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ZAVI Sustainable fashion is the way of the future
Words by Vibhuti Vazirani
Lyocell is a fibre made from sustainable tree and plant farms, using trees and plants that have the ability to regrow quickly, such as eucalyptus. Lyocell is also manufactured in a closed loop process, meaning the water and chemicals used in processing are used in a closed loop until they are used up.
ZAVI is a sustainable fashion brand for men and women. ZAVI’s vision is to provide a sustainable and conscious alternative to fast fashion shopping by making sustainable fashion desirable and affordable.
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We make to order, and we produce and ship out within the next two days to keep waste low. We also have a custom-fit option. However, this is not a scalable option. As our business grows, we will have to produce more stock. We hope that when this does occur, we can keep supply less than demand to avoid waste.
ZAVI’s approach to fabrics has always been very practical and functional. Our current collection is made from 100% biodegradable and natural fabrics. When it comes to fabrics, “natural” isn’t always necessarily a good thing. For example, viscose and rayon are semi-synthetic fabrics, meaning they are made from wood pulp; however, they use trees, which are sacred to us, and we believe they should not be cut down for fabrics; they also require a large amount of chemicals in their processing. So although a lot of brands claim viscose is an “ecofriendly” option, the reality is slightly different.
All of our packaging is biodegradable. Our plastic replacement is made of vegetable starch, so it’s 100% biodegradable and will break down within three to six months depending on soil conditions; it can also be dissolved in boiling water. At ZAVI our mission is to beat fast fashion by providing a sustainable alternative with great design, quality and price, as we believe only Sustainability is Sustainable.
Our current collection is made from 100% sustainable materials, including hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, vegan silk and lyocell.
We need a better approach to save our earth. Fortunately, today’s youth has recognised this and are highly conscious of their choices and their impacts on the planet. Through the world of social media, individuals are promoting and supporting others to make better choices. A great example is veganism: many people, especially young people, have adopted veganism. This is a sign that we are moving to more conscious choices, and this will apply to fashion choices, too.
Hemp is a great sustainable option as it regrows quickly, doesn’t require a lot of water and it is also pesticide free. Hemp is a very strong fibre – you can really grow old with our hemp shirts, which will stay strong for years. They also hold colour really well, without colour fading or running. Hemp is also a natural antibacterial and highly absorbent, so it’s highly recommended for summer to keep you feeling and looking fresh throughout the day. The most amazing thing about hemp is that it acts as a natural UV protector, so it’s a safe and smart option.
The widespread understanding of how bad plastic is for the planet has gained traction in the last few years, and this will also occur with polyester. It will take some time for the majority of the population to understand its impact and to make changes in their buying habits. A key factor for this change is price; prices for sustainable items need to be affordable for consumers. However, for brands like ZAVI to have more competitive prices we need to be able to sustain ourselves by maintaining a cheaper supply chain. This is not possible at the moment as the fabric and garment manufacturing industry is highly synthetic-driven, so this is where the cheaper prices lie. One of our major challenges is sourcing sustainable materials at affordable costs. In the future, we hope to improve our supply chain and reduce costs, so that we can offer customers a sustainable and affordable choice, thereby offering a realistic alternative to fast fashion.
Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant and needs no active human intervention, so there is no fear of depletion. Organic cotton is grown with one-third the amount of water used for regular cotton. It is also grown without pesticides and fertilisers, so it doesn’t retain chemicals that may be toxic and carcinogenic. It is, however, more expensive; because of the absence of pesticides, it is slower growing than regular cotton, and hence takes more time and energy to produce. Vegan silk is made without boiling the live silkworm cocoons. Our manufacturer in a village based in India uses abandoned silk cocoons to weave this silk. The torn fibres are handwoven to create longer fibres, hence this silk may not seem as “clean” as regular silk.
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A Tale of Community Cohesion: Together We Can Create Change On a Saturday morning after a hectic week, a bunch of strangers gathers in a central Ballarat hall with one mission on their mind: self sufficiency.
Words and Photography by Lou Ridsdale
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with new skills (or enhance the skills they already possess), all in an endeavour to make the world more ecofriendly.
Taking their seats, they acknowledge their neighbours with a shy nod. The class commences. What happens in the next hour or so is quite remarkable. Facts, figures, demonstrations, and hands-on immersive experiments occur. Amid the laughter and chatter, notes are furiously taken as knowledge is imparted via videos and photographs. This knowledge will empower attendees to apply all they’ve learned when they return home. And the best bit: the shy glances that first occurred have turned into big wide smiles, and an obvious rapport has been formed. In a society that favours connection via screens over face-to-face interactions, this is an unusual experience for some.
Junkies hosted one of the more memorable workshops, with a great gathering of craft-orientated eco-warriors who learned how to DIY their own seeds and garden diaries out of old recycled books, diaries and photo albums. Selena and Freya based the workshop on a previous article on seed saving, and it worked an absolute treat. Other crafty/art themed workshops hosted by Food Is Free and run by amazing facilitators have included Ephemeral Art run by Colleen from Fifteen Trees; Garden Photography with Smart Phones plus Botanic Art Drawing by Louisa West; Origami Seed Packet Making with Leigh; Family Crafts by Anna Paxton; and Christmas Wreath making from Botanics by Fi Walsh.
So, what is going on here?
Other workshops include Seed Saving, Backyard Chickens, Asian Dumpling Making, Companion Planting, Herbs, Permaculture Kitchen Design, Soil Testing, Plants and Pets, Indoor Plant Health, Recycling, Beekeeping, Worm Farms, Organic Pest Management, Kids’ Gardening and Vegetable Fermenting, to name just a few.
Food Is Free Inc. has delivered numerous workshops and events geared towards empowering the members of the Ballarat community with the skills and knowledge to grow their own food, lead sustainable lives, and carry out good environmental practice – and we’ve loved every minute! If you’ve ever been part of a community gathering like this, you’ll be familiar with the positive energy it generates.
Workshops on garlic growing, Asian greens gardening, edible flowers, jam making, recycling and gardening, fungi, growing olives, quinces, teas and global medicines, and various kids’ workshops that encourage nature play are planned.
Food Is Free Inc. is a shining example of how communities can work together via gardening and food sharing, whilst fostering safer neighbourhoods, developing skills and facilitating empowerment, in addition to building confidence and a stronger, healthier population.
Our motto is: “Save money, do it yourself and leave behind a better planet”. Empowerment leads to a confidence in attendees that was not present prior to the event. The Christmas Wreath Making workshop, for example, was held a few weeks prior to Christmas, often a stressful and chaotic time. The hall was filled with people taking a little time out of the hustle and bustle of Christmas
Since October 2019, Food Is Free has hosted over 40 workshops, with 30 to take place before May 2020. Over 700 people have attended, and we anticipate that we’ll reach over 1000 by the time we finish. That’s 1000 people committed to supporting a self-sufficient environment, who wish to empower themselves unite
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“The shy glances that first occurred have turned into big wide smiles…”
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Weaving a Magical World Cartoonist and illustrator Shelley Knoll Miller weaves together her first love of illustration into her new love for creating beauty from sea debris and milled wool offcuts.
Words by Shelley Knoll-Miller Photography Supplied
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hold a group exhibition that encouraged artists to create art with plastics, old nets or beach rope that had washed ashore. I decided to try weaving with a huge broken net, using an old iron cray pot rim as the frame. The first task was to chop the net into small workable lengths. The net was thick, weathered nylon and really difficult to cut. I found that reflecting on the damage the net could have done to marine life made my hacking efforts very satisfying! Vengeful crafting, ha!
Shelley combines the fishing nets and debris that are collected on volunteer “beach patrols” with alpaca wool offcuts, weaving a magical world where her illustrations can come to life. Junkies delved a little deeper into the world of creative detritus.
Tell us a little bit about your work as an illustrator and cartoonist.
That satisfying, rewarding feeling remained so I’ve just kept weaving. I’ve since gone on to create many weavings, using rope and nets collected by my local Beach Patrol group.
I’ve worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for over 20 years, including editorial cartoonist positions with the Melbourne Age newspaper and the Darwin Sun, and freelance illustration work for publishers and magazines such as The Big Issue and Eureka Street.
Tell us more about Beach Patrol. Beach Patrol is a chain of volunteer community groups that comb the beaches picking up anything that will harm local marine life. There are 45 groups in Melbourne, covering over 150 km of beaches. Beach Patrol 3280 actually records what they find to a database, which scientists use for tracking and research purposes. It’s a lot of work done by committed volunteers. I don’t do much of this work; I mostly just use what they collect.
In 2016, I started to become interested in children’s picture book illustration, and that’s now my main focus. My first illustrated picture book was Shoo Grumpers Shoo, written by comedian Josh Lawson and published by Scholastic in 2018. I’ve spent the last year writing children’s picture books and incorporating weaving into my illustration work. What led you to become interested in weaving?
Apart from the nets and rope you find washed up on the beaches, what other materials do you use in your work?
I’ve crocheted for years, experimenting with different materials like wire and recycled plastic bags, and doing big-scale projects like large rugs and floor cushions. My foray into weaving began when a local group of artists in Warrnambool, frustrated at the amount of pollution washing up on our beaches, decided to
I also use barnacles and seaweed, as it is often tangled up in the rope when it washes up. I was delighted when I discovered the Great Ocean Road Woollen Mill. They run a small herd of alpacas, operate a small woollen mill, and sell their own
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“Reflecting on the damage the net could have done to marine life made my hacking efforts very satisfying!�
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Things
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things we love
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We Love
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SUBSCRIBER
GIVE AWAYS
A Very Special Give Away
Saltbush Kitchen The Australian Store. Australian Bushfoods Saltbush Kitchen, of Bunninyong Victoria will take you on an Australian culinary bushfood adventure of spices, herbs, salts and syrups, immersing you in a sensory experience of sounds, tastes and aromas. Visit the store in person or online and discover an incredible range of native foods. One subscriber can win, a Bushfood Spice Pack of 5 spices which can include lemon myrtle, wattleseed, strawberry gum, aniseed myrtle, pepperberry, native thyme, kunzea, mountain pepper, saltbush or peppermint gum. Valued at $32. saltbushkitchen.com.au
A Hand-Made Bespoke Signature Shoe < 36
Rachel Ayland of Bangalow Shoemaking is a hand crafted shoe and boot maker. Rachel will make her Signature Shoe for one lucky subscriber. A variety of colours and finishes are available, the pictured shoes have a leather upper, sole and heel, but she has vegan solutions you will be very proud to wear. She says, “the shoe has a timeless style inspired by renaissance fashion. Whether in leathers or vegan, the heel can be low or medium height. The cuff is secured with two easy press studs on the outside can be adorned for a unique touch. This androgynous style is easy to slip on, loved and admired by all genders. I look forward to hearing from the winner and creating their unique Signature Shoe.” Valued at $550
bangalowshoemaking.com
Warndu Mai Good Food Cookbook Warndu Mai (Good Food) contains over 80 illustrated and accessible recipes showcasing Australian native foods, using ingredients such as kakadu plum, native currents, finger lime and pepperberry, including seasonal availability, hints and tips, to create unique dishes and so much more. A must have for every kitchen. One subscriber will go in the draw to win. RRP $45 warndu.com
Gemma Vendetta Pack A growing awareness of nasty chemicals in hair and beauty products led Gemma Vendetta to develop her own range* of mineral cosmetics without nano-particles, harmful fillers and binders, free from parabens, synthetic fragrances and mineral oils. Make the switch to simply high-quality, high definition, safe, gender-neutral, 100% vegan and cruelty free mineral cosmetics for those who care about themselves, our animals and the planet. One lucky subscriber will win Gemma Vendetta’s all- natural lip gloss and awesome bronzer blush valued at $90.95 gemmavendetta.com.au
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*Accredited by Choose Cruelty Free Australia
KHANAN-Handmade garments Win your very own custom made Arlo Romper. Based in Lennox Head, Northern Rivers NSW, Khanun is a sustainable clothing label proudly making ethical handmade garments. The Arlo Romper is our popular signature piece that you can dress up or down and wear anywhere. Our fabrics are found and vintage sourced Australia-wide so each piece is unique you will never see another the same. Value $87. Browse our collection at khanunbymimi.com or insta @khnunbymimi
Natural Sanitiser Treasures Based on authentic aboriginal native botanical wisdom and wellness lore, Li’Tya skin, body and hair care range imbued with a wisdom spanning thousands of years, Li’Tya’s co-founder is the custodian of the Ya-idt’midtung, The Philosophers’s, traditional knowledge. Aboriginal Australia used Eucalyptus and Lemon Myrtle for protection from contacting or spreading infections. Eucalyptus is potent, medicinal and thorough in killing infections. Lemon Myrtle has an earthy lemon aroma and is powerfully anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Both rapidly destroy airborne and surface germs and viruses, as well as harmful bacteria, on contact. Blended with organic aloe vera, for hydrating, healing and repairing your skin leaving it feeling soft and nourished. Four lucky subscribers will each receive a pack of two LI’TYA HAND SANITISERS valued at $25. litya.com/shop
Modern Mending Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald’s new book is a comprehensive guide to mending your clothes, combining practical know-how with whimsical creativity. The light-hearted, creative vibe flowing through this book proves mending can be artistic, stylish, maybe quirky, and add to a garment’s charm. One lucky subscriber will go in the draw to win this great book. RRP $35 modernmending.com
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Want more warm hearted can-do, how-to inspiration? We have you covered with our back issues packs for your creative home-time pleasure. Have a look online and choose which pack you would like delivered straight to your door. junkies.com.au/buy
For 15% off any 4 or more copies enter Code BACKJUNKIES
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Keeping it Local – In Your Home and in Your Community. Words by La Vergne Lehmann Illustrations by Brenna Quinlan
We often hear the phrase ‘think global, act local’, but what does that actually mean for everyday life? Big concepts like climate change can be overwhelming for many people. After all, this is an issue that will impact the entire planet! And we only have one of those that we can all live on! < 38
So it is true to say that each person, on their own, has a limited impact. But add all those ‘limited impacts’ together and you start to build a much bigger impact across the region, the state, the country and the planet. We all have the ability to change and control what we do at home and the same can be said for our local community, to a slightly lesser degree. In short, we all have a role to play in reducing our impact on the planet.
Buying less stuff is another way you can make an impact on reducing your waste in the No Waste Challenge. You can do this by: • Not buying new • Repurposing items that no longer have a current use • Repair things if they are broken so you don’t need to buy another • Make your own • Swap with others • Join the sharing economy through libraries – books, toys, tools, seeds, things!
We can start by taking the No Waste Challenge. You might not get to ‘no waste’ but how about giving it go. Let’s start with food waste – it doesn’t get any more local than that, really. We know that around 25% to 30% of all food goes to waste, meaning it is never consumed. Sure, some of that is at the producer level but consumers need to lift their game, too. Here are some great tips for reducing your household food waste:
Reduce your use of single-use plastics. We have all been caught up in the convenience of single-use plastics. After all, it is so much easier than having to remember bags, coffee cups, drink bottles etc, and there is no washing up after a BBQ or picnic. But all of this convenience has consequences and that means more litter along the roads, waterways and recreation areas and more waste going into landfill.
• Make a list before you go shopping and stick to it – if you need some help, check out Sustainability Victoria’s Love a List campaign at: sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/Love Food-Hate-Waste/Love-a-list • Grow your own – you are less likely to waste something you have spent time and effort growing. • Preserve and pickle produce – make jam, sauce or pickles, or just preserve the whole fruit. • Love your leftovers – some things taste better a day later and make a great lunch, while other things need to be reworked. • Check out some great recipes for leftovers at: sustainability. vic.gov.au/Campaigns/Love-Food-Hate-Waste/Leftovers
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Start with reusable alternatives – they may need washing but they will last longer Make and take your own – lunch and snacks Always carry your own cup, bottle, cutlery, bags, plates etc Buy in bulk, with your own containers, rather than purchasing things in prepackaged materials
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This is all about behavior change – changing some pretty ingrained habits that we have all become accustomed to. They won’t cost you much to change but you will feel good knowing that you are doing your bit by Keeping it Local. It is also worth remembering that it is a journey to become more sustainable. It takes time and we all need to make conscious decisions about the choices we make. If you keep that process simple and commit to making one change at a time then it is less overwhelming and you’re more likely to stick to something. But you also need to progress on that journey and build on those achievements. You might start with a small veggie patch and a couple of fruit trees. As you grow this over time, you will eventually produce more than you need. At that stage you might start making some jam and preserves, and sharing them with friends and family. Before you know it, you have found ways to compost your food scraps to improve your soil, and reduced both your food bill and the amount of packaging that goes into your bin. You are probably eating healthier and enjoying more time outside in your garden. Does it get any better than that? Just remember that the No Waste Challenge journey is a lifelong one. Continue to challenge yourself and remember that when it comes to waste there is no magical land of “Away”. unite
Re-Tyre Shoes Shoe Maker Melissa Rose, is a self-confessed hippie, with a passion for tyre-kicking sewing and design.
Words and Photography by Anna Turnock
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later they opened their first store, Valentina Rose, on the main street of Margaret River.
Mel was born in Tom Price, in outback Western Australia, famous for Karijini National Park, and grew up in Bunbury, 170km south of Perth. She hails from a family with a long love of motorcycles, and proudly wears the name ‘biker chick’; she still loves to take a spin in the desert.
Life was fun and exciting in Bali for Jim and Mel. Jim was thriving making wine, the girls were attending a Balinese school and meeting amazing like-minded families, and Mel’s fashion line Valentina Rose was taking off back home in Margaret River. Mel even went back to study full time for two years while running her fashion line and being a full-time mum to two busy, beautiful girls. She took a degree in Business & Contemporary Marketing online and passed with flying colours.
Mel hooked up with her childhood sweetheart, Jim, and together they travelled around like classic hippies. They had two children, Willow and Stevie. They were happy building their life together, nurturing their businesses and being parents to their beautiful girls in Margaret River.
“Mel expends a huge amount of effort into sourcing her materials sustainably and ethically.”
Mel was in the throes of getting her kids’ clothing and bamboo MOD nappies business up and running in Margaret River when Jim was offered an alluring career working as a winemaker in Bali. The young family jumped at this once-in-a lifetime opportunity. They packed up their life, home and businesses, and went on a pretty amazing adventure. They were sponsored by the Balinese owners of the winery and were welcomed with open arms into a new and loving community. Mel comes from a long line of dressmakers, designers and tailors; her mother and grandmother were into fashion and she grew up designing and making her own clothes. She even recently discovered that her father’s family were tailors, so I guess you could say that sewing was in her blood.
Mel soon recognised the potential of turning Valentina Rose into a collective store; this way she could split the running costs with the other artists and collaborate on a new creative level. Pretty soon Margaret River Artisan Store was born. Each member of the collective spends time in-store working directly with the public, and has their own space to showcase their products. Mel is still the owner and manager of this great space, which has been evolving and growing over the past five years. Mel expends a huge amount of effort into sourcing her materials sustainably and ethically.
While Jim was busy with the challenges of his new job, Mel cast around to find something to occupy her. Her mind was racing with ideas to create work for herself since she could not legally get a job in Bali. She got in touch with some friends back home in Margaret River and developed a clothing brand. Three months create
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The ‘Salvage Sisters’: SISKO SISKO* For sisters, Anna and Tarja, waste is a beautiful thing, something to be valued and reimagined, providing endless opportunities to create, remake and transform. (*Sisko = sister in Finnish) Words by Anna Mango and Tarja Martin Photography Luca Podigo and Nudan Basnayak
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desperately trying to get out the message of how much we humans throw out, rather than sorting it and reusing it, and we need to change that.
Growing up, Tarja and Anna were taught a ‘reuse it, mend it, or sell it’ mantra, so salvaging and repurposing is truly in their blood! The sisters live and breathe recycling. They hope that their art created from waste promotes conversation and inspiration.
You are both accomplished artists in your own right. How have you found the experience of working together as sisters?
Anna and Tarja were constantly amazed at the amount of street waste they saw in their home town, Sydney. They set about repurposing it and filled their home by salvaging everything they needed. The more they collected the more the art ideas came. They started creating art, sculpture and fashion, both individually and together, throwing themselves into colourful, imaginative, stylish and eclectic art projects. They are proud to be a part of a growing movement of ‘waste reimagined’, a creative global family.
A: Great, good and annoying! Normal sibling stuff, but we do instinctively know how to tap into each others’ thinking and wavelength. Brainstorming great ideas is the result. We both take our art professionalism seriously and we tend to work at our best when making our own work or collaborating together. We work together preparing the art pieces, which can be labour intensive, but we love it! We are both extremely creative in our own right, but together we are dynamite!
Anna is a well-known award-winning multidisciplinary professional artist, working in the mediums of painting, sculpture and fashion. She has been an artist her whole adult life. Anna started drawing at three years old, on one wall in her home! Tarja is a child-care facilitator who works with children on art and craft projects.
T: In 2019 we won the major award at the Ku-ring-gai Sculpture Competition, Sydney, with a delicate piece made from wire, chandelier crystals and broken pearl necklaces titled ‘Dewdrops and Spider Webs’. It was such a surprise and a validation of our work.
What sparked your love for the potential and promise that comes from working with waste materials?
Tell us about the creative processes involved in creating your artwork together. T: As sisters who have been around each other for 60 years we can work quickly and have similar thoughts about a concept or construction. We don’t have to finish sentences or explain a word – that’s the great part of working together. We think similarly about style, fashion, and the details, and that makes the piece even better.
A: Our Aussie father Neil Allison, who is well known for his recycling projects, inspired us as children. He saved everything, and discussed wastefulness a lot, especially his time growing up in the great depression. This rubbed off on to me and Tarja. While pollution from humans is ever-growing, we are compelled to use ‘existing materials’ in our creative projects. We are cover
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‘Our art work is spontaneous and impulsive, spurred on by what we see and find. We’re driven by waste’! broken homemade wings, vast excesses of fabrics, curtain pull backs, fish netting, an old dance tutu, dry palm seed branch. All the materials came from domestic trash and from new-building site dumpsters.
Luca wanted to express was amazing. Her performance art was brilliant! Her make-up by Jasmine Hayes worked perfectly. We created all the pieces for the shoot, as well as the props. It was a sad message that we were conveying, but we all devoted ourselves to the creativity of the story. Luca and I knew the photoshoot ‘RISE’ needed to speak about our beautiful country, our beautiful bush, of the loss and the damage. At the time Sydney was experiencing heavy smoke daily, making us acutely aware of the personal loss and the daily hell for those people living in the affected areas, and the living hell for those under threat. We connected with Luca’s vision for Mother Earth, and just went for it. Our use of waste materials highlighted just what we waste in our own neighbourhoods, juxtaposed with the fact that people were losing everything they owned in the fires. We wanted to show the versality of the materials we use in our work, using them in unique, interesting and inspiring ways. This collection truly embodies our ethos that ‘waste is not waste’.
Tell us about your next project, the Bayside Sculpture Competition, Sydney. A: Our entry this year for the Bayside Sculpture Competition is a large-scale soft sculpture installation, made from yoga mats reclaimed from council cleanups in our area. The quantity we found is astounding! T: All the materials for all of the collections have been salvaged and scavenged from the local streets and nearby neighbourhoods, saved from going to landfill, or becoming ocean waste. A & T: Our artwork is spontaneous and impulsive, spurred on by what we see and find. We’re driven by waste!
Did the materials give rise to the idea for the photo shoot or did you have the idea first them proceed to find suitable materials?
See Anna’s and Tarja’s work on instagram @siskosiskodesign
T: The materials are both fantastic and depressing. Everything we used was trash, thrown out and dumped in the inner west of Sydney where we reside: rubber inner tubes, conduction pvc, cover
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Café Happiness If you love your Café Lifestyle make it eco
Words by Syren Strong Photography Supplied
Aussies drink a lot of coffee and love their cafes and take-aways – wellness and sustainability are the new second-line benchmarks for great café coffee, the first is, of course – taste and texture.
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If this article had been written pre-crisis-commencement the content would be much the same but the setting would be very different. We would have been painting pictures of you hanging out in your favourite café well ensconced with your laptop, co-workers or best buddies. But alas, the ‘crisis-we-had-to-havesooner-or-later’ has us all panting for our take-aways. Forget learning the art of the latte at home, we are supporting our local café’s with our take-away orders while they are closed and, if they are open again by the time you are reading this, well hallelujah! So we drink, how many, cups of café coffee in Australia per day? We don’t know, but we know it is a lot! We do know that Australians throw out an average 2.6 billion coffee cups per year – enough to circle the globe seven times, that was until we began the BYO coffee cup habit, a practice that grew 292% in 2019 alone. The Café Culture in Australia has been alive and well for many years and is not set to change anytime soon. But, the types of coffee we prefer to drink, the nature and source of the milk, the cups we want to drink our favourite joe from and what we do with the waste, definitely are changing and fast. The greatest change in the last few years has been in the milk we choose to froth and creamy our lattes, cappuccinos and viennas with, along with those popular flat whites.
Good for My Wellbeing As we get more sophisticated in understanding what keeps us well and firing on all cylinders, we are creating entirely new heath inspired food and drink solutions that best suit our individual discover
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Happy Human Hangouts Blossoming positive change in the way we build our habitats
Words by Kirien Withers Photography Dan Banko Heron Hall Designer: Jason F. Mclennan
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Leading Benchmarks
By the time you are reading this article you might be wishing that your own home was a happier Human Hang-Out than you have found it to be, whilst spending so much time in it. You will not be the only one.
Lifting our sights above our own immediate comfort levels, what thought-leading changes and advances are afoot in the creation of new built environments? Arguably, leading the new thought process is the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), founded by Jason F. Mclennan, who is also the founder of the Living Building Challenge.
Escalating awareness of the planetary resources potential use-by date has been rapidly evolving the way we design, build and fitout the places we hang-out in to live, work and play.
The Living Future Institute is an NGO that has as its focus the creation of communities that are: socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.
Pre-crisis, individuals, developers, industries, architects and builders have all been scanning the possibilities for greener and more sustainable solutions for creating live, work, play environments.
The Living Building Challenge is defined by its architect and designer founder as:
We don’t know yet how the current crisis and its profound shake-up of our identities as planetary citizens, environmental custodians and local community and family members will reshape how we think and how we evolve. But one thing is for sure, when it comes to our home’s liveability, we will be acutely aware of its shortcomings.
…the creation of a building that functions as cleanly and efficiently as a flower. Just like a flower a building should: Harvest all its own energy and water Adapt to climate and location Operate pollution free Promote health and wellbeing Be comprised of integrated systems Be beautiful
“We can be agents of restoration and regeneration, or agents of destruction. I choose the former.”
Certified Living Buildings worldwide now include multi-storey ‘office’ buildings (read: comfortable places to work), numerous large-scale public buildings and complexes, including a major mixed-use development in Melbourne, Victoria that includes a shopping centre precinct. In future editions we will expand on the principles of creating Living Buildings as defined by the Living Building Challenge but in the meantime… here is a taster of what is on store.
Jason F. McLennan
habitat
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Heron Hall Many of our readers will be most keen to understand how to build, or retrofit, a home to Living Building Challenge standards. To begin our exploration in Junkies (soon to be Rethink), Jason F. McLennan has kindly shared with us his own certified Living Building home, Heron Hall. habitat
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Heron Hall is a fully sustainable family home, designed to achieve a minimum eco-footprint, completely off the waste and water grid. It is solar-powered and captures its own rain-water, which is treated on-site with carbon and UV light. The toilets are a composting system, turning waste into soil, with grey-water processed and utilised for drip irrigation. Building materials are naturally sourced and incorporate salvaged and repurposed materials habitat
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The primary construction materials are rammed earth and local timber creating a very low environmental footprint. Rammed earth mimics the way nature makes stone, by compression. At just over half-a-metre thick the walls are not only very beautiful, mimicking the compression layers of the Grand Canyon, but enhanced with central Knauff red-list-free insulation, ensure maximum energy efficiency, temperature and sound insulation year round. habitat
Go Plastic Free – Get Luffed All hail the luffa, the bathroom staple that has won the test of time. Generations have been scrubbing themselves down in showers across the globe with this humble bathroom accessory.
Words by Junkies Photography Supplied
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The luffa plant, as well as keeping us buffed, is helping us become plastic-free in our bathrooms. Most of us have a version, whether it’s the round hand-held one with cloth backing or the raw one on a string. So why not grow one in the garden for easy access to this helpful plant.
Planting Guide Luffa plants like a well-drained but moist soil that is full of plenty of organic compost matter. They need a lot of room to roam or a sturdy trellis over which to climb. As they need plenty of sun in order to ripen, they are more suited to warmer climate growing areas.
Luffas belong to the Cucurbitaceae, or gourd, family, along with their somewhat distant cousins, squashes, watermelons, cucumbers, melons, and the hard-shelled gourds. It is often mistakenly thought of as something that comes from the sea, as the dried flesh of the plant has fibrous-like properties similar in appearance to sea sponges.
It is best to start the seeds off in pots in a greenhouse or inside a few weeks before planting time; once the warm weather settles in, plant them in a sunny position. Note: Seeds are best sought from an organic seed company, such as herbs-to-use.com.
Two varieties can be grown: Luffa aegyptiaca (the angled luffa that has ridges running along the length of the skin) or Luffa cyclindrica (the smooth luffa, which has a more rounded appearance). Both plants are vigorous annual vines with lovely yellow flowers. Being a vine, they can be used as a cover for outside pergolas. Not only are they used for their fibrous flesh, the fruit is similar in taste to squash and can be used in salads and other dishes. grow
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Gardener’s Revenge Pie For generations, people around the world have known how to identify, harvest and cook the wild food around them. This spanakopita is one of the many ways to feed your family and friends while getting to know some of the most nutritious and resilient plants around.
Words and Photography by Nicole Azzopardi
Method
This variation of spanakopita was made with young calendula seedlings, a handful of mallow and a cup or two of fresh nettles. Dandelion leaves and flowers as well as clover flowers are also featured.
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 2. Wash spinach, silver beet or kale thoroughly or drain well if frozen, squeezing out excess liquid by hand. 3. In a frying pan, gently cook onions and garlic until soft and aromatic in approximately 2Tbs of olive oil. Add all the greens and sauté until wilted. Allow to cool slightly. 4. In a mixing bowl, add the cooked greens and the remaining filling ingredients. Stir until thoroughly combined. 5. Unroll filo sheets and place them between two damp kitchen cloths to prevent drying out. 6. Brush bottom and sides of a baking dish with olive oil. 7. Line baking dish with two sheets of pastry, allowing them to fall over the sides of the dish if necessary. Brush with melted butter. 8. Spread filling over the bottom layer of the pastry. Top with two more sheets, and brush with butter. 9. Fold the excess pastry from the sides back into the dish; scrunch and crimp for effect if you wish. Brush folded sides well with olive oil or remainder of the melted butter. 10. Scatter sesame seeds across the top of your pie. 11. Bake for approximately 40 minutes to an hour, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven. 12. Cut your pie into squares and serve with a Greek salad and a bowl of warmed herby olives from your tree if you are lucky enough to have them!
This dish lends itself to a good degree of flexibility depending on what is growing in your garden. The young leaves of wild brassica and a juicy-looking sow thistle were also thrown into the mix. To this, I added a bunch of kale, but this can be substituted with silver beet or spinach depending on seasonality and availability. Ingredients Filling • 1 bunch chopped spinach, silver beet or kale • 4-6 handfuls of assorted edible weeds found in the garden* • 2 bunches flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 2 Tbs olive oil • 2 eggs • 200g feta cheese, crumbled • 200g ricotta cheese • 1 generous handful of finely chopped fresh herbs such as dill, thyme, mint, oregano – or a mix of any herbs you have growing in your garden • sprinkling of sesame seeds
Warning: Take the time to learn about your weeds. If in doubt, leave it out. Some edible weeds can be easily confused with more toxic plants. * nettles, calendula, dandelion leaves, mallow and young sow thistle are particular favourites, but small amounts of finely chopped clover leaves and flowers, chickweed and plantain leaves will also work nicely in moderate amounts (plantain can taste a bit grassy in my opinion). Handy tip: If you enjoy the taste of your greens at this point and could eat them as you would a stir-fry, they are ready to be incorporated into your spanakopita.
Pastry • 4-6 sheets of filo pastry** • 100g melted butter
** sometimes I alternate filling and pastry. When I want a quick pie, I am happy with a base layer of pastry, a generous amount of filling and then a layer of pastry to cover. nourish
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Wild Sisters On Victoria’s Surf Coast, doll making is experiencing a comeback with the revival of one of life’s oldest traditions.
Words and Photography Nicole Azzopardi
about the fact that this kind of waste is not going away for a very long time and it’s our personal impact on the earth.” For Katey, fabric holds story and meaning. Working with material remnants and off-cuts allows makers to not only participate in one of the oldest crafts in history by making their own doll, it allows people to also work through feelings of nostalgia, sentimentality, grief, love and attachment. “We all have bits and pieces that we can’t get rid of”, says Katey. “Perhaps it’s your grandfather’s corduroy jacket, or your mother’s lace tablecloth that has a tear in it; finding a way to incorporate the fabrics of our lives in this way is meaningful and important.”
Wooden paddle dolls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs; African dolls were used as the messengers of gods and ancestors; and in certain Hindu religious rituals, dolls and icons, or murtis, made of pottery, stone and metal, have been featured for centuries. Throughout history, dolls have long been used to help us learn, contemplate and understand ourselves; to express the inexpressible; to comfort and provide joy; and to give form and meaning to that which is in all of us. For Torquay-based textiles worker and artist, doll making is not just a ritual and a pleasure, it’s part of a solution to our climate crisis. Inspired by the Wild Sister Doll project, her workshop series, To Hell or Heaven in a Hand Basket, is about re-using and recycling found materials to teach others the craft of traditional making, as well as bringing awareness to the unsustainable issue of fast plastic. “I wanted to start a conversation about single-use plastic and what it is that we leave behind,” says Katey. “I created what I call a global marketplace of textiles from my collected trims and offcuts for people to rummage through and make their own dolls.” In these workshop settings, Katey offers budding makers the opportunity to create their own eco-warrior doll while contemplating their own plastic footprint as they make it. “I get people to think about what life would look like if we had to live with our rubbish instead of it being removed every week”, Katey says. “We’d probably change our minds about what we are prepared to use. In the workshops I get people to ask themselves: ‘If I was to die tomorrow and my plastic was left in a pile – what would that look like?’. Those who love fake nails would have a pile of plastic fingernails, others would have a pile of soy milk cartons and flavoured mineral water bottles. We talk
“For Katey, fabric holds story and meaning.” Often described as quiet craft, Katey’s doll-making workshops are therapeutic and reconnect us to the maker, creator and artist in all of us. “Working with your hands is an important part of being human”, she says. “When we stitch, when we make, it’s an expression of who we are. When people are working with their hands they are able to articulate their feelings in a way they don’t normally, so stories come from different parts of their lives.” Crafting gets people talking about their passion for making, their concerns for the environment; it strips back some of the intellectualism and feelings of being overwhelmed that is our response to the climate crisis. “And it feels a bit empowering”, Katey says. “It feels good to step through a process of how each of us can learn to re-purpose and re-use.” create
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“When we stitch, when we make, it’s an expression of who we are.”
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liked the idea of cooking”, he said. “I began when I was 16 and simply fell in love with cooking. I’m just a chef who really loves my craft. My passion came from how and where I learned to cook. I started creating Asian food a bit later in my career, after building a strong background in general cooking in professional kitchens, and acquiring a good understanding of food. I found Asian cuisine very exciting – the techniques, the diversity of flavour, the ingredients – it all came together for me and I’ve embraced it”. Let me tell you, reader, that you’ll embrace it too. The food is sublime.
years prior, before that, a bicycle repair shop. When we were doing renovations, we found a trap door; they must have taken the bikes in and lowered them down to the basement to work on them. That was a bit of a surprise, when you are renovating you always find a few surprises here and there and that was certainly our biggest one.” We called our new business Catfish Thai before changing the name to Mr. Jones. I asked her why the building was so special to her. “I remember when our children were little we used to walk past and I just remember thinking how beautiful it was but that we could never do anything with it. But then we opened Catfish and it really started to happen.”
Main Hitters Tattoo Parlor Whilst there are antique shops, vintage shops and a bookshop on Main Road, in addition to several great places to dine and chill out, if you want a permanent souvenir of your visit, drop into Main Hitters Tattoo Parlor for some new ink.
I asked Danielle what drives the couple’s inspiration for their renowned menu? “We try to go to Thailand every second year to have a look at the food and see what’s happening”, said Danielle. “I make the desserts, and I’d have to say our most popular one is our white chocolate mousse with poached pineapple, Asian spices, fresh passionfruit and honeycomb, which we make in-house. Visitors come from Geelong for it, we’ve been making it since we opened Catfish, so it’s always on the menu.”
In summary, if you’re planning a trip to Ballarat, make sure to come on down and check out Main Road. With great dining, live music, fabulous vintage ware, antiques, books and tattoos, it’s a must.
Damien has been a chef for 30 years and has spent many of those years in Thailand and other places in Asia, cultivating his skills before he and Danielle opened Mr. Jones. “I always
*Read more about solutions to single-use cups in Café Happiness on page 64.
You can even come say hi to us junkies at our new HQ. We love the street so much we’re moving in!
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Standing Strong Together Illustrations by Brenna Quinlan
These are extraordinary times; our lives have changed so dramatically over the past weeks affecting us on every level: from individuals, families and communities to businesses big and small, and to governments. These sweeping changes stretch world-wide, engendering change on a global level. At this time, we must stay strong and stand together. During this time of isolation, anxiety and more time at home, there are some simple but enjoyable ways we can keep busy and productive. Let’s embrace the simple things we can do for ourselves, our families and the community we live in.
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Managing Anxiety Maintaining your mental and physical health while staying at home is important at this time. Make sure you look after yourself and take the time to enjoy simple pleasures. Concentrate on slowing down and attaining mindfulness. Make a plan where you carve out a portion of your day to truly relax and then catch up on some jobs you normally don’t get the time to do.
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Time in Isolation There are plenty of great ways to keep busy while in isolation. Why not use this time to undertake some ecofriendly tasks that will make you feel like the ecowarrior you are and keep you connected with our earth. Remember, it is the small actions that, together, add up to make a difference to the planet.
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How to Boost Your Immune System Eating good food that nourishes your mind and body is the key to helping build your immune defence systems. Adding some of these regularly to your cooking will add some flavour, plus the added advantage of also containing a number of nutrients that have been shown to possess a number of virus-fighting T-cells, which when released into your bloodstream to help fight off colds and the flu that are caused by viruses.
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