We are based on the NSW South Coast in the Shoalhaven Region on Yuin Country. We consist of the five villages of Bendalong, Berringer Lake, Cunjurong Point, Manyana and North Bendalong.
Our mission is to grow, share and teach permaculture skills in our coastal community.
We share our collective knowledge about food security and sustainable gardening and provide a platform for sharing locally produced food.
More than anything we want to bring people together using the power of nature toinspire, heal and make people happy.
While we were officially founded in 2021 the seeds for a community garden in our coastal villages were planted in 2018. However, with the unprecedented 2019/2020 black summer bushfires, the COVID pandemic and some intense local activism to save a local forest, the concept of a community garden was paused.
Analysis of a community survey conducted by Manyana Matters Environmental Association in November 2020 indicated that community gardening was the number one activity our community would like to pursue to support and facilitate healing from the trauma of the 2019/20 bushfires. This motivated our passionate founders to form a small committee in early 2021 which led to the launch of the Five Villages Community Garden.
We are registered as an Incorporated Association in New South Wales under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (Registration number: 2100397). We were officially registered on the 8th of April 2021