regeneration By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni & Supplied
L
ily Grace Phillips was an adventurous, vibrant visionary. She had big ideas and big dreams. When she was four she told her mother, Jacqui Lanarus, “I want to be a makeup artist to the stars!” She did become a beautician, but her stars were heavenward. Lily died in February 2018 at the age of twenty in a tragic 4WD accident.
Lil, as she was affectionately known, loved being with family and had lots of friends. Instead of a funeral, a celebration of her life was held. Over 700 people turned up. Lil was an interesting mix. She was as happy on the couch with her Mums, Jacqui and wife, Gabrielle Banay as she was outdoors in nature. She liked glamour, but didn’t mind getting dirty camping and going on 4WD expeditions. She had been planning for years to travel around Australia in a 'Troopy' with her dog. One of Lil’s big dreams was to own a bush block with pasture-raised hens and sell their eggs while operating a beauty salon on the property. She’d collect eggs in the morning and do beauty therapy in the afternoon.
Through the incredibly hard work and dedication of her Mums, the first phase of that dream has come true in Lil’s Yolky Dokey Egg Farm. This is particularly impressive considering neither Jacqui nor Gab had any experience in farming. Both were working in the city at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in Food Education. Jacqui and Gab embraced farming, initially working thirteen hours a day seven days a week. Working so hard and having such a steep learning curve proved a much-needed distraction from loss and grief. They didn’t have time to think about much else. They were laser focused on achieving Lil’s dream. Shortly after losing Lil, they leased a 50-acre property in Somerville and got to work learning the pasture-raised egg business. This method is the optimal way of farming eggs because it provides the best living conditions for the chickens and results in the best tasting eggs. Yet this sort of farming is a rarity. “Our girls live in chicken caravans on pasture. Those doors are never closed. There are perches inside and nesting boxes where they lay their eggs, but they are free to roam and forage 24/7. continued page 12...
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10 | PENINSULA
December 2022