April 30, 2010

Fresh Organics At Melbourne’s Fitzroy Market – Cultivating Community

After a lot of interest in recent PWF articles about food swaps and community supported agriculture here in Melbourne, here’s info about fresh organics, live art and live music at this month’s Fitzroy Market. Fitzroy Community Market Partners The Market, […]
April 30, 2010

NFPs Need Fair & Equitable Finance For Important Cash Flow

ProBono Australia, summarising the new Forester’s research, Financing Social Enterprise: Understanding Needs And Realities , reports that social enterprises should not rely on grant funding and should adopt sustainable business operations. The report that finds: “Social enterprise is not a […]
April 23, 2010

Dialogue To Change Workshop Marrickville, NSW – May 2010

PWF totally supports communities finding ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to solve problems. Dr Mark Brophy of the Australian Study Circles Network does just this with an Orientation Workshop in Marrickville, NSW this […]
April 19, 2010

Climate Change Message Based On Science NOT Modelling

A PWF reader has sent us ‘a succinct piece of science based on data measurements, not modelling’ produced by the BOM and CSIRO(pdf). The following info comes from peer reviewed data on temperature, rainfall, sea level, ocean acidification and carbon […]
April 19, 2010

Food Security, Local Government And Edible Public Gardens

Darebin Council in inner Melbourne is encouraging ‘sustainable food choices’. They, and Transition Darebin, part of the Transition Town network, will work together on a $75,000 plan to trial growing produce at two sites on public land and also look […]
April 18, 2010

Cooperatives, Social Businesses, Strong Local Economies

For centuries local economies have been strengthened by cooperative alliances and in March Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Cooperative Alliance visited to launch Social Business Australia (SBA) at Parliament House in Canberra. We all like to feel that […]
April 17, 2010

Health Care Cooperative In Canberra With 1200 Members

Stateline recently reported on the new West Belconnen Health Co op in Charnwood, Canberra – a not for profit community health care centre that sits somewhere between the old family GP and the new Super Clinics. About West Belconnen Health […]
April 16, 2010

Local Food Swap In Melbourne’s NE And Elswhere?

Happy to pass on info about the inaugural Greensborough Food Swap in Melbourne’s NE, 24 April 2010. Excess Home Grown Produce? Local Food Connect and ACES Northern Urban Agriculture Project aim to give people the opportunity to come together and […]
April 15, 2010

Weasel Words? Engagement, Collaboration, Partnerships…

For me, the expression ‘Weasel Words’ captures exactly “the powerlessness and frustration we feel when confronted by meaningless words delivered with authority. Los Angeles Times about Don Watson’s www.weaselwords.com.au Although we all KNOW how words become faddish we keep on […]
April 15, 2010

Will Our Supermarkets Advise About Tuna They Sell?

The Ethical Consumer Update Guide warns that no Australian tuna brand uses sustainable tuna. Even the top brands use destructive fishing methods, but some brands are making positive changes. The biggest selling seafood item in Australia is canned tuna but […]
April 11, 2010

Australian Accessibility Website Wins Award In China

An Australia For All presentation, at a Regional Conference for Women With Disabilities in Guangzhou, China, 29-31 March 2010 won an award for the best web site dealing with accessibility for people with disabilities. An e-mail from one of the […]
April 8, 2010

Merino Wool: A NEW Approach To That Old Aussie Icon

Australia, with its excellent sheep country and myriad of supportive farming communities, is fundamentally suited to producing high quality merino fibre. BUT, wool producers are in decline and many small communities are feeling the impact. We are in the 21st […]