, Woike 17 and Ruben, 10, with the daily running and expansion of the farm.

The farmers asked Ulli and Helmut to teach them how to use the biodynamic preparations on their pastures. “As the farmers changed to biodynamic practices we were able to purchase their milk and expand our production to make cream, cheese, quark, yoghurt and butter,” says Ulli.

Soon Adelaide restaurants, such as the Hyatt, were making regular orders for the Paris Creek biodynamic produce. As demand increased Ulli and Helmut’s infrastructure grew, moving their cheese and yoghurt production to a custom-built factory, designed by their son Krischan and built on the property.

By 2001 major supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths received their first pallet of Paris Creek produce and by 2002 the Spranz’s were supplying retail outlets interstate and overseas.

One of their soft cheeses is a quaintly named Com n’ Bear. The label has a picture of a polar bear cub and its mother.  “My youngest son Ruben saw the picture in a book we gave him. He was so taken with the bear cub emerging from his icy den, that he designed the label for us,” says proud mum Ulli.  “Then he suggested we name it ‘Com’n Bear’ as though the mother is calling to her cub.”

And the future?  “Part of the factory’s design includes a café/restaurant and now we’re just waiting for a chef, experienced in biodynamic food preparation, to join us. If you have a goal, and you’re not distracted by negativity, then you will achieve. That’s the way it’s always worked for us,” says Ulli.

“We’d like to open up the farm to other activities that involve helping others. Perhaps that’s the next stage?” One thing is clear: the Spranz’s know how to manifest their dreams. And those of us who like to savour the taste and quality of biodynamic cheese with our wine are very happy that they do.

Ulli & Helmut run regular workshops/meetings assisting people interested in Biodynamic Farming methods @ B.-d. Farm Paris Creek.

Dr Manfred Klett talks about the Principles of Biodynamic Agriculture

“The old world rejected the Mother of the World, but the New World begins to perceive Her lustrous veil.” [Agni Yoga, verse 55]:

Dr Manfred Klett is passionate about soil. Sounds a little mundane? Only when you remain the “onlooker to nature” says Dr Klett, 76. Looked at from a biodynamic perspective, we can become aware of the sacredness of this microscopic world and begin to realize why its secrets have kept Dr Klett intrigued and inspired for more than 50 years.

“When I was 20 I went with a group of farmers to Syria to experiment with growing cotton using overhead irrigation in a semi-arid climate. I looked around me at the ancient landscape, now so barren, yet hiding a once thriving ancient civilization. I knew my task was to go back to Germany and experiment with biodynamic principles to help prevent the European landscapes from following the same destiny,” vowed Dr Klett.

What is biodynamic agriculture?
Biodynamic (BD) means bios – Life, and dynamos – energy. This approach to agriculture evolved from the development of anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian Natural Scientist, philosopher, educator, architect, and social thinker who lived between 1861 and 1925. Anthroposophy aims to extend the scientific method to include the concept of the soul spirit.

The principles of biodynamics – sometimes referred to as a supercharged organics – are rooted in earth and cosmos, in the depths of the soil and the heights of the intuitive vision. It is a practical outcome of anthroposophy. Biodynamic’s premise is that the farm is a living organism. Ideally, a self-sufficient entity, a kind of individuality, where the crops and livestock, manure and planets, soil and the farmer are intrinsically and holistically linked.

Begin at the beginning.
Dr Klett returned to Germany in 1955 and started his two-year apprenticeship on a farm in the vicinity of Frankfurt/Main. “I believe you can’t really learn about biodynamic principles from a text book,” says Dr Klett. “It has to be a whole-person experience because biodynamics is based on the connections between macrocosm and microcosm, and on the existence of a spiritual side of life.”

Although organic agriculture provides a stepping-stone to biodynamic methods, it is important to understand the quality of, and integrated relationship between plant, animal and soil to grow plants in this way. The organic fertilizer – animal manure – used on a biodynamic farm is impregnated with¬ six life-activating preparations, and two others are sprayed on the soil and the plants. All plants are grown according to the celestial rhythms and moon phases.

The horned cow is intrinsic to the biodynamic farm because the farmers believe her manure is a unique offering – the end result of an amazing digestive process the cow is carrying out during her particular style of contemplation. When the cow’s manure is returned to the earth the enzymes give the soil an added vitality and type of ‘nous’ that other manures are not able to do. The farmer is like the soul-spirit in the whole process from soil preparation through to harvest – guiding and imbuing the whole farm’s journey with his sense of intuition – to bring all components together into a tightly woven, harmonious dance.

After completing his apprenticeship, Dr Klett graduated from the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim with a doctorate in soil science, and then spent the next few years doing research at the Biodynamic Institute in Germany.

In 1968, Dr Klett’s family, along with four other families, leased 400 acres in Frankfurt from the German Government. “We wanted to develop our farm as a universal experiment of cooperative farming and living,” says Dr Klett. “It was hard work with no money, but we were so inspired with the vision of what we could achieve that gradually, it became a reality.”

In 1974 the community, still composed of the original five families, started the Landbauschule Dottenfelderhof, a Farm School for farmers who wanted to learn biodynamic farming methods. The following year they started a bio-dynamic research station with, among other projects, a plant breeding program. This involved growing new, more vital plants from original cultivars that would then be planted and grown on the bio-dynamic farm all over the country counteracting the threat of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). Biodynamic farmers use old cultivar varieties because these have a stronger life-force than the present hybrid plant strains.

Which is best: biodynamic or organic?
In 1978 at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)1 in Switzerland a research project was started called the Dynamic Organic Conventional (DOK) experiment. It compared plants grown using conventional ( artificial fertilisers), organic ( organic manures) and biodynamic (grown according to biodynamic principles) agricultural methods.

This experiment2 looked at soil quality, plant vitality, food quality and taste in each of the groups. The research, which continues today, showed that bio-dynamically grown products have distinct differences when compared with the conventional and organically grown produce.

Biodynamically grown vegetables were found to have slightly lower yield but longer storage capacity than the other groups which means they were able to maintain their vitamin and mineral content for longer. The biodynamically grown group also had higher protein, vitamin c, and a better taste than the other groups.

An interesting consideration is that when vitamin C 3 is in food it increases the effect of vitamin E, folic acid and iron so there’s a flow-on effect from the increased vitamin C present in biodynamically grown plants. The effect continues because an increase in vitamin E then increases the effect of selenium and vitamin A. Vitamin A further increases the effect of iron, and so on. Nutritionally speaking, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And small differences in nutrient levels can matter a lot.

Along with these tangible benefits, another key difference is the life force in the plants which is imparted to us when we eat the food. Willy Schilthuis discusses in her book Biodynamic Agriculture,4 an experiment done in sandy soils, to compare biodynamic and conventional methods. It showed that the biodynamic plots were darker with higher humus content in both the top and sub soils. The biodynamic soils had more beneficial microbes and enzyme activity which encouraged the plants to grow bigger and stronger roots which helped them to absorb the soil nutrients essential to life and vitality. This research is continuing today at the Institute for bio-dynamic research at Darmstadt/Germany.5

Plant the seeds today for tomorrow.
Dr Klett says it can be challenging for many of us to understand biodynamic principles because it’s difficult to measure effects like life and vitality with conventional testing methods. “We are modern, scientifically educated people with an onlooker consciousness,” says Dr Klett. “We only see the outside of nature and find it hard to understand what’s going on inside. That has enabled us to develop a brutal and exploitative relationship with plants and animals.”

“The research done by Steiner and biodynamic farmers is helping us to open the door a little and look more deeply into the inner, spiritual world of nature,” says Dr Klett. “This new insight can bring a richness to the onlooker whose consciousness begins to expand as he sees more deeply into the secrets held in the natural world.”

Dr Klett left the Farm after 21 years to share his knowledge and experience as a consultant and speaker on biodynamic principles. The Farm which he helped to found has a shop which is a sell-out success with the locals who love the way the produce looks and tastes. Once a year the Dottenfelderhof Farm opens its doors to the public where between 5,000 and 7,000 visitors come for the open day to learn more about living according to biodynamic principles, the way food is grown using biodynamic methods; and of course there’s plenty of high-quality produce to enjoy.

The principles of biodynamics are becoming attractive to those of us who want to make a more conscious choice about what we eat and where and how our food is produced. In the process we are assisted to form a deeper understanding and appreciation of the sacred interconnectedness that exists behind nature’s lustrous veil.

Sources:
1. www.fibl.org the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) Retrieved 29.6.09
2. http://www.michaelfieldsaginst.org/education/comparison.pdf Comparisons of Conventional, Organic, and Biodynamic Methods W. Goldstein (MFAI), W. Barber (MFAI), L. Carpenter Retrieved 29.6.09
3. http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/Arun/V%20Worethington.pdf Nutrition and Biodynamics Retrieved 30.6.09
4. Schilthuis, W. Biodynamic Agriculture, 1994, Edinburgh.
5. König, U.J., Institut für biologisch-dynamische Forschung, Darmstadt/Germany

“My journey started in 1991with a Mac computer, glue, scissors, paper and a bunch of friends,” says Matthew Wright-Simon, 37, founder of Ecocreative.

“Living in a 24-hour party share house at the time was fun – that’s my ethos – it’s got to be fun and for a purpose.

My first job was producing a couple of books about global education for my mate’s mum. I just made it up as I went along and it’s still used as a resource for teachers today.”

Education has always been a strong motivation for Matthew’s creative output. “I’ve also been interested in the environment since I was a kid. When I was 8-years-old I saw a story on the news about people clubbing baby seals to death. It was strictly an animal rights issue but I remember feeling so outraged that I started a Greenpeace group at school. I wanted to share with my friends about what I’d seen and try to do something to help.”

After his success with the teachers’ resource, Matthew knew his skills were in communicating powerful and positive messages in a way that got people’s attention. “I saw the way important government messages were losing their impact because they contained techno-language and boring images. A video about water conservation that just tells instead of showing and inviting participation gets no-one excited.”

So after returning from a working holiday overseas in 1997, Matthew rattled the tin again and work rolled in. “In 2000 I realized I needed to work with others who could complement my skills, so I engaged Robin Green as an illustrator and he’s still with me.  Then I employed an administrator, writer, designer and researcher.  We had fun working from an old mail-sorting building that we rented in Stirling, South Australia.

By 2007 the Ecocreative team had grown to seven and Matthew was ready to move into a shop-front studio nearby.  “It’s where we walk-the-talk. We gutted the place and retro-fitted it using recycled material. The studio runs on green power, natural light, sustainable materials, and nearly everything is recycled – it’s a showcase of how a business can be run on ecologically sustainable principles. And it’s a healthy, fun place to work.”

“My business has grown organically and I believe that’s because we are meeting a demand in the marketplace rather than creating an artificial one.  People are looking for authenticity in their lives and they want to be part of making positive change in some way. Government and business are realizing there’s a significant market for goods and services that promise sustainability.”

The Ecocreative team has produced books ranging from water conservation to attracting butterflies to suburban gardens, websites, and interactive multimedia like a CD that helps users to navigate and learn about the South Australian coastline.

“We’re having fun, making a profit and a positive difference.  You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing, enjoy it and it will grow.  I like the Dali Lama’s concept of selfish compassion – if you’re compassionate you’ll ultimately derive benefit from it.

Now’s a great opportunity to be running a business that’s positive, ethical and environmentally sustainable.”

“It was when my partner Suzanne Pfitzner, 43, and I were in France, that I discovered I was a locavore,” says Chris March, 40.  It was 2005 and Sue wanted to have her fortieth in Paris. “You’re not considered a woman until you turn 40,” she told me.

That was reason enough for me.  Any culture that understood the intricacies of women and aging must also understand fine cuisine.

We stayed in a friend’s house in Paris from where we took short trips out to the French regions like Champagne where we drank champagne and discovered  the delights of Carbonnade de Boeuf (beef in onions and beer) and Chaource (mild cheese).  While in Normandy we reveled in the pleasures of the farm: camembert to accompany our main meal with Calvados (apple brandy), followed by Apple Tarte Tatin with rich, yellow cream.

My epiphany came when I listened to the proud way that the locals talked about their cuisine built around the food, wine and spirits produced in the region.  “Its fresh, seasonal and we do it best,” they told us. This was locavore cuisine.

When we returned to Australia I got to work, leasing a perfectly situated building in Stirling, in the heart of the South Australian Adelaide Hills.  Playing the name game helped to define our concept – no salty olive or spotted dick for us – we were ‘The Locavore’.  The name ticked all the boxes: locally produced, fresh, helps build community, feeds the spirit and nurtures the earth.

My business partner, Nathan Crudden, 46, and I opened the restaurant in 2007 in the same year that the term locavore was made the Oxford dictionary’s word of the year.  Nathan and I had a long history together in hospitality with a thirteen-year stint running the catering business ‘Are You Being Served?’.

But a locavore restaurant was an unusual concept for many people, and we knew our first job was to design a menu around our philosophy: to eat local – sourced within 160 kilometres – if not local then family business; if not family business then organic; if not organic then fair trade.  Everything on our menu needed a tick in one or more of those boxes.

“What about Coca Cola and Schweppes?” worried the front of house staff.  We hunted around and found Bickfords a local, family-owned business who could supply our soft drink needs, and we also found local sources of spirits and beer.

We decided that a tapas and wine bar would be a good way to introduce the concept of eating local produce. We challenged Ash, trained in classic cooking, to take up the challenge:  take the local, seasonal produce and develop dishes that will delight our patrons, satisfy our locavore checklist and perhaps change at a moments notice.  He developed sumptuous tapas treats like Coriole mixed olives with warm toast, Portabello Mushroom Pate with red onion jam  and Sheeps Milk Haloumi served on pepperberry bubaganoush.

Our patrons were a bit confused at first asking questions like, “how can we make a meal out of tapas?” So I’d suggest they try the Yaddah Yaddah platter – perfect for two people – they can select three of their favourite tapas, savouring the food along with locally produced wine.

The mains menu evolved along with our growing knowledge of fresh, local and seasonal produce, like Hand Rolled Gnocchi Pan fried with rocket and almond pesto or Woodside goats cheese to Coorong Angus Beef Fillet on oxtail and potato rosti with wilted spinach and mushroom ragu.

With its reputation for world-class wines, our patrons can enjoy the Adelaide Hills’ fruits of the harvest in red and white wines including new varieties like pinot gris, voignier, zinfandel and arneis.

When the local strawberry producer rings and says, “Our berries will be ready in two weeks,” we know that      Ash will combine other locally sourced ingredients like free-range eggs, with biodynamic cream and butter to honour this local, seasonal fruit with it’s own summer berry meringue.

When a local lady came into the restaurant and said, “I want to buy some of your Tumbeela native lemon myrtle tea,” I said, “Of course.” Then she said, ‘I’ll have six packets!”  Nathan and I looked at each other. We knew the locavore idea was about to grow.

After sampling supermarket food that’s packaged, irradiated, and often tastless, many people are becoming jaded and want to return to the more wholesome foods and ways of eating, socializing and sharing that our grandparents enjoyed.

“It could get bigger you know,” I said to Nathan. He nodded.  “Locavore providore?”
We both knew there was now story and substance in what we offered – a way to collectively renew our experience of food – and a delightful opportunity to nourish both ourselves and our planet.

“It was when my partner Suzanne Pfitzner, 43, and I were in France, that I discovered I was a locavore,” says Chris March, 40.  It was 2005 and Sue wanted to have her fortieth in Paris. “You’re not considered a woman until you turn 40,” she told me.

That was reason enough for me.  Any culture that understood the intricacies of women and aging must also understand fine cuisine.

We stayed in a friend’s house in Paris from where we took short trips out to the French regions like Champagne where we drank champagne and discovered  the delights of Carbonnade de Boeuf (beef in onions and beer) and Chaource (mild cheese).  While in Normandy we reveled in the pleasures of the farm: camembert to accompany our main meal with Calvados (apple brandy), followed by Apple Tarte Tatin with rich, yellow cream.

My epiphany came when I listened to the proud way that the locals talked about their cuisine built around the food, wine and spirits produced in the region.  “Its fresh, seasonal and we do it best,” they told us. This was locavore cuisine.

When we returned to Australia I got to work, leasing a perfectly situated building in Stirling, in the heart of the South Australian Adelaide Hills.  Playing the name game helped to define our concept – no salty olive or spotted dick for us – we were ‘The Locavore’.  The name ticked all the boxes: locally produced, fresh, helps build community, feeds the spirit and nurtures the earth.

My business partner, Nathan Crudden, 46, and I opened the restaurant in 2007 in the same year that the term locavore was made the Oxford dictionary’s word of the year.  Nathan and I had a long history together in hospitality with a thirteen-year stint running the catering business ‘Are You Being Served?’.

But a locavore restaurant was an unusual concept for many people, and we knew our first job was to design a menu around our philosophy: to eat local – sourced within 160 kilometres – if not local then family business; if not family business then organic; if not organic then fair trade.  Everything on our menu needed a tick in one or more of those boxes.

“What about Coca Cola and Schweppes?” worried the front of house staff.  We hunted around and found Bickfords a local, family-owned business who could supply our soft drink needs, and we also found local sources of spirits and beer.

We decided that a tapas and wine bar would be a good way to introduce the concept of eating local produce. We challenged Ash, trained in classic cooking, to take up the challenge:  take the local, seasonal produce and develop dishes that will delight our patrons, satisfy our locavore checklist and perhaps change at a moments notice.  He developed sumptuous tapas treats like Coriole mixed olives with warm toast, Portabello Mushroom Pate with red onion jam  and Sheeps Milk Haloumi served on pepperberry bubaganoush.

Our patrons were a bit confused at first asking questions like, “how can we make a meal out of tapas?” So I’d suggest they try the Yaddah Yaddah platter – perfect for two people – they can select three of their favourite tapas, savouring the food along with locally produced wine.

The mains menu evolved along with our growing knowledge of fresh, local and seasonal produce, like Hand Rolled Gnocchi Pan fried with rocket and almond pesto or Woodside goats cheese to Coorong Angus Beef Fillet on oxtail and potato rosti with wilted spinach and mushroom ragu.

With its reputation for world-class wines, our patrons can enjoy the Adelaide Hills’ fruits of the harvest in red and white wines including new varieties like pinot gris, voignier, zinfandel and arneis.

When the local strawberry producer rings and says, “Our berries will be ready in two weeks,” we know that      Ash will combine other locally sourced ingredients like free-range eggs, with biodynamic cream and butter to honour this local, seasonal fruit with it’s own summer berry meringue.

When a local lady came into the restaurant and said, “I want to buy some of your Tumbeela native lemon myrtle tea,” I said, “Of course.” Then she said, ‘I’ll have six packets!”  Nathan and I looked at each other. We knew the locavore idea was about to grow.

After sampling supermarket food that’s packaged, irradiated, and often tastless, many people are becoming jaded and want to return to the more wholesome foods and ways of eating, socializing and sharing that our grandparents enjoyed.

“It could get bigger you know,” I said to Nathan. He nodded.  “Locavore providore?”
We both knew there was now story and substance in what we offered – a way to collectively renew our experience of food – and a delightful opportunity to nourish both ourselves and our planet.

“When I walk into a shop with my product and explain that it’s made from hemp oil and the owner says, ‘Can I get high from it?’, I know there’s still work to be done on hemp’s image in the marketplace,” says Teresa McDowell.

Founder of hemp hemp hooray!, Teresa, is passionate about hemp and educating people about the wonderful qualities and benefits of this humble yet amazing plant. At 42 she is feeling, “fully alive and committed to her business and helping the hemp industry flourish and grow.”

“The first thing I explain is that industrial hemp is a cousin of marijuana. But you’d have to smoke a field of hemp for it to have any effect and it would make you very sick first.  As soon as I describe hemp’s therapeutic and nutritional qualities, I can see their eyes light up with interest.”

Hemp is the only vegetable oil that mirrors the oils in our body.  “That’s why I chose hemp as the basic ingredient in all my products,” says Teresa.  “It is made up of the essential fatty acids Omega’s 3, 6 and 9 which is the perfect balance that our bodies need.
Taken as a supplement like fish oil it has a nutty flavour and can be added to fruit smoothies to give a creamy texture.”

Teresa’s journey started at age 14 when she was living in Port Augusta with her parents and three brothers.  Teresa has always had a close relationship with her mum who has been a strong advocate of Teresa’s products.

“I think my first inspiration came from a woman who ran a hemp shop near where I lived,” Teresa remembers.  “She sold hemp clothing and I loved learning from her about hemp and its incredible environmental benefits.”

As well as being a strong, resilient fibre used in rope making, hemp is also used to make  clothing, bags and linen. “The cloth is much gentler on your skin, especially babies’ tender skin, because it is usually grown without pesticides because hemp has a natural resilience to pests.  The crop is also drought tolerant so it can grow with little water, making it perfect for Australian conditions,” Teresa enthuses.

“When I left school I worked in Thwaites Mens Wear store in Port Augusta and one day in walked this gorgeous guy,” says Teresa smiling.  “I thought, ‘Wow’. He was tall, well-built with a cheeky smile and green eyes.”

Teresa and Simon married in 1992 and when Teresa was 29, they decked out a bus and set off with their son Ethan, two, to travel round Australia. They ended up in Kalgoorlie, WA, where they lived for nine years.

“During that time I completed my diploma in aromatherapy and massage, and started to experiment with essential oil blends. Then I opened my first shop called, Aroma Cottage offering therapeutic massage using the oils.  Doing this hands-on work showed me how powerful the essential oils are in healing.”

The shop also retailed hemp clothing and skin care products using hemp oil. “I knew the products contained some artificial ingredients like chemical preservatives, and so I started to experiment on the stove at home to see if I could make a completely natural skin care product without chemicals,” says Teresa.  “I played with ideas and then the name ‘hemp hemp hooray’ came to me as a way of celebrating this beautiful plant.”

With two more children in the family, Simon and Teresa decided it was time to consider their education, so they packed up and in 2004 headed for Mt Barker in SA so that Ethan, Ashleigh and Faith could go to the Mt Barker Waldorf School.

“Once we settled in to our new life, Simon had a full-time job and the kids were at school so I had time to work out some recipes for my new skin care range.  By 2006 I had eight products which I call my basic range – skin soothe, body lotion, soothing lip salve, special body blend, daily moisturizer, night cream, lush lime cleansing cream and pure organic hemp seed oil.”

In the same year, hemp hemp hooray skin care was launched onto the market.  “I decided to use the personal touch so I visited each retail outlet in the Adelaide hills and told them about the products and my story. I found that worked much better than trying to drum up interest over the phone, because retailers liked the fact that I was local and my products were 100% natural.”

Teresa says that hemp’s image as a hippy crop is fading with education about the outstanding benefits to be gained from using hemp and this is borne out by the change in policy in Australia.  Some state governments are now allowing growers a licence to put in hemp crops, although it’s still illegal for hemp oil to be labeled for internal consumption.

“I couldn’t have got this far without Simon’s support both financially and emotionally,” says Teresa. “He’s putting out a monthly e-newsletter which helps to educate people about hemp, as well as showcasing our products.  We hope that by purchasing our skin care, people will become more aware of hemp’s therapeutic benefits; its usefulness, versatility, and ecological benefits to both industry and the environment.”

Teresa McDowell
Founder of hemp hemp hooray!
For more information go to www.hemphemphooray.com.au

In 2004, my husband Sunil, 38, my brother Aidan Glasby, 27, and I, went to Ethiopia. We’d been there before and were returning with the $12,000 we’d raised, planning to build a school, says Kyra Glasby, 25.

We chose a place in Ethiopia called Yooren which is in the Afar, the driest place in the world. Not long after we got there we watched helpless as a one year old child died of malaria because his mother couldn’t get him medicine. All we could do was bathe him to reduce his fever a little. We had to wait three days to get a vehicle to take him to the nearest clinic two hours away. He died in his mum’s arms on the way to the clinic. It was then that I knew there was a greater need for a clinic than a school.

With the help of the Yooren people, we spent two months building the clinic from plantation timber and cement blocks. We designed it in the shape of the five pointed Star of David, a sacred symbol in Islam. And we painted it in bright colours so it could be seen by anyone who needed it. We equipped the clinic with the proper medical supplies from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and then handed it over to the Government who promised they would staff it with a nurse and keep it stocked with medicines.

While we were there we lived in a hut the Yooren people had given us, we ate the same food as them and we slept on the mud floor of our hut. “It was like an extended camping trip,” Sunil joked.

We returned to Australia in early 2005 to raise more money. At the end of the year and two days after my last nursing exam I returned to Yooren with Aidan, my midwife friend Zeshi Fisher and a film maker, Sieh Mchawala. Sieh is making a documentary of this trip. When we went back we were relieved to find the Government had kept its word and the clinic was up and running. “We’ve achieved what we wanted,” I said to Sunil. “We were worried that nothing would be done but everyone’s happy and they want to keep it going.”

We all lived together in our hut and we had to make sure we got on, as there was nowhere to go if we didn’t. The Yooren people cook inside their huts over open fires, which makes them very smoky. We cooked outside our hut and they laughed at us. They said, “You’ll get malaria because the smoke inside helps to keep the mosquitoes away. I said, “I’ve already had malaria and so has Aidan!”

We asked the women what other things they needed. They said, “Something to help us carry water from the river because it’s a long way and the water bags are heavy.” So we came up with the idea of a water cart. Aidan designed the carts with the women and we built them from recycled materials – a steel frame and wheels. The women set up a committee and they are in charge of the carts – they love them.

We came back to Australia in February 2006, and we’ve registered our name as Barefoot Initiative. We’re raising funds for our next trip at the end of the year. Sunil says, “We want to make the clinic solar powered, help the locals build their own water filters and build a community garden so they can grow vegetables”.

Before we left the women said to me, “You should have a baby by now. Don’t come back until you are pregnant.” They spat on my stomach saying, “That will make it happen.”

Six months later Sunil and I found out we were pregnant, and in June 2007 I gave birth to our beautiful, healthy baby son, Kalci.  We hope to return soon to see our friends in the Afar.

We’d like Kalci to experience the sharing and friendship that gives the people of the Afar a special place in our hearts.

For more information about the Barefoot Initiative go to www.barefootinitiative.org

I was in London working as a software developer for the fashion industry in 1999 when my mate Ross Williams, 45, phoned me from Australia, says David Sag, 43,  CEO, Carbon Planet.  “I saw a 4 corners program on carbon emissions,” he told me excitedly,” then there was silence as he gathered his thoughts. “I’ve done the maths and I reckon each person emits $50 of carbon a year. Do you realize what that means?”

I remembered listening to James Lovelock, famous for his Gaia hypothesis, talk about  running out time and his words rang again in my ears, “Less than a fifth of the world’s population will be around in fifty years. The rest will be dead of viruses and famine and no water. “

I also remembered the boiled frog parable, the frog keeps adapting as the water heats up to meet an untimely death. Something in me started to tingle. “Start putting your loose coins into the kitty, we’ll work on it.”  Over the next five years we investigated carbon credits while we both kept our day jobs.

By 2000 I was living in Bulgaria with my wife, helping to build a carbon emissions component into a software programme to be used for an interactive street map. The map would show how much a cyclist can save in carbon emissions by cycling to work instead of driving a car.

Then my lawyer phoned me, “You can’t keep running this as a hobby. Buy some credits and start trading like a business.” So Ross and I hired an office manager and built a website and then bought 2000 tonnes of greenhouse gas carbon credits from the New South Wales government.  We worked out that we could sell the credits in smaller lots using our website as the retail outlet.

Ross took the lead by selling his business and investing a million-and-a-half dollars into our new business – Carbon Planet.  “It’s time to come home and be the CEO,” he told me.

In 2005 my wife and I arrived back in Adelaide to see our new office.  We hired some engineers to do the carbon auditing, and trained them in doing life-cycle analysis to help businesses understand where their carbon emissions come from, and how they can reduce them.  Then we set to work to develop our registry by creating partnerships with groups like landcare, and farmers who wanted to invest in soil captured carbon.

Sequestriation means sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Trees and plants sequester carbon from the air by photosynthesis and turn the carbon dioxide into sugars and breath out oxygen.

What does that mean for you and me?  Trees are planted and each tree has credits against it. These are bought by every day people and businesses in the form of a certificate which represents a certain number of credits. You can proudly show your certificate to your friends and say, “this means I’ve bought a forest of trees which has been planted and will be maintained for 100 years.”  To their interested yet puzzled response you can explain,  “for every 5 trees I buy, I’ve offset 1 tonne of my carbon dioxide emissions.”

After I returned from my three-week trip across the US I calculated how much carbon I’d used and then purchased carbon credits to offset that amount of carbon. But we try to stay home and using skype or video conferencing instead of travel as much as we can becaue it’s still a better option for the environment.

Carbon credits aren’t going to save the world. There’s over 50 billion tones of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere and there isn’t the same amount of carbon credits to offset that.  So this scheme is like a bridge and something we can all do now while we gear up to make big changes to our lifestyles, rather than end up like the boiled frog.

For more information go to: www.carbonplanet.com