Yes, we can.

I am just coming back from a week of meetings, events and workshops out in the Mid West, between Kandos, Mudgee, Capertee and Bylong Valley.
This was the first, on-the-ground-time for me to spend on the Wildfood Store project in the region.
I met some amazing people, and I saw some very dry conditions too.

We are now in ‘the worst drought in living memory’, and by now rural communities are just unsure of what’s next.

With this in mind, I went to talk to the people working and living in regional NSW.
I cannot do much, and despite the fact that support is coming in from all over the places in forms of donation drives or government rebates, the elephant in the room is that we -as a society- need to reconsider the expectations we have of the land.

So here I am, bringing forth a proposal that hopefully will drive interest in available, drought-resistant species: the spontaneous flora that grows despite the harsh conditions.

Wildfood Store is a marketplace for edible wild plants.
We are setting up harvesting hubs within 4 hours drive of Sydney.
We provide fresh, clean and sustainably harvested wild produce to the fine dining industry of Sydney.
We offer training, advice, logistic support and distribution capabilities.

The project has two heads.
On the one side I need farmers to look at their property and tell me what edible species they can guarantee delivery of.
On the other side I am offering novelty produce to top-level restaurant in the city, to see what they recognise as havin value and what they want to work with.

We are lucky to have a distribution partner on board, Sydney Direct Fresh Produce, that is promoting the produce and providing an extensive network of distribution. They will act as the portal of access for the restaurants and cafes.

Below is the list of species we are focusing on at the moment from the Sutherland harvesting hub.
We have already started to roll them out.

The Mid Western region of NSW would be one of the harvesting hubs for the project and so far we are looking at: Nettle, Flatweed, Mallow, Peppercorn berries, Wild fennel, Wild asparagus, Farmers friend, Purslane and Salsify.

In my next blog post I will talk about the stories that are emerging from this experience. So much to say, so many possibilities. It is so humbling to realise how much abundance there is out there, despite the drought.

Diego Bonetto. Wildfood advocate.