Surely one of the earliest forms of trade must have been the swapping and sharing of produce? I like to imagine our cave men ancestors grunting and gesticulating their way through a primeval produce swap - as foraged berries and roots are traded for a seat around the fire and a morsel of freshly hunted meat.
I like to think of a time before Big Food, before the ColesWorth stranglehold on our food supply, before refregerated air transport, before we expected everything and anything to be available on our supermarket shelves ALL THE TIME. And I know I'm not the only one who pines for a return to simpler times, when food was enjoyed in season (or preserved when it was), when an excess of produce meant a good excuse to pop into the neighbour's house to share what you couldn't use yourself.
So in my role as the BREAZE Local Food Group Co-ordinator it has been my mission to create a regular swap, to help those of us who savour the seasons come together and share the spoils of our hard work in the garden. So it was incredibly satisfying to welcome in Spring on Saturday surrounded by others with the same vision at the first Ballarat Local Produce Swap in it's new home of the Ballarat Community Garden.
While the end of winter is usually a fairly sparse time in the garden and I thought the first swap might have been slightly tough going, there was infact plenty on the table. From seed collected from plots in the Ballarat Community Garden, to fresh flowers, eggs and greens, herbs, preserves and lemons - it was an encouraging sign of what is to come.
The sense of community was certainly strong on Saturday morning with more than 40 people participating in the swap or at least dropping in for look. So good to have the support of the Ballarat Community Garden and the Ballarat Permaculture Guild to help make the regular swap a viable monthly event.
The Ballarat Local Produce Swap will be held on the first Saturday of each month from 9.30am at the Ballarat Community Garden on the corner of Queen Street and Dyte Parade, so when you're contemplating your spring plantings why not pop a couple of extra plants in so you'll have plenty for swapping. If you have a fruit tree laden with lovely lemons (like the huge basket I got from Glad the cleaner at work) why not pick them and bring them along instead of feeling overwhelmed by trying to use them all yourself or perhaps letting them go to waste.
Feel free to bring seeds and seedlings as well - anything that can be traded or donated and put to good use (proceeds go to the Ballarat Community Garden).
Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the swap - it has been fantastic to get comments from people since Saturday talking about the dishes they made on the weekend with produce they'd swapped. Have to say the kale and parsley omlette I had for lunch today was that little bit more special knowing where the ingrdients (including the amazing eggs)
came from.
If you would like more information about the Ballarat Local Produce Swap feel free to email me via jane@breaze.org.au or 'like' the BREAZE facebook page for updates.
NEXT SWAP - SATURDAY OCTOBER 6TH - 9.30am.
