Futuresteading - the book

I first met Jade and the rest of her family in the second half of 2018, when I took some photos for them, around their house and down the road in the apple orchard they were managing at the time.

It was sometimes toward the end of that year when Jade contacted me, to see if I would be interested in being involved in a book she was writing.

I loved the values she preached and the lifestyle they embodied.

Jade and her husband Charlie, together with their kids are the faces and souls behind the business Black Barn Farm, situated in the North East region of Victoria.

They describe themselves as “A family of five who have taken the long road to creating an intentionally slow orcharding and nursery business which is entrenched in its community, regenerative in its practices, diverse in its fruit varieties and committed to bringing celebration and awe back to food literacy which we believe is the first step in building a localised fair food system. A biodiverse regenerative orchard and homesteading farm beating to its community drum with farm tours, workshops, nursery and pick your own.”

So when Jade asked if I’d like to take some photos for the book she had planned - ummm, YES! Definitely. I was simultaneously crapping myself and very excited at the prospect of being published.

Over the next 2 years, I’d often pop down to the orchard with my own family to pick apples, and each time I took my camera along. I attended some workshops and we were invited along to bonfires celebrating the winter solstice and a few occasions which were purely set aside for specifically capturing images for the book. Each time lugging my trust Canon along for the ride.

Jade poured her blood, sweat and tears into the words which are spilled across the pages. Writing through the raging bushfires of 2019/2020, through Covid induced lockdowns and homeschooling; summer heat and winter frosts.

The book, she called Futuresteading was finally released on 3rd August 2021. And it couldn’t be more appropriate for the times we find ourselves living through. Here’s the blub:

FUTURESTEADING:

“A stunningly illustrated practical guide to growing, preserving and sharing the food that grounds us.

For readers of Milkwood, Grown & Gathered, Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan, comes a joyful and practical guide to looking after the earth wherever you call home.

Futuresteading is a practical and inspirational guide to living in a way that values tomorrow: a slower, simpler, steadier existence that is healthier for you, your home, and the environment.

Whether you live in a city apartment, in the suburbs or on twenty acres, the principles of futuresteading offer easy-to-understand information and hands-on ideas. Learn to grow delicious food and medicinal plants; share rituals with loved ones through the seasons; feast on healthy home-cooked food for the family; nourish body and soul with outdoor expeditions and moments of rest; and create wonders with your hands.

This welcoming handbook begins by showing how futuresteading works in an accessible and practical explainer, before venturing through six seasonal chapters - Awakening, Alive, High Heat, Harvest, The Turning, and Deep Chill - filled with inspiration for the garden, including making fences and wicking beds, along with 30+ rewarding recipes for slow, nourishing and easy meals.

Grow, store, eat, preserve and share food that deepens the connections you have with your household, your soil, and those around you.”

And then last week, I was lucky enough to get to head along to not one, but two book launches - the first one at Seventh Pocket in Yackandandah, and the next day at Ardor Albury. Listening to Jade bare her heart and soul, and ‘get on her high horse’ as she calls it, is one of the most inspiring and re-energising ways to spend an afternoon. In a bizarre turn of events, NSW lockdown was announced as we were listening to Jade talk all things Futuresteading. What a way to ease ourselves into lockdown and homeschooling…