Host Profile
My Property
Business Type
Farming methods
Short Property Description
We are nestled on 100 acres of stunning bushland on Wonnarua Country, in the midst of the Watagan forest of the Lower Hunter Valley, 1.5 hours from Sydney and Newcastle. There is a wide variety of wildlife including lyrebirds, wallabies, echidnas and wombats, blue and fairy wrens, kookaburras, satin bower birds, black and sulphur crested cockatoos.
We are growing tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchinis, mustard greens, rocket, kale, broccoli, carrots, beans (all types), herbs (all types), citrus, and many other fruits and vegetables. We are in the process of developing a master plan for our property, having moved here in August 2018. We are increasing the number of fruit and nut trees, are continually expanding the vegetable gardens, and enjoy fresh eggs with our 6 chickens and 2 roosters.
The property is situated on the crest of a hill, with a beautiful area for camping and meandering in the valley by a natural brook, and another area at the top for workshops and retreats. Keith has a background in Ag Science and biotech start-ups (after a first career as a university professor); Brynnie has been growing not-for-profit organisations in the sustainability, health, maintaining Indigenous culture and social justice space (after a first career in international corporate law) and has studied Zen Shiatsu.
Keith has lived in Germany and Brynnie is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese (having lived in Brazil) and gets by in French. Our children are in their mid-20s, having studied art history, philosophy and entrepreneurship, and environmental science, ecology and Spanish. We also have older children (via Keith) and seven grandchildren.
We moved to this property in 2018 after having lived in Sydney for more than 25 years. ‘Kawalang’ means abundance in Wonnarua language. There is more about the property on our website.
Organic/Biological methods we use
Keith grew up on a property near Melbourne growing food organically as a child and picking fruit at local orchards. His experience is fired by a passion and commitment to grow amazing food organically, with at times an eclectic sense of how things can be brought together to create beauty as well as beautifully-grown food.
Brynnie is deeply passionate about healthy eating and nurturing /healing the body naturally. She loves creating interesting meals using combinations of food grown on the property, and discovering new recipes to make healthy eating accessible all year long as chutneys, sauces, breads, fermented and pickled vegetables.
We grow our food organically on soil that has been fertilised with animal manure and mulch over many years. We apply permaculture principles, rotating crops, mulching and fertilising with animal manure to support soil quality and moisture.
We experiment on different soils across the property with different flowers, herbs and vegetables, learning more about what areas are best for growing which foods.
Keith also is a bread-maker with an organic sourdough culture the beginning of yummy home-made bread.
My Details
The Stay
Can Accommodate
Preferred length of Stay
1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, Longer stays by negotiation
Accommodation
Other options
Meal Procedures
Eat together, Share most meals, Share cooking
Languages spoken
English, Spanish, Portuguese, some French, bit of German
Diets we cater for
Mixed meals, some meat, some vegetarian, Fish based meals, Meat based meals, Vegetarian meals, Vegan meals, Gluten free meals
Work and Study Remotely here
Work and Study Remotely here by arrangement
Why I became a WWOOF Host
To support people developing connection with the land. learning about growing food organically, living sustainably. To create a safe space for people to learn and grow, feel connected to nature. To create more connection with the Australian bush.
