Written by Antoine Lenique
On Saturday, 5th July, the second Food Sovereignty Gathering in Naarm was organised by AFSA in collaboration with the Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET), Degrowth Network Australia (DNA), and the Guerilla Gardening Naarm Collective. The focus of the upcoming events this year is to unpack the six Food Sovereignty pillars adapted from the Nyéléni 2007 Forum for Food Sovereignty, which underpin the international social movement principles. Held at the Guerrilla Gardening project, Radicle Roots in Coburg, the gathering focused on unpacking the first pillar, Food for People.
As an introduction to the food sovereignty movement, the first event took place at Catalyst Social Centre in Coburg (Naarm). Held on 12 April 2025, a diverse bunch of curious folks gathered together for a day of panels, collaborative discussions, and strategic planning (meeting notes). The event began with an inspiring presentation from Ana Cha of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST), which emphasised the importance of global solidarity in the fight for food sovereignty and answered our questions about what “peasants” and “agroecology” mean in the Australian context (conversation recording). This was followed by a panel featuring local and national food justice activists and workers, Bella and Teddy (Guerrilla Gardening Naarm), Antoine and Ben (Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance), Cal (Supporticulture Cooperative), and Lavinia (Just Food Collective), who shared insights into their projects and the challenges they face (recording). After a communal lunch, we broke into discussion groups to develop visions for food sovereignty, addressing themes such as land access, rural-urban dynamics, community food production, and the critical role of First Peoples-led initiatives.
The day concluded with a commitment to ongoing action and collaboration, including plans for a “Feeding Melbourne” talk, regular working bees with Guerilla Gardening Naarm, project tours, and mapping local initiatives. We encouraged everyone to connect with the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, to join solidarity sessions for the Agrarian Trust, and form a reading group around the People’s Food Plan. Priorities also included integrating healthcare and food growing, expanding educational outreach, and supporting research through AFSA’s Agroecology Action Research Network, ensuring that the momentum for food sovereignty continues well beyond the event.
The second gathering took place at the Guerrilla Gardening Naarm project, Radicle Roots in Coburg. For this gathering, we concentrated on the first pillar: Food for People. This pillar asserts that the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food must be central to all food-related policies, emphasising that food is a universal human right, not merely a commodity for profit, and should be accessible to everyone regardless of their circumstances.
The event began with a panel discussion featuring local food system advocates and farmers from Victoria. Panelists were asked about their work, what inspires them, and what ‘food for people’ means to them in the context of their experiences.
Eve, co-manager at Farmraiser market garden, described how collaborating with Edigrocer’s logistics network has enabled Farmraiser to access food from the eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula, strengthening their cooperative ties and reducing logistics costs. Ivan, AFSA National Committee member and agroforestry practitioner, discussed how emancipatory agroecologies, such as the work being done at the gathering, can help prefigure new ways of practicing food sovereignty and ensuring food for people. Hugh, food systems policy advocate at Sustain, raised the important question of how to practice food sovereignty on stolen land, highlighting the government’s lack of commitment to upholding rights, especially when protections for First Peoples are contradicted by corporate interests and the exploitation of colonial outposts for strategic minerals. Sim, market gardener in the Mornington Peninsula and Young Farmers Connect member, shared his experience in Timor Leste, where “food for people” meant small-scale kitchen gardens, education and workshops, advocacy, and broader food system work. He also spoke about the difficulty of making a living growing good food for people within a market economy, and noted that growing flowers can enhance both farm biodiversity and resilience, while also providing an additional source of income. Damian, from Transition Darebin, offered insights into how food swaps serve as practical opportunities to practice “food for people” in the city, bringing communities together through the sharing of food, seedlings, farming tips, and recipes.
The discussion also explored barriers and opportunities for practicing food sovereignty locally, the importance of being selective about funding sources, and the role of trust, mutual aid, and reciprocity in building strong communities. Relationships that, in turn, help put pressure on local and state governments to uphold their commitments and foster a rights-based, agroecological food system.
Following the panel, we enjoyed a theatrical performance using forum theatre from the Theatre of the Oppressed, a form of political action through art or, as Augusto Boal would put it, “a rehearsal for the revolution”. The play depicted a developer, a council member, and a social enterprise representative debating what to do with a plot of land in a low-income neighborhood. True to Forum Theatre, the scripted scene evolved into an engaging, interactive discussion as participants stepped into roles, improvising, offering new perspectives and sparking conversations about land access, housing, food justice, government funding, collaboration, and political action. We even heard from “warrigal greens,” who vividly lamented the lack of appreciation for plants’ opinions.
Under a warming sun, surrounded by the gently growing, colourful wonders of life, we humans felt in our element; smiles and laughter were shared, and homemade food was devoured. With full bellies and new friends, we continued the day in breakout groups in our usual unconference format. We discussed a range of topics, including: Practicing Food Sovereignty on Stolen Lands, Access to Land, How to Get People More Involved in Food Sovereignty Work, Working with Difference-Resolution, and Time Pressure and Decision Making for Impactful and Meaningful Outcomes.
Practicing Food Sovereignty on Stolen Lands
The group explored how to be better allies (and accomplices) to First Peoples and avoid reproducing systems of racial oppression, emphasising the need to build genuine relationships, acknowledge the reality of living and working on stolen land, and support First Peoples even when facing coercion or peer-pressure. Discussions included reclaiming the commons with First Peoples at the center, considering initiatives like Camp Sovereignty, Bundoora Park First Peoples’ garden or Guerilla Gardening in Northcote, and understanding food as a colonial tool. The group recognised that meaningful change takes time and requires persistence, self-reflection, and resilience, accepting mistakes as part of the process and showing up even when it feels uncomfortable. They stressed the importance of respecting the time and energy limitations of First Peoples, and noted that if actions fit too comfortably within existing habits, they may not be radical enough. Achieving food sovereignty on stolen land was seen as a collaborative effort to steward land with First Peoples and co-imagine decolonised, shared futures beyond the current property system.
Access to land
The Access to land group discussed strategies for building alliances with peri-urban farmers through community-supported agriculture (CSAs) and farming co-ops, as well as negotiating access to backyards for food production. The group considered how much land is needed for sustainable food supply, referencing models like Retrosuburbia and permaculture, and highlighted the benefits of moving away from growth-focused systems for both society and ecology. They explored both grassroots and institutional approaches, stressing the importance of engaging with all groups that inform government policy. Agroecology, regenerative farming, ecological conservation, and respect for Traditional Custodians and their knowledge were central, alongside concerns about ongoing land theft and pollution by colonial powers.
The group also examined practical and regulatory challenges, including water management, soil health, advancing desertification, and the impact of changing ocean temperatures on rainfall and land viability. The legal and economic barriers to accessing land, such as regulations that restrict building on agricultural land, taxes, market inflation, and fossil fuel dependency, were seen as contributing to protectionism and fear. The group emphasised that land suitable for food growing is often legally protected from residential development and called for rethinking these systems to support both ecological sustainability and equitable access, while always centering the rights and leadership of First Peoples.
How to get people more involved
The group focused on how to meet community needs around employment, access, convenience, and time, while also supporting organisers and preventing burnout. They emphasised the importance of education about the current state of food systems and encouraged thinking beyond money-based economies, including ideas like universal basic income. The discussion stressed the value of uniting existing groups and not siloing food work from community, art, and culture, highlighting the intersection of social and food needs in busy lives. The group recognised that while some organising is reactive, there is a need for long-term vision and for creating lasting institutions that can mobilise people even outside of crisis situations.
Ideas for sustaining involvement included making community activities, like bush dances or childcare co-ops next to gardens, more accessible and appealing, and building trust to save time and energy. The group reflected on how, in the past, community provided mutual support before formal systems like insurance companies existed, and questioned how to adapt that spirit to today’s time-poor society. They also discussed the challenge of getting new people involved and retaining them, suggesting that helping others can actually give people more time, and that building a “wider net” of activities and support can strengthen community resilience and engagement.
Working with difference-resolution a.k.a. Navigating difference (in food systems)
The group explored strategies for navigating difference and resolving conflict within food systems work, emphasising the importance of good facilitation, relationship building, and proactive dialogue to identify common ground before conflicts escalate. They discussed the value of establishing common agreements and understanding shared needs and fears, while also recognising that both individual and organisational conflicts can challenge coalitions and movements. The group highlighted the need to accept conflict with safety and respect, adapt approaches to different audiences and contexts, and engage in clear definitional work to avoid misunderstandings.
Participants reflected on the challenges of different methods of involvement and the importance of being honest about where individuals and groups sit on the “ladder of participation,” especially as projects scale up. They stressed the need to learn how to sit with tension and difference in order to work towards agreement, and recognised that how questions are framed and facilitated can significantly impact outcomes. Ultimately, the group saw navigating difference as essential to building resilient, inclusive, and effective food sovereignty movements.
Time pressure – decision making for impactful and meaningful outcomes
The group discussed the pressures of time in decision-making for sustainable and impactful outcomes, noting that different cultural understandings of time and time privilege can affect accessibility and participation. They explored the concept of time as social capital, emphasising that shared communal contributions can reduce duplication and make communities more efficient, ultimately giving everyone more time. The conversation touched on the tension between long-term planning and immediate action, and the challenge of people not knowing how best to use their time.
Participants also reflected on the idea that stronger, more connected communities both require and create more available time, suggesting that initiatives like Guerilla Gardening Naarm (GGN) could support home gardens to help build this communal efficiency. The group highlighted the importance of “moving at the speed of trust,” recognising that distrust, such as in Really Really Free Markets (RRFM), can waste valuable time. They also acknowledged broader social factors like individualism and patriarchy that shape how time is valued and distributed, and considered strategies for spending time intentionally to ultimately gain more time for meaningful work.
Next steps
After each group reported back on their discussions, participants shared new initiatives, exchanged information and resources, and we warmly invited anyone interested to join our small organising crew. The theatre segment was widely appreciated as a powerful way to explore complex topics through human interaction and creative expression, making the issues feel more accessible and engaging. We closed the event with a collective reflection, each person choosing one word to shout out to the crowd, capturing what the gathering meant and how it made us feel. I can only feel excited as we begin organising the next gathering, looking forward to collectively envisioning and taking action to shape a food system grounded in food sovereignty values and agroecology.
