Jiwah – Indigenous Rooftop Farming
Four storeys above the South Eveleigh precinct in inner Sydney sits Australia’s first Indigenous rooftop farm: a 500m² garden on top of a community building. Closed to the public since the pandemic, the farm grows Indigenous edible, medicinal and cultural plants including a variety of bushfoods, many of which are harvested and used by restaurants in the neighbourhood. The garden brings to life South Eveleigh’s rich Aboriginal culture and heritage for the community.
Clarence Slockee of Jiwah leads a two-hour guided tour of the Indigenous rooftop farm including an introduction to Indigenous plants with tastings. The tour is an opportunity to discuss First Nations knowledge, permaculture, land management and design, and includes a hands-on workshop in which Slockee shares insights from years of working with native plants in the field of environmental education.
Jiwah – Indigenous Rooftop Farming is part of Sydney Design Week’s urban food program, curated by chef Xinyi Lim (林心仪) who through her venture Megafauna uses food as an artistic tool for social justice, community-building and the exploration of culture and heritage.
‘Australia’s first Indigenous rooftop farm is a site for community gathering and education. The initiative is a valuable opportunity to share the wisdom of First Nations principles of design, land management and permaculture for urban food production’
Speakers
Clarence Slockee is an Aboriginal man from the Mindjingbal/Cudgenburra clan of the Bundjalung Nation on the NSW Far North Coast. He is the founder and director of Jiwah, a company delivering collaborative projects incorporating Indigenous cultural perspectives into greenspace urban design. An accomplished musician and dancer, he has more than 20 years’ experience in environmental and cultural education, including roles with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority. He is a regular presenter on ABC’s Gardening Australia, educating people about medicinal, cultural and edible native plant species unique to the Australian landscape.
Xinyi Lim’s (林心仪) exploration of the Australian food industry has seen her cooking in several notable kitchens in Sydney including Cafe Freda’s in Darlinghurst (where she was opening chef) and three-hatted restaurant Firedoor in Surry Hills (NSW Restaurant of the Year 2023) while maintaining her commitment to social causes through work with enterprises such as Welcome Merchant, Two Good Co and OzHarvest. She is currently a food consultant, food stylist and freelance chef, and continues to write and converse about all things food and culture.
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