Five Ducks ‘doing the right thing’
The unique creations of a small Pomonal farm extend far beyond its seasonal plum and liquorice jam.
Five Ducks Farm owners Anita and Andy Evans are creating discussion about what it means to be sustainable in a commercialised industry.
With an ever-changing array of seasonal items and a passion for ‘doing the right thing by the environment’, the couple is generating intrigue and awareness about alternative farming products and processes.
Mrs Evans said their tiny farm was a relatively new adventure but had quickly turned its focus to the ‘bigger picture’.
“We are quite new to this,” she said. “We bought the property about three years ago because we have always wanted to be involved with fresh produce, and we have just jumped into it.
“We are trying to do our little bit. Markets give us the opportunity to talk to people and ask, ‘have you tried boysenberries?’ or, ‘have you tried silvanberries?’
“Or we might tell people about youngberries, which they haven’t heard of because they are not com- mercially grown.
“Because, for me, I want people to understand food isn’t something that should just be cheap.
“People might think that all food can be cheaply sourced and produced, which drives the commercial value on animals, and it really disgusts me.
“We have happy chickens here. They finish laying eggs and then they are free to roam and live out the rest of their lives, they don’t get trucked off to be made into chicken pie.
“And we are lucky that we have the opportunity and land to do that.
“We just want to show people that there are alternatives. It is not all about efficiency and the bottom dollar, it is more about doing the right thing.”
Mrs Evans said because Five Ducks Farm was a small business, she was able to be creative and produce unique and small batches of products based on availability.
She said becoming aware of food’s seasonality was crucial to living a more sustainable and environmentally conscious life.
“People come to us for those regular products, but also part of the freedom of being a small business is that I can make those small batches, especially because I do all my own labelling,” she said.
“I like to incorporate as much local produce as possible, and we swap with other businesses and people.
“For example, if someone has extra tomatoes, we will swap them for jam, and I will have different types of tomato chutneys based on whose tomatoes I have used.
“For us it is about being transparent too.
“I will put whose food and ingredients have been used on the labels and that helps to show it is a local product. You have to be very, very conscious of where your food is coming from.
“Think about what you put in your mouth, where you live and how you move about.
“But I think the most sustainable thing you can do is grow your own food because then you really become aware that food is seasonal, and you value it more.”