Today we presented at the Asian Studies Conference of Australia. Our paper abstract: Plants and the City in Singapore As food security becomes an increasingly prioritized political issue in Southeast Asia, governments across the region are considering alternatives to rural agriculture. This paper considers a number of urban farming initiatives in Singapore as sites of social innovation […]

Last week I visited Bumi Langit Farm, located in a hilly area in Imogiri old town, precisely at Jalan Mangunan KM. 3, Giriloyo village, Wukirsari, Imogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta. This hilly area is the beginning of the Gunung Kidul hills line, an area known for its long dry season. Located on 350 m above sea level, […]

Rina: I grew up in Blacktown, where my parents settled after coming from Holland. My father was a very keen vegetable grower because he wanted to grow enough for the family, and we had a big family. So my gardening skills came from him. It was mainly vegetables, he wasn’t that interested in flowers, only […]

This is an extraordinary artist book, and the first release by micro-publishing venture Cloudship Press. The entire book is hand drawn by Tessa Zettel and Susie Nelson, printed at Marrickville’s Rizzeria, and sewn together with needle and thread. It is partly a documentation of a project by the same name, Making Time, that has been […]

Food Democracy is a unique book in its direct approach to the politics of food and its commitment to creative practice as an avenue for social change. It deals with an increasingly important issue that is central to most global political struggles of the present and future. If you need to quickly catch up on […]

This book took me a lot longer to read than I expected. Not because it is in any way a drag, but because it is many strolls rather than an epic journey. It’s a bit like a really delicious box of  very rich chocolates that you dip into rather than eating all at once. I […]

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and abroad, and their continuing connection to culture, community, land, sea and sky. I pay my respect to Elders past, present and future. This ‘reading’ is actually listening to an interview recorded as part of the ABC series ‘Conversations’ with Richard Fidler. ‘The Secret History of […]

Aine: We are not really avid gardeners. It’s happenstance. We try things. If a plant doesn’t work, we move it somewhere else. Then we try something else. I enjoy it and it’s never felt like a chore because it’s just happened. I move things around and there’s a space, and I think, ‘I’ll put in […]

Our video essay ‘Migrant Gardens’ was accepted for the Displacements conference program and will be one among more than 150 such presentations from nearly every continent around the world. This event will widen geographic access to anthropological knowledge and conversation, and to do so through a carbon-conscious platform for conferencing. Conventional academic conferences are too […]

I wanted it to be a pretty garden, with roses. I wanted pinks and mauves. So many of the plants are for the colour. I’m not a native plant person. I like exotics. Scent is really important to me too. I love the flowers themselves, but I love the smell of them. That’s definitely a […]