Development of a sustainable farming operation connected to new retail, dining, lifestyle and wellness offerings will soon commence at Burke Urban’s Newenham housing estate in Mount Barker.

Located on 8ha of land within the 150ha estate, the first stage of the development – known as Kitchen Farm – will involve improvements to the soil for the production of edible plants, natives and cut flowers, followed by new greenhouse tunnels and a hardening shelter.

The vision also includes restoring the original Newenham Homestead into a collective of boutique retail and wellness offerings, while the nearby Kitchen Farm Pantry will become a paddock-to-plate dining experience and local produce store.

The project will involve a $4m investment over four years and is being led by Kitchen Farm founder and Burke Urban marketing and sales director Olivia Burke.

She said the first stage of the project would commence in May, before a restoration of the original homestead later in the year.

“We have a vision to open a Kitchen Farm Collective in the original Newenham Homestead, which would be a collaboration of boutique retail and wellness operators that complement the values of Kitchen Farm and Newenham in terms of sustainability and a passion for the environment and community,” she said.

“In the future, our vision is for the whole community to be able to share wholesome and naturally grown paddock-to-plate experiences including farming education, community tours, programs and workshops, and paddock-to-plate dining at our Kitchen Farm Pantry.”

Ms Burke said the “grass-roots” project would require external investment and grant funding.

Meanwhile, former Port Adelaide Food Gardening owner Kym Ormond has been appointed as Kitchen Farm’s first nursery and market garden production manager. The qualified Le Cordon Bleu chef, who also has permaculture qualifications, said he developed a passion for sustainable farming after working on farms around Australia.

He said the Kitchen Farm concept was set to become a leading example of the effective integration of food pro-duction and “community placemaking” in a greenfield residential development.

“The overall vision of the project is really exciting and unique,” he said.

“I’ve seen concepts like this used in smaller ecovillages and intentional communities around the world, but I’ve never seen a large broadacre developer creating biodiversity and allocating areas of farm land with the purpose of creating well and sustainable communities within a residential development.”

Kitchen Farm will host a “Meet the Farmer” event on April 15.

The broader Newenham housing development will include 750 new homes once completed in 2030.

Article by Giuseppe Tauriello, The Advertiser on 28.3.23. 

Read it here.