Hey there *first name*,
Worst job in the world: private chef to a billionaire.
Best job in the world: cooking shoulder-to-shoulder with Su Dennett.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been helping Su cater the annual Ashram PDC, plating up seasonal local fare for twenty four bright eyed students.
On the menu?
Purslane salad and pickled onions, grilled peppers and summer sweet corn, heirloom tomato risotto, spiced goat curry and cucumber seventeen ways.
The food is piled high on an outdoor table beneath a canopy of grapes and kiwifruit. Hungry students oooh and aaaah. Su introduces each dish; what’s in it and where the ingredients came from. And before descending on the meal like a flock of seagulls, we’re invited to kick off our shoes, form a circle, hold hands, close eyes, breathe deeply, breathe together, and send the energy around.
These reverential routines are so rare in our rushed modern world – giving thanks, acknowledging place, respecting seasonal limits and knowing that the curry had a name (Charlie).
Thank goodness for elders like Su who remind us that gratitude is the best digestive enzyme.
There’s much to mung on in this bumper autumnal newsletter, beaming your way from beautiful Djaara Country in Central Victoria. Thanks for reading!
Unshod,
Catie
and the Holmgren Design/RetroSuburbia team
Early Access to Beekeeping Naturally's online course
Natural beekeeping is about honouring the bees, the seasons and our very own nervous systems; it’s a practice of deep connection and presence… and it’s totally different to conventional beekeeping!
The long awaited Beekeeping Naturally Online Course with Adrian Iodice kicks off on March 31 and we have a special offer for our email community (see below) 💓
This comprehensive course covers everything from hive dynamics and bee health, Kenyan Top Bar hives and how to respectfully harvest honey. Adrian’s teachings have personally changed the way we relate to bees, and the world at large. What an extraordinary teacher!
As a treat for the Holmgren Design/RetroSuburbia community, enjoy lifetime access to the Beekeeping Naturally online course for the same price as the yearly access (SAVE $215). Only available until 31 March 2025.
👉🏽 Unlock early access at a sweet discount by following the link
Permaculture Week
Taking the pulse of Permaculture
Sun 23rd March - 7.00pm Castlemaine
David Holmgren & Costa Georgiadis in conversation
Join us for a heady/beardy convo with permaculture’s co-originator David Holmgren and Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis as they dig into wicked global issues and the wonderful solutions beneath our feet.
Held in the cosy Tortoise Espresso Castlemaine. Come with a full belly; light refreshments will be served. Entry is by gold coin donation at the door but registration is essential.
It’s Permaculture Week, people!
This event celebrates the start of Permaculture Week – seven inspiring days of earth friendly action from Saturday March 22 till Saturday March 29. It’s time to go all in on creating the greener, more harmonious world our hearts know is possible… and carry it into the future.
👉 Explore the Permaculture Week website to find events happening near you, or host your own!
Oh ho ho, what mischief is this?
ANNOUNCING: Read RetroSuburbia Conspicuously In Public Day
We’re plotting a public display of permie solidarity and would love you to be involved.
On the bus, on the train, at the dinner table, during a boring-as-bat-guano business meeting… we invite you to whip out David Holmgren’s bestselling 2kg manual for resilient living, wherever you are, and:
Attract the attention of other permies
- Spark random conversations
- Take a stand against screen zombification
- Build upper body strength (that thing ain’t light)
- Have some fun
When? Anytime during Permaculture Week – from Saturday March 22 till Saturday March 29.
Bonus points for taking a snap and tagging us on social media @retrosuburbia #readretrosuburbiainpublicday
👉 You can find RetroSuburbia online, at your local library, or borrowed from a friend
Reskillience with Dr Maya Ward
Are rivers alive? Do mountains speak? Can you access altered states with pen and paper?
This Reskillience interview with Dr Maya Ward, longtime permaculturalist and leading voice in listening to Country, is a beautiful companion to bottling pears or saving seeds, though don’t cry directly into the plant matter. We loved it, and hope you do too.
👉🏽 Find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, or your favourite podcast repository.
David & Su at Bello Readers & Writers Festival
Beloved Bello on NSW’s mid north coast is a haven of arts and culture, so what better place for David and Su to pop up this winter? The 2025 Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival is on between 6-8 June, with David Holmgren amongst the speakers. We don’t have the juicy details yet, but you can check their website for updates and we’ll keep you in the loop too.
Find us at:
holmgren.com.au
retrosuburbia.com
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We live, love and labour in Djaara Mother Country, on unceded sacred land.
