A question I am often asked by visitors to the farm is, "Where do you get all of this stuff from?" The 'stuff' being referred to are the equipment, tools, materials and buildings on-site. The only infrastructure already in place before the farm development were the 5 x 10,000 litre rainwater tanks, an initiative of recently retired Principal, Mr Ian McDonald. Everything else has been acquired on a very restricted budget in the following ways:
Generous donations - Facebook buy, swap and sell sites - For sale sections on Gumtree - Freebies section on Gumtree - Kerbside cleanup finds - Purely opportunistic acquisitions
It can take many hours of constantly monitoring online buy, swap and sell sites to find the right materials and equipment. I have also discovered that there is no harm in asking someone whether the roll of chicken wire or old wheelbarrow sitting in their garage is for sale. When I explain that the item would be going to our Urban Farm, people are generally willing to negotiate a reasonable price or, on a good day, will make a donation. Not only are these methods of gathering materials really a necessity on a low budget, but the reusing of items also fulfills our commitment to sustainable practices.
As the farm grows in size and reputation, we are now in a position to be able to apply for Community Grants in order to fund some of the larger acquisitions.
