Farming on the fringe: Q&A with Anna Meroni

Many hands make light earth

Buy Nothing Christmas

Anna Meroni, from Nutrire Milano (Feeding Milan), visited Australia recently for the On the Edge forum, run by Village Well.

Why should people care about agriculture on the city fringe?

I AM a designer – I believe that people really understand something when they are touched by the issue, not because of rational drivers. If I have to convince someone that the food produced just close to the city is important, I would say that it’s a matter of wellbeing and wellness of the whole environment.

LAST week I visited The Plummery, my friend Kat Lavers’ urban permaculture demonstration home. I’d received an email from her, addressed to undisclosed recipients, with a subject line that read, “Come and get mudddddy with me!”

That’s five d’s. That’s a lot of mud. Here’s Kat, when I arrived:

What would the festive season be like without the bells and whistles?

ONE way of preparing for Christmas involves buying new things – a lot of new things. But there are other ways too.

The New South Wales Uniting Church runs a website called What Would Jesus Buy?, which contains articles and links – both spiritual and secular – on the matter of consumption. As the website’s coordinator, Stephen Webb, explains, its tagline is “Stop the shopocalypse”.