Those who shop at the Kiama Farmers' Markets will have seen Su Meh selling vegetables at the Green Connect stall. There is now a chance to find out more about how it is grown, with the Illawarra-based social enterprise running a series of workshops through March/April to teach people more about their approach to producing food.

The not-for-profit employs young people and former refugees in jobs to grow fair organic and free-range food, reduce waste, help the local community and the planet.

Cal Champagne, the Farm Manager at Green Connect, is running the first workshop, a Taste of Permaculture, on Saturday March 6.

“It’s an in-depth farm tour, that puts permaculture into perspective. I will talk about how we use permaculture to develop the site about design principles and theories, the ethics and principles that underpin permaculture,” says Cal.

“You will get to meet the chickens, bees, pigs and sheep as well as visit the areas where we are bringing back the indigenous rainforest.”

Green Connect uses a farming ecosystem with a sustainable cropping technique that produces veggies and herbs which they sell to households in veggie boxes or to restaurants and cafes in the area.

“We grow about 44 types of herbs and vegetables. 60 per cent of that we grow all year round – such as leafy green veg. Then comes the big seasonal shift, which happens right now in autumn, when we move out of the summer crops (tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplant) and into brassicas – the usual such as cauliflower and cabbage, but also radishes, wombok, turnips and bok choy."

Green Connect was launched by SCARF, a refugee support group in the Illawarra, in 2011.

“I was part of a team that came on board in 2013 to broaden the concept of Green Connect and develop it into the larger social enterprise it is now,” Cal says.

He grew up on a permaculture demonstration property on the Far South Coast of NSW, studied environmental sciences at UOW, before doing postgrad studies in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Sydney.

During his studies, he got involved in permaculture locally, through volunteering in the ‘Living Classroom’ school gardens at Cringila Public School, Port Kembla Public School and Warrawong High School.

When an 11-acre piece of land adjacent to Warrawong High School was made available, Cal helped Green Connect turn this land into what is now the Green Connect Farm, one of the country’s leading examples of urban agriculture.

The farm sells most of the food through veg boxes, which is the ideal way to do it, as it eliminates waste.

“We know our customers and can harvest exactly that amount each week. But while we are growing more than we can use in our veg boxes, we run a stall at the Kiama Farmers' Markets,” Cal says.

The Taste of Permaculture workshop runs on Saturday 6 March, from 1.30-5pm at the farm at 6 Anna Ave, Lake Heights. To book, go to: https://green-connect.com.au/visit/op-shop-and-farm-workshops/

Other planned workshops for this year include: Wild Edible Foraging with Diego Bonetto on Saturday March 20, and Intro to Bee Keeping Saturday March 27, In-Depth Bee Keeping Saturday April 17 and Grow Your Own Vegetables and Herbs Saturday April 10.