Feature articles

In praise of Sweet Potato leaves

-John Seed

I come from the school of gardening that prizes developing a taste for plants that want to grow without mollycoddling, rather than struggling to grow plants where they don’t want to be, just because I like the taste. Silverbeet and lettuce, for example, are subject to all manner of bugs and diseases, whereas nutritious sweet potato leaves (which I first encountered in PNG and the Solomon Islands) are available all year round and largely impervious.

Sweet potato leaves are edible green leaves from the sweet potato plant. They are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, along with essential minerals like calcium and iron. These leaves have a slightly bitter taste and a texture similar to spinach. They can be used in stir-fries, soups, salads, and other dishes.

Nutritionally, sweet potato leaves offer significant benefits while containing very few calories. – 1 cup of cooked chopped leaves weighs around 64 g and contains about 22 calories/90 kilojoules. Halve that for a cup of raw leaves. They are considered High Oxalate so stay away if you have kidney stones but, for perspective, 58mg oxalate/100gm leaves compared to Spinach, with 490mg/100gm.

Rats will eat the tubers – the sweet potato itself – but the only thing around where I live that I’ve seen stop the leaves is brush turkeys, which will destroy the whole patch once they discover it, so if you have turkeys as neighbours you need a chicken wire cage around the bed, and should clip off the leaves as the vines climb past the chicken wire and try to spread all around.

There are lots of recipes online of course, but we like stir-fry with garlic and soy sauce. One of these days  I’m looking forward to trying some of the recipes with spicy coconut milk or cream from The Congo as well as all over SE Asia.

Emet’s wild plant journey: food, permaculture and community

-Rafaele Joudry – Narara Ecovillage Education

“Wild plants are not just her passion-come-lately, but a lifelong journey of deep living and connection.”

About nine years ago, when I was in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to join a workshop on foraging for wild edible plants. The leader was Emet Değirmenci, who had gathered in-depth plant knowledge from many continents. When I heard she was from Turkey, I wondered how she could be teaching us about New Zealand plants – but my doubts soon left me when she started to speak. For her, wild plants are not just a passion-come-lately, but a lifelong journey of deep living and connection.

Wild foraging dates back beyond ancient times, and this art is now discovering a renaissance in the modern food movement. Every continent offers an abundance of wild plants that can be used for healing, cooking and flavoring, combining indigenous knowledge with the latest trends in cuisine. Wild food foraging provides ways to form a deeper connection with the environment. Understanding and valuing wild landscapes gives a new appreciation of ecosystems, as we learn about the abundance of nature.

Foraging needs to be learned and undertaken with caution, however, as plants can be toxic, or may require special preparation, so this is an art that needs to be taught by an expert in plant identification and usage.

As I later got to know Emet, I discovered her to be a woman of deep integrity and dedication to planet earth and to ecological living. Coming from a peasant background, Emet started practising agro-ecology in her teens. Her life journey took her into the social ecological movement, which predates and underlies many of the elements of permaculture. She became an author, teacher and keynote speaker on food, culture and Social Ecology, campaigning for food justice and helping to build resilient neighbourhoods.

She has lived and worked in Turkey and also in America, Australia and New Zealand — and wherever she is, she engages and learns about the local plants. In 2007 she started a project called “Innermost Gardens” for refugees and new migrants in Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Later she lived in Seattle in the US where she practiced permaculture for food sovereignty.

A lot of her work has been in Turkey- her country of origin- where she has run permaculture courses over the years, for many community groups. Emet said that when she runs courses in Turkey, the people take the teachings fully on board, and she is delighted when she returns to the area to find that the learnings she planted have taken root and borne fruit in the form of many ongoing projects.

Emet has drawn together groups of women from many continents to share and document knowledge of wild plants. Her understanding that she brings to foraging therefore introduces a depth of both botanical and cultural knowledge.

She is now returning to Australia and looks forward to assisting in community-building food resilience projects. Emet says: “We humans can be a part of, rather than attempting to dominate, nature and we can cease the domination of each other as well. We can reconstruct the web of life. If we create inclusive interdependent neighborhoods with people of every colour, we can build food sovereignty, which means democratising the whole food system from the bottom up.”

Emet is offering a workshop at Narara Ecovillage on Saturday June 28. See the ad in the events listing below

Love is an act of resistance

– Loryn Brantz

In a time of hate

Love is an act of resistance

In a time of fear

Faith is an act of resistance

In a time of misinformation

Education is an act of resistance

In a time of poor leadership

Community is an act of resistance

In a time like this

Joy is an act of resistance

Resist. Resist. Resist.

Dehydrating and the Benefits of Living in a Community

-Jazz Mozzi

Bright red tomatoes, chopped by many hands into huge pans for processing into passata (tomato puree). An Italian village, tables under trees, smiles, chatter and dozens of filled bottles at the end of the day – the sheer volume of food that can be processed when a community comes together to share the work.

Fast forward a couple of decades and that “feel good” picture in my mind has become a reality at Narara Ecovillage. I’ve always liked images of bright red tomatoes being chopped by many hands into huge pans for processing into passata (tomato puree). A typical Italian village, tables under trees, smiling faces, chatter and dozens of filled bottles at the end of the day. I was impressed at the sheer volume of food that can be processed processing that can be done when everyone in the community comes together to help. Fast forward a couple of decades and that “feel good” picture in my mind has become a reality at Narara Ecovillage.

We have over 200 people in the Narara Ecovillage community, no shortage of hands to grow, harvest, wash, prepare and preserve our excess produce. The next leap in my brain was towards dehydrating foods – fresh produce, herbs, nuts, mushrooms, meat and whatever else I could experiment with.

The advantage of living with many others is the buying power. Our on-site coffee cart makes delicious lunches and the owners have been able to take advantage of specials at the markets or fruit farms in the district knowing that everything will be used whether dried, making chutneys, juicing or bottling.

Dehydrators come in a couple of models, the round and the larger square ones. Between us there are about 10 dehydrators, another advantage of living in the village; not everyone has to own a piece of equipment. We have a large community lounge with a super long kitchen bench where 15-20 can stand and process whatever glut there is now, currently it is citrus. Sliced oranges and lemons can be dried until almost crispy. Apples are one of the easiest if you have an apple-peeler/corer/slicer. A production line can easily fill the trays and children enjoy helping too. Dried apples in an airtight container last for months. I do keep them in the fridge, but you don’t have to.

Tomatoes can be semi-dried and bottled with olive oil, fresh garlic and basil leaves. They need to be consumed in a couple of weeks because there are no preservatives added. Fully dried sliced tomatoes last indefinitely and I have a packet that I show people dated 2012! They can be reconstituted in hot water, soups and stews. Purees can be poured into the trays (you need solid sheets for this) and a favourite is banana and walnut crackers. The 10 trays in the photo are filled with crumble, a mixture of soaked dates, desiccated coconut and dried until crispy. Additions could be chopped apples, nuts, dried fruits, cacao powder etc.

My next dream is to acquire a pallet load of apples. Preferably from a local farm,  then share in that feel good camaraderie and chatter with willing helpers here in the village to have an apple drying day. We do have lots of solar power and can easily run 10 dehydrators on a sunny day from sunup to sundown, finishing with glasses of red wine crusty bread, semi-dried tomatoes and mounds of dried apples. All served on the red and white check tablecloths we use for community dinners. My Italian vision is coming alive!

Connecting to your Life Purpose

-Rafaele Joudry

Some days (maybe Mondays) everything seems pointless. Wake up, work, eat, TV, bed, repeat …  what’s the point? Then perhaps, something shifts- like a wind change, life gets back its glow. But what happened? Is it that you got in touch with something that matters?

One common misconception is that a purposeful life can be measured in wealth, status, or power. But achieving these goals may still leave an empty feeling … like something is missing. Because living with purpose means doing what aligns with your beliefs and values, and aiming for what makes you feel complete.

 Here are some steps that may be a key to fostering a greater sense of purpose in your life.

1. Recognise the things you care about
2. Trust yourself and do not worry about what others think
3. Focus on positive emotions, such as gratitude
4. Set goals and work toward their success
5. Find like-minded people and build a community where you truly belong

Narara Ecovillage founder, Lyndall Parris, is offering a workshop on connecting to your Purpose Saturday June 28. See the ad in the events listing below.

The Dawn of Everything – Review

[Describing] “ history … as a series of abrupt technological revolutions, each followed by long periods when we were prisoners of our own creations, has consequences. Ultimately it is a way of representing our species as decidedly less thoughtful, less creative, less free than we actually turn out to have been.”

-by Dave Burrows

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow is a fascinating and at times quite annoying book. Its central thesis is that the linear development of human society that we have heard about for centuries, where humans banded together in small groups of hunter-gatherers, then combined iinto larger tribes, then chiefdoms, monarchies and empires in a marvellous straight line, caused by agriculture and the sheer size of communities requiring ever greater hierarchies, is basically just wrong.

Of course some communities developed in that way but many did not, and in fact went from substantial agriculture (with non-hierarchical decision-making) back to foraging and hunting, while some largely foraging and hunting societies included hierarchies.

The many examples cited and the details of how the societies functioned and differed from each other (quite often adopting the opposite system of a neighbouring tribe or group) were excellent and very well written. But, presumably because it is written for readers with the attention span of a goldfish, the book is extraordinarily repetitive, stating the same facts over and over, often only two pages later. I found I had to skip the repetitions to get further along in the story.

My other criticism is that they shied away in the conclusion about anything more definite than what I’ve written above. It seemed to me there was enough evidence to at least speculate on whether (and for what reasons) some groups deliberately turned their backs on hierarchical systems.

A quote I liked: “Choosing to describe history the other way round, as a series of abrupt technological revolutions, each followed by long periods when we were prisoners of our own creations, has consequences. Ultimately it is a way of representing our species as decidedly less thoughtful, less creative, less free than we actually turn out to have been. It means not describing history as a continual series of new ideas and innovations, technical or otherwise, during which different communities made collective decisions about which technologies they saw fit to apply to everyday purposes, and which to keep confined to the domain of experimentation”.

Another: “Much of this book has been devoted to recalibrating those scales; to reminding us that people did actually live in those ways, often for many centuries, even millennia. In some ways, such a perspective might seem even more tragic than our standard narrative of civilization as the inevitable fall from grace. It means we could have been living under radically different conceptions of what human society is actually about. It means that mass enslavement, genocide, prison camps, even patriarchy or regimes of wage labour never had to happen. But on the other hand it also suggests that, even now, the possibilities for human intervention are far greater than we’re inclined to think.” 4.6 stars

Find out more in this wikipedia article

Events

Sat June 21- Sun 22: Learn Compassionate Communication- Non-Violent Communication (NVC) Weekend

• Communicate with confidence and authenticity.
• Navigate conflict with clarity and compassion.
• Build stronger, more connected relationships—with others and yourself.

Communication is at the Heart of Every Relationship

In partnership with Narara Ecovillage Education, this special weekend intensive offers a deep dive into the transformative principles of NVC. Whether you’re new to the model or looking to refresh your skills, this workshop provides practical tools to strengthen your communication in both personal and professional settings.

• When:June 21, 2025 @ 9:00 am – June 22, 2025 @ 5:30 pm
• Where:Narara Ecovillage Hall, 30 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost:$398-$530
• More info and tickets

Mon June 23: Enrolment Session for 8-week Introduction to Permaculture course at TAFE Gosford (start date July 28)

COURSE INCLUDES:

Permaculture ethics, principles and practices

Basic permaculture design

Create your own vegie patch

Elements of a healthy organic garden

Sustainable living & sustainable food systems

Community connections

• When: Enrolment session: Mon June 23, 11 am -12 pm (Course starts Monday July 28, 2025, 9:30am – 2:30pm)
• Where: Block E2/3 TAFE Gosford
• Cost: Free. (The course is also free for eligible students)
• More info:Nicolette Rowe OR Samantha Sims ph: 0279 209 271 em sims2@tafensw.edu.au

Sat June 28: Open Morning Tour and Talk

The Open Day (talk and tour) shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and demonstrates how we are activating a resilient community with ecological, social and economic potential by:

• shared food growing, natural retreats and permaculture spaces
• shared community and workplaces
• highly efficient, low-carbon homes

All are welcome.

• When: Sat June 28 10.00am – 1.00pm
• Where: Narara Ecovillage Hall, 33 Gugandi Road 2250
• Cost: $15 includes talk & walking tour around village, kids & NELN members free!
• MoreDetails and Registration

Sat June 28: The Joy of Purpose

Inspiration, Stories and Tips for connecting to yours

• Ignite Your Inner Spark: Saying “yes” to purpose can transform your life.
• Navigate Challenges with Courage: Missteps, miracles, and the power of collaboration to bring a vision to life.
• Manifest Your Unique Path: Equip yourself with practical tools and insights to uncover, and joyfully live your own sense of purpose.

Narara Ecovillage Founder Lyndall Parris offers inspiration for bringing purpose and joy to fruition in your life.

• When: June 28^th 2025 2-4pm
• Where: Narara Ecovillage Hall, 30 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: By donation to Narara Ecovillage Education (NEV Ed)
• Registration: https://joy-of-purpose-june-2025.lilregie.com/booking/attendees/new

Sat June 28 Foraging local edibles

• When: June 28^th 2025 1.30 to 3.30pm
• Where: Meet outside Narara Ecovillage Hall, 30 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: $20 – $69
• More info and registration link here

Thu July 3: Turning the Ship film

Rising Tide Central Coast Hub will screen the new film, Turning the Ship, about the 2024 Newcastle blockade. All are welcome. A $10 charge is requested and cheap food will also be available, together with Rising Tide T-shirts and promotional materials.

• When: 6pm Thursday 3 July
• Where: Narara Ecovillage Hall, 30 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: $10
• No registration required. Contact Dave Burrows (db042042@gmail.com) for further info

Sun July 6: Permaculture Central Coast July Gathering

We’ve got a packed afternoon planned – come along to connect, learn, share, and help shape the future of Permaculture Central Coast. We can’t wait to see you there!

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Makers’ Market + Shared Lunch

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Plastic Free July Sharing Session

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Annual General Meeting

• When: Sun July 6, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
• Where: Wyoming Community Centre Garden, 147 Maidens Brush Rd, NSW 2250
• Cost: Free for PCC members. Non-members welcome with a gold coin donation.
• More info here

Sat July 19-Sun 20: Central Coast open studio art trail including Narara Ecovillage: Save the Date

Image: Kristine Pedler

Meet local creatives from an array of disciplines at Narara Ecovillage, as part of the Central Coast 2025 open studio art trail. Our glorious cafe Neville will be operating on the Saturday with morning tea and lunch, so make a day of it and we look forward to welcoming you again at Narara Ecovillage.

• When: Sat 19-Sun 20 July
• Where: VARIOUS locations, including Narara Ecovillage, Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: Free, but you might want to buy something!
• More info (not yet finalised):Creative Journey | Love Central Coast

Image: Reg Shur

Sat July 26: July Open Weekend at Narara Ecovillage

Lots going on: Come to some of the events or come to all!

• When: July 26, 2025 @ 10:00 am – July 27, 2025 @ 4:00 pm
• Where: Narara Ecovillage, 30 Gugandi Road 2250
• Cost:From $15.00
• More information

Fri August 1- Sun 3: Deep Ecology workshop with John Seed, Kiran Kashyap & Sol Blackwood

Deep Ecology is a philosophy which understands that the illusion of separation between humans and the rest of the natural world is the engine driving the 6th mass extinction currently underway.

This transformative workshop allows us to become aware of our rootedness in the living Earth and the renewal, empowerment and vision that invariably ensue.

• When: 4pm Fri 1 – 4pm – Sun 3 August
• Where: Narara Ecovillage Hall, 33 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: Sliding scale from $150-$600 (25% of the proceeds donated to the Rainforest Information Centre) Accommodation is extra.
• More info & Registration: HERE

Other Deep Ecology workshops around Australia in 2025. Reviews from previous participants.

Every Friday: Zumba Gold

Zumba Gold is a fun, low-impact dance class for those new to dance or fitness, post-pregnancy, active older adults, people with an injury, neurodiversity or disability – we cater to all levels of ability. Come along and have a boogie with some great friends. 

• When: Every Friday, 11am-noon
• Where: Narara Ecovillage Hall, 30 Gugandi Rd 2250
• Cost: $15 per session: first session free!
• How: Just turn up. Queries: Carin: brightdiets@gmail.com. Further detailsat this link (Scroll down for dates)

Meet Neville, the coffee cart at Narara Ecovillage

• Fresh, local and wholesome food
• A place to connect
• Joy in every bite!

Accommodation at Narara Ecovillage

Paperbark House: in the heart of the village

• Self-catering lodge-style accommodation in the heart of Narara Ecovillage
• Individuals, families and children or groups welcome.
• More info, pictures and booking link here 

Zen House: a secluded getaway

• This fully-equipped artisanal tiny house on the edge of Strickland Forest suits singles or couples, but can sleep up to 4 if required
• Choose between complete privacy, adventuring through renowned forest trails, or experience one of Australia’s leading Ecovillages, chatting with the members, taking part in a workshop or working bee.
• More info, pictures and booking link here 

Land or houses for sale at Narara Ecovillage

Please check out this page on the village website: “AVAILABLE NOW” at NEV

Contact the Network News Editors  neln.network.news@gmail.com