Mt Tamborine was chosen as the “ideal retirement” location by Bev and Geoff Buckley when they moved from Sydney. In Sydney, Geoff ran a national training company and Bev ran a company called Lifeclear, which helped people improve the quality of their lives through counselling and education.

Bev and Geoff’s purpose in moving to Mt Tamborine was to establish a residential training centre and it is anticipated that this will open in January 2009 with farm-stay cabins and a training facility for people who want to learn about the link between farming practices, food production, and physical and mental health. Bev and Geoff are already running a “Growing Healthy” programme which has proved to be very popular. Bev Buckley writes the Green Shed newsletter.

Initially, Bev and Geoff had no idea that they would end up as serious farmers, coordinators of the Green Shed Market and teachers of sustainable agriculture. The farming side of things just evolved after they asked some local residents “What should we do with this place?” Their first project was to plant avocados and a vegetable garden.

Wanting to generate income from their farming activities, Bev and Geoff first tried taking produce to the Brisbane markets but it soon became apparent that “prices were too low, payment too slow and transport too expensive” for this to be worthwhile. Realising that others on the Mountain have the same problem of what to do with excess produce, they persuaded the Local Producers’ Association to sponsor a local grower’s market at the Showground.

Bev and Geoff now supply vegetables to the Greenshed every week and Geoff is the man behind the till. Their vegetable garden has grown substantially over the years. The farming activities underwent a transformation a few years ago when Bev and Geoff did a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture with Nutritech Solutions. This training provided the answers they needed to guarantee success which what they grow and to ensure high quality without inputs of pesticides or herbicides.

Tamarillos, citrus fruit, macadamias, rhubarb, ginger and bananas have been planted over the years. What started out as a hobby has now developed into quite a large-scale farm enterprise, specialising in organically grown fruit and vegetables. Wwoofers (willing workers on organic farms) provide much of the labour. These young people come from many different countries. They are looking for a “real” Australian experience and give labour in return for accommodation.

As well as supplying the Green Shed, Bev and Geoff take their avocados, tamarillos and rhubarb to a Brisbane organic food distribution network called “Food Connect” and act as a co-ordination point for other Tamborine Mountain growers who have suplus quantities of produce which Food Connect can use. They have also been persuaded to supply herbs and vegetables to “Songbirds” which won Queensland’s Top Restaurant award in 2007.

- HealthyOrganicNow.com