The RegenNarration

Louise O’Neill is a British-born holistic health professional and farmer. She met husband Warren as a backpacker, and now with their two sons, they’ve embarked on a gutsy, vivid and transformative journey. The O’Neills were farmers in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, but reached a point where the tribulations and toxicity of that life were literally hitting them in the face. When a tractor breakdown prompted personal breakdown, they picked up and moved south, took courses in regenerative agriculture, and started to turn their new farm’s fortunes around. And out of all this, Louise began to expand her passion and enterprise for helping to improve the health of regional families across the country.When we returned south from the Kimberley late last year, we had earmarked some time south in the new year with Tanya Massy and her partner Kris, near Denmark in Western Australia (that story features in the previous episode). With Tanya just setting up her place, Louise and Warren reached out to welcome us to their home. And as we got to know each other a little, I was struck again by the gutsy transformations being negotiated in people’s lives everywhere. This was another brilliant and moving story of regeneration. And again, with an invitation to others to explore the abundant opportunities with them.Update: Soon after this was recorded, Louise was named a finalist in the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award. A week later, she was declared the winner. She now goes into the mix for the national award.This conversation was recorded in the dappled shade by the creek at Mt Romance farm on 28 January 2022.Title slide: the entrance to Mt Romance farm (pic: Olivia Cheng).You can see a few photos from Mt Romance on the episode web page too.Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now. Find more:Farm Life Fitness. Visit Mt Romance farm (their farm-stay business).Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Part 2 of this episode with Tanya Massy was recorded in two locations. The first half was recorded back at the farm in Western Australia, on that hay bale. We delved further into Tanya’s deep personal journey of leaving Severn Park and starting up a new farming enterprise on the other side of the country. That was recorded back in January, as that enterprise was just going to market. Then came heartbreak. Soon after we left, Tanya and Kris had to pull the plug on it all and return to the Massy farm at Severn Park. As fate would have it, come late March, Tanya and Kris had just arrived back at Severn Park when we were in northern Victoria visiting Ian and Courtney (my guests from episode 89). So we followed the Murray River for a while, wound our way through the Snowy Mountains, and reconnected with Tanya back at Severn Park for the second half of this episode. We talk about what happened, how they’re recovering, how the land is thriving, and what they’re starting up now.This conversation was recorded on-location at Severn Park in New South Wales, on 3 April 2022.Title slide: The ‘treehouse’ – Charlie Massy’s office, inside which this conversation was recorded, at Severn Park farm (pic: Anthony James).See the episode web page for a selection of photos from Severn Park, including some spectacular 'before and after' shots. Music:Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Find more:You can hear the rest of Tanya and I in conversation in the main episode: ‘Farming Wonder: Tanya Massy on growing up, starting up and scaling up regeneration’. You’ll find a few links in the show notes, and a few more photos on that episode web page too. And if you’re interested, you can hear the WOMAD event I hosted with Charlie Massy, along with Anika Molesworth and Bruce Pascoe, on the WOMAD podcast.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Tanya Massy is one of three brilliant daughters of regenerative agriculture legend, Charles Massy. Though she’ll tell you she’s been equally inspired by the strength and spirit of her mother Fiona. Great lineage aside, Tanya is forging her own pivotal path as a regenerative farmer, award-winning writer, and highly respected researcher. A couple of recent reports, in particular, are making a big impact, exploring the barriers to regeneration, and breakthrough opportunities, with communities around Australia and the world. Stemming from that, she’s helping to create more of those breakthrough opportunities in some significant ways. Meanwhile, she continues to chart her own farming journey, starting up a new enterprise far from home. This is where we meet for this conversation - at the new farm, Wildewood, near the town of Denmark in the south of Western Australia. I’d last seen Tanya there in late 2020, just as they were settling on the land purchase. A little over a year later, and we’re one of their first customers at the local farmers market. But none of this story follows a straight line.This conversation was recorded at Wildewood Farm on 23 January 2022.Title slide: Tanya in the foreground, with little companion Nullaki at her feet, partner Kris to her right, and Olivia to her left (pic: Anthony James).Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now.Find more:Tune into Part 2 to this episode, Mountainside to Oceanside ... & Back.Changing Face of Farming magazine, with Tanya on the cover. Sustainable Table Fund.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

I had this conversation with Cathy McGowan in the middle of last year, just as the community independents movement in Australia was really picking up. Since then, it’s been astronomical – the number of ‘voices for’ groups has exploded around the country, followed by an array of quality candidates that have responded to their communities’ calls to contest the next federal election. And many of them are genuine contenders. So with the election now due next month, it seemed a good time to re-release this pragmatic and inspired last 20 minutes or so of my conversation with Cathy.The community Cathy represented in the seat of Indi changed the trajectory of politics in this country, and may just be about to see it transform altogether. I’ve just spent some time visiting people around Indi, and seen posters of Helen Haines, Cathy’s brilliant successor, in town after town. And why wouldn’t they be? Perhaps this little excerpt can help spur us along towards what Cathy envisages as the transformation of politics in this country by 2030. We pick things up with a powerful sequence from Cathy, and an insight into what’s bubbling up around the country in the lead up to the next federal election. We then go into how things worked for her, as the first female independent MP to sit on the Australian parliamentary crossbench, and other increasingly successful independents, on the ground – the practical realities, the value set, and the networks of support that make it all possible. We close with more of the vision, strategy and supportive infrastructure being developed, to get more community-minded independents elected. Oh, and an express request from Cathy to share this podcast.Title slide: Just one of the many Helen Haines billboards all around Indi right now.Music:Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.Find more:You can hear the rest of our conversation in episode 85, ‘Politics That Works: A proven way becoming a powerful movement’.And my conversation with our local independent candidate, Kate Chaney, is in episode 110, ‘Independents Day: Kate Chaney on contesting a key seat & transforming politics’. There are a series of links on each of those episode web pages too.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is a Spanish version of episode 113. Esta es una versión en español del episodio 113. Aqui, por supuesto, Inés habla por sí misma, y Rony traduce mis palabras. Desafortunadamente, no incluye las partes del episodio principal donde Rony y yo hablamos en inglés, cuando me dirigía a él directamente. Pero incluye una platica divertida extraoficial donde hablamos entre nosotros tres en español. Retomamos nuestra conversación al principio.El Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP) es una cooperativa sin fines de lucro que comenzó en el año 2000 en San Lucas Tolimán, a orillas del espectacular Lago de Atitlán en las tierras altas Mayas de Guatemala. Fue creado por un grupo de Kakchiquel Mayas con el deseo de usar semillas nativas, permacultura, conocimientos indígenas tradicionales y educación, para crear recuperación social después de 36 años de conflicto armado que eliminó a cientos de comunidades y desplazó a millones de sus tierras. Recuerdo haberme inspirado con el IMAP en sus primeros años, cuando vivía en Guatemala. Y a finales del año pasado, los organizadores de un importante premio mundial me contactaron para informarme de que IMAP era uno de sus ganadores.Esta conversacion fue grabada por el 1 de Marzo 2022 con Inés en Guatemala y Rony en Canada.Foto principal: Lago de Atitlán.Música:Stones & Bones, por Owls of the Swamp.Encuentra más:Puedes escuchar la versión en inglés de Inés, Rony y yo en conversación en el episodio principal: 'Transformations with Mayan Culture and Permaculture'. También encontrarás algunas fotos allí. IMAP sitio de webLush Spring PrizeSpring Prize sitio de web sobre IMAPEthical Consumer sitio de webY su sitio dedicado al Lush Spring PrizeSe puede ver los premios en seis idiomas diferentes aqui.Gracias, como siempre, a los generosos seguidores de este podcast, por hacerlo posible. Si usted también valora lo que escucha, considere unirse a ellos convirtiéndose en patrocinador o donante del podcast, dirigiéndose al sitio web. ¡Gracias por ayudar a mantener el espectáculo en marcha! Y gracias por escuchar.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

El Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP) - the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute - is a not-for-profit coop that started in 2000 in San Lucas Tolimán, on the shores of the spectacular Lake Atitlán in the Mayan highlands of Guatemala. It was created by a group of Maya Kakchiquel with the desire to use native seeds, permaculture, traditional Indigenous knowledge and education, to create social healing after 36 years of armed conflict that wiped out hundreds of communities and displaced millions from their land. I remember being inspired by IMAP in its early years, when I was living in Guatemala. And late last year, I was contacted by the organisers of a major global award advising that IMAP was one of its winners.I had arranged to speak with IMAP coordinator Inés Cuj, only to find twice the privilege when founding director Rony Lec joined us as a translator. Rony is one of the world’s leading experts in permaculture and Mayan ancestral knowledge. Rony’s father was killed by the army during the war, and he has recently moved to Canada to secure the safety of his family. And, he says, to get his hands back in the soil. Inés succeeded Rony in the lead role, and Rony credits her with bringing so much of what IMAP needed to take its vital next steps. From empowering women and youth, to developing the viability of IMAP itself, along with that of the many farmers and communities with whom they work. With thanks to Clare Carlile and team at the legendary Ethical Consumer magazine in the UK for setting up this conversation. Turns out they’d been inspired by the podcast and wondered if I’d be interested in becoming a media partner of a major global award they’d helped create with Lush Cosmetics a few years prior. It’s called the Lush Spring Prize, and it offers a £200,000 fund and other support for regenerative projects around the world. This conversation was recorded online on 1 March 2022, Australian time, with Inés in Guatemala and Rony in Canada. Title slide: María Inés Cuj (supplied). You can see a few more photos on the episode website.Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia.Find more:You can listen to a Spanish version of this episode here IMAP website Lush Spring Prize Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This extra to episode 112 features the rest of my conversation with Traditional Custodian of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River, Natalie Davey. We pick up our conversation with a couple minutes more of Natalie’s description of the kinship systems of her Indigenous community. Then we delve into the brilliant story of how Nat and her old man ended up hosting a show on the local First Nations radio station – and some of the enormous benefits stemming from it. And we go on to what Natalie thinks is needed most right now, some of her fascinating family histories, and why she feels so positive about people. Title slide: Anthony and Natalie in conversation for this episode, at Nat’s place on the banks of the Martuwarra (pic: Olivia Cheng).Music:Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.You Shine, by the kids with Tura.Find more:You can hear more of Natalie and I in conversation in the main episode: ‘We All Need to Connect: Natalie Davey on protecting the Martuwarra Fitzroy River - and everything else’. You’ll find links in the show notes there too, along with some photos on that episode web page.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Our final episode recorded in the Kimberley last year features Natalie Davey, a Bunuba-Walmajarri woman, Traditional Custodian of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River, first Indigenous Chair of Environs Kimberley, broadcaster, artist, educator and so much more. What a privilege it was to be welcomed to her home and Country, on the banks of the River just outside Fitzroy Crossing. The Martuwarra is one of the last wild rivers in the world and, as you may have heard in previous episodes, it’s at the heart of another flashpoint right now. Extractive colonial narratives of ‘advancing the north’ persist. One of Australia’s outstanding audio documentary makers, Kirsti Melville, entitled her recent 2-part ABC podcast on this place: ‘First they came for the land, now they come for the water’. But then, Nat recalls how her own Indigenous grandmother was afraid of Native Title, fearing it might mean she had to return to a tough life on Country. So if anyone can speak to where we go from here, it’s Nat.This is a very special conversation by the Martuwarra, a deep insight into the Kimberley, its extraordinary Country and rich cultures, how we can avert the threats to it all, and be part of the growing regenerative collaborations and economies everywhere. We talked for nearly two hours, having given this the time it needed. So there’ll be an extra to this episode released next week too, with this natural, wise and generous guide to the Martuwarra. This conversation was recorded on Natalie’s Country by the Martuwarra Fitzroy River, just outside of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia, on 24 September 2021.Title slide: The view of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River from Nat’s place (pic: Anthony James). You'll see some more pics on the episode website too.Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now. You Shine, by Tura Music. Find more:Tune into the extra to this episode, On the banks of the MartuwarraEnvirons Kimberley (where Nat is now Chair). Indigenous Literacy Foundation shop. The Guardian article featuring Natalie and her short clip in the award-winning documentSend us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

David Pollock is one of Australia’s most prominent regenerative pastoralists. He and wife Frances have featured a few times on the award-winning ABC TV series Australian Story. But I’m more fond of telling people these days they’ve featured a few times on this podcast! David’s also known for his brilliant book, ‘The Wooleen Way: Renewing an Australian Resource’. That was aptly described as ‘The astonishing story of reviving the oldest land on Earth’. When the book was published a few years ago, the Western Australian State Minister for Regional Development, Agriculture and Food (& now Hydrogen) paid David and Frances a visit to talk about it. A few years on, just last week, the Minister returned with a big announcement. This was going to be a shorter episode about just that – that was big enough. But when David and I were talking about that, we ended up talking about some other big changes – in himself. So you’ll find the first half an hour of our conversation is on the significant array of developments afoot right now. And the rest, the personal transformations at the heart of them all.This conversation was recorded online on Thursday 3 March 2022.Title slide: Minister Alannah MacTiernan, David Pollock & Debbie Dowden, Chairperson of the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, at Wooleen Station for the big announcement last week (sourced from the Ministers ‘social media’ post).Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, launching this week. Find more:Wooleen Station.David’s book ‘The Wooleen Way: Renewing an Australian Resource’. The Minister’s media statement on the Southern Rangelands Revitalisation Pilot. Landholders for Dingoes. You can hear more of David and I in conversation, out at Wooleen Station, for episode 66. You can hear the detailed conversation David and I shared on the release of his book ‘The Wooleen Way’ in episode 44. You can also hear David and his wife Frances in a live panel event conversation with Charles Massy and I in episode 16 ‘Grassroots Revolution’.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Kate Chaney is another of the growing number of independent candidates being announced around the country who might have a big say in the next pivotal federal election here in May. Kate is being described by many media outlets as Liberal Party royalty. That’s the nominally conservative party in Australia – or at least it has been, prior to this incoherent incarnation currently in government. Kate’s uncle, Fred Chaney, was a prominent Liberal Party parliamentarian, and her grandfather too. But three weeks ago at her campaign launch, Fred endorsed Kate as the independent candidate for the federal seat of Curtin, given the dire need for systemic change. Curtin is reportedly the fifth safest Liberal Party seat in the country. But it’s not feeling like that now. Notwithstanding those media headlines, Kate’s been on her own path with politics, and everything else. And on the back of that, she came across the radar of Curtin Independent, the community group formed in Curtin to do what so many other communities are doing – seeking and nominating independent candidates; candidates not after a political career or power for its own sake, but to represent their communities. Imagine. And she’s standing to win.This conversation was recorded at Galup / Lake Monger, in the inner north-west of the city of Perth, Western Australia, on Tuesday 22 February 2022.Title slide: Kate Chaney (from her website).You can see a few more photos on the episode website, including of the campaign launch we talked about. Music:Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, launching this week. Find more:Kate’s website.Curtin Independent, the community group from which Kate was asked to stand. The national Community Independents Project, steered by Cathy McGowan and team. If you’d like to hear my conversation with Cathy McGowan from last year, as this independents movement was gathering momentum, head to episode 85.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!