The winner of Pip’s 2018 award for Best Permie Project is Green Connect. We’re excited to share what makes Green Connect stand out as an example of permaculture at its dynamic best.
Green Connect is a social enterprise doing good things for people and the planet. It grows and sells ‘fair food’ which is good for those who eat it, grow it and the planet. Last year Green Connect employed 114 former refugees and young people to do this, growing and distributing 13,754 kilos of fair food and keeping 1,990 tonnes of waste out of landfill. Recently Green Connect reached an all-time high of feeding 104 families fresh permaculturally grown seasonal food through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable box scheme. Waste management and labour-hire businesses are also a part of Green Connect.
Green Connect is located in Port Kembla, south of Wollongong in the Illawarra region, 70 km south of Sydney. The Illawarra grew out of mining and heavy industry through the 20th century, and like so many places in Australia, large-scale manufacturing has been shedding jobs. Green Connect started under SCARF (Strategic Community Assistance to Refugee Families) as a project aimed at building employment skills and experience among former refugees in the area.