Bush Fire affected Eco Permaculture NSW Farm

February 1st, Our eco sustainable farm was fire impacted.

ABOUT US

In Wyndham NSW, 2938 Mt darragh road, is where we grow our herbs on our Permaculture farm and create our eco skin care products on our farm in our lab, employing locals and incorporating local ingredients.
Please visit our website to suss us out and all our Eco skin care products.

FIRST FIRE
The first fire on the 28th of December, we were to late to leave and had to stay and fight, thankfully 3 km from our boundary the wind changed.

JANUARY 2020
January was a night mare of 7 evacuations as new fires started, the border fire was raging, 3 fires joined.

FEBRUARY 2020
and finally on the 1st of feb the full fire front ripped through our property.


We were lucky, in between every evacuation we relocated our 50 animals, took everything out of our lab and prized possessions, closed up our building protecting them from radiant heat.
(my lab windows protected from radiant heat)
We cut out dead drought affected trees, we raked, we worked so so so so hard to save our farm.
Still the report was that our farm would be indefensible and if we stayed we would die, NO BODY was going to come and help, as this was a fire storm coming, not a "normal fighting fire"
(working hard cutting out all the dead drought affected trees)
Gregg is a volunteer firefighter, on the weekend our farm was burned,
our area on Mt Darragh road was evacuated and no one was allowed to stay and fight, it was heavily enforced that it will be to dangerous to put volunteers in our area.(Gregg in his fire uniform saying goodbye)
While gregg helped save houses in the township of wyndham he watched as the fire ripped through our property at a distance, knowing there was nothing he could do.
(the fire storm ripping through our property in the distance)
I was safe with our daughter in pambula with our puppies just watching the app and listening to the scanners, i had to break the news that our property was burning.
(we are in the middle of the red fire next to merimbula)
Gregg wasn't allowed upto our farm until the early hours of the morning, the fire truck was only allowed to stop at the top of our drive, through flames, smoke and ash with the fire truck lights he could make out that our strawbale home was there, still standing proud!!!!!!
(our front entry)
It was a long wait before it was safe to go and walk around our farm to see how it was affected, all of our building survived, a little battle scared, soot and ash attacked, but there they stand.
(our lush garden before)
Our 2 orchards are ruined with about 50 fruit nut and berry trees burnt from radiant heat, and all the orchard netting melted as well, and of course fences and crops.(our lush garden after radiant heat damage)
Our income is mainly from local markets where we make most of our money in january and february, unfortunately with all tourists evacuated and all markets cancelled we just couldn't make any money at all.
We have estimated a 50K worth of damage, with water tanks and irrigation as well as all mentioned above.
(burnt out tank and my best aloe vera plants)
OUR ASK
Of course our home and buildings were all insured,  though all that was affected was not, so this is our ask, as we don't qualify for grants re not being a primary producer we are now asking for help to get back to where we were so we can start our healing process and bring our farm back to its former glory.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM YOUR KIND DONATION
This will help not only us, though our community as well, we employ locals to work in our gardens, we bring tourist into the our town for farm tours, we employ locals in our lab as well, the sooner we can stop spending money on repairs the sooner we can start paying our staff again.

WHY ARE WE ASKING
Unfortunately if your home isn't burnt down there isn't much help out there with donated money, and yes those who have lost everything must be taken care of 100%. Though for us where we have lost our income, lost our farm that provides income, the stress, the torture, the displacement we fall through the cracks.

WHEN
We really need your help now.

16/02/2020
As i write this i am in our caravan in Bega for all roads are closed and no school buses, our house is unlivable and our insurers wont let us in for we need it assessed for contents insurance re smoke and soot damage.
It is costing us $500 pw to have 2 caravans, our dogs and trailers for our animals.

Thank you so much for getting this far in my post lol, we love eco sustainable living and cant wait to get back to our farm, pop on over to our socials to see our progress.

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