ROOFTOP FARMING IN MELBOURNE’S CBD….

This is Joost’s latest and brightest vision – a project to incorporate his passions; Sustainable Farming, Buildings & Food in one epicenter – FARM By Joost on the rooftop of 271 Collins Street, Melbourne.

FARM By Joost will be a working farm, hospitality venue and an education precinct – a place where food is grown, harvested, cooked, enjoyed and then returned to the soil that restarts the whole process. A truly sustainable place that produces no waste- a complete closed loop.

After years of conceptualizing FARM By Joost is a step away from becoming a reality – despite the Melbourne City Council contradicting their Green Roof Policy and rejecting FARM By Joost the plans currently sit with the Victorian Government Planning Minister, Mr Matthew Guy.

Watch this space…..

Read more;
The Age – Rooftop Farm Plan
Tuesday 9.4.2013

Built By Joost hosted an open day of their latest project, which is also Australia’s first bushfire resistant straw bale home (CSIRO tested).

Sitting atop a grassy green hill overlooking the well-known town, the soon to be completed home welcomed guests through its doors steadily from 10am – 3pm. Designer Joost Bakker and Built By Joost representatives were onsite to provide knowledgeable information on the benefits of building and living in an environmentally sustainable home.

Most fascinating to the inquisitive attendees were the roof of the house, which will be home to a rooftop garden & goats, as well as the straw bale insulation and the use of fire resistant building products.

Inside the house the simple floor plan showed a very “livable residence” with 3 bedrooms, open plan living complete with a deregistered shipping container housing the kitchen and bathroom amenities.

Outside, visitors took in the north-facing vista from the home.

The home is due for completion in mid December, in time for owner Mitch Watson to enjoy Christmas in his new home and then get to work on landscaping and gardening.

Joost and the Built By Joost team would like to thank all those who attended. An Open Day of the finished home and garden will be held in February 2013 – stay tuned for date confirmation.

Joost who was somewhat surprised to be invited to the prestigious event, let alone take out an award, was presented with the Innovation Award for his work across the Greenhouse by Joost popup restaurants and his waste free café, Silo located in Melbourne’s CBD.

Read more about Joost’s award for Innovation below.

Photo: Simon O’Dwyer, courtesy theage.com.au

GROWING up next to a junkyard called Lex’s Rubbish Paradise in the Netherlands, Joost Bakker would often bring home bits of rubbish and stash them in his bedroom until he could figure out what to do with them.

To his family’s dismay, items ranging from old car tyres and twisted pieces of steel would pile up. ”As a kid I’d just collect it, I’d always wonder why people threw so much out,” he recalls.

Now he is 39, it is clear the Dutch-Australian’s childhood fascination with junk never faded. The eco-artist, recyclable home designer and now restaurateur has incorporated salvaging waste in every aspect of his career. In his latest project, he has achieved a long-held dream – a cafe with zero waste. Teaming up with Danny Colls, who has had five cafes including Cafe Racer, the pair set out to make an eatery with no bins, no rubbish.

The result is Silo, a cafe that Bakker says he designed in reverse, starting with waste production and working back from there. It is a design that relies heavily on the cafe’s $30,000 food waste ”dehydrator”, located in the back laneway.

In a first for the city’s cafes, there isn’t a single bin inside. The dehydrator turns all scraps into a fertiliser that is then delivered to farms in the Yarra Valley. ”You can throw everything in, it just needs to be organic,” says Bakker.

The machine transforms every 100 litres of waste into 10 litres of dry fertiliser.

As well as the dehydrator, suppliers are a big part of the plan. All milk delivered to the cafe comes in large steel pails that are returned to be refilled. Coffee arrives in refillable tins. The cafe’s mineral water comes in kegs.

”We have no bottles; even the local gin, vodka and whisky come in 20-litre stainless steel barrels,” says Bakker.

Almost all fresh produce is delivered to the cafe in strawberry crates – which are also returned to suppliers empty. ”There is no cardboard, no packaging, no waste,” says Colls.

The wholewheat grain (ground for bread, pasta and pastries) comes in reusable paper bags.

The cafe, which opened last week, is largely fitted out with recycled materials. On display is what looks like a large chunk of chocolate brownie and smells like dried figs but is not for sale – it is a sample of the fertiliser from the dehydrator.

At the end of the first week, less than a cup-full of waste has been produced. ”We had a small jar of elastic bands left by people on tables, the stickers that come on lemons and oranges, a Band-Aid, a plastic seal of a bottle that someone bought in from outside, a pen that ran out,” says Colls. Any waste will be melted down and stacked in the cafe as part of its decor.

Bakker says if it works, and makes money, he hopes to open more cafes like this here and abroad.

Bakker first became known for his sculptures, made from industrial waste. Later, he became a sustainable home designer, after building his own Yarra Valley home entirely of recycled materials. But Bakker is perhaps best known for Greenhouse, his eco-friendly pop-up restaurants.

Read more at The Age

Silo By Joost

Read the article here

Opening on Hardware Street today is Silo by Joost, the new permanent project from passionate eco-entrepreneur and sustainable design champion, Joost Bakker. Bakker is no longer “imagining a world without waste” but is showing us exactly how it’s done.

Arriving in the wake of Bakker’s successful Greenhouse pop-up for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, this latest project sees him teaming up with old friend and seasoned local coffee identity Danny Colls of Liaison,Coffee Darling and Café Racer fame.

Unlike the Greenhouse, Silo is here to stay and looks set to be something of a visionary model for what an ethical, service-driven (and profitable) cafe might look like. Colls and Bakker will be pioneering sustainability practices not seen here before and while Bakker is the man with the philosophy, the vision and the concepts, Colls brings his warmth, hospitality-savvy and strong sense of community to the project.

Joining the team after turns at Greenhouse and a stint at London’s St John is young British chef, Douglas McMaster, who has ably designed a waste-free, seasonal menu in line with the sustainable philosophy of the business.

The space itself eschews the typical boundaries between customer and kitchen (the dining space and kitchen are pretty much one), which not only fosters a natural human connection but also works to demystify the practices behind low-waste, sustainable food preparation. Sitting at the recycled communal table, you’ll get a first hand view of McMaster baking bread, making yoghurt from scratch, churning his own butter and milling whole wheat grain round the clock for the cafe’s bread, pasta and pastries.

Featuring artwork from the late David Band, Silo is fitted-out entirely with recycled and recyclable materials. The space is a noticeably sleeker take on Bakker’s signature raw, industrial aesthetic, with Colls dubbing it “Greenhouse’s hot cousin”. Walls are whitewashed, old black strawberry crates line the ceiling, and reclaimed plywood becomes shelving while seating cleverly utilises leather off-cuts and disused irrigation pipes.

In a first for Melbourne cafes, there’s not a single rubbish bin in sight. Instead, food scraps and paper napkins take a trip to the on-site food waste dehydrator in the back laneway where they’re transformed into nutritious fertiliser which is in turn delivered back to the farmers who supply them.

The pair have developed strong relationships with a small group of trusted, local producers, all of whom have gladly agreed to come to the party in the name of waste reduction. So while your standard cafe might throw out piles of empty bottles and packaging every night, Silo has none; their fresh produce arrives in returnable, reusable crates, the Schultz organic milk arrives daily in large stainless steel pails and local mineral water arrives on site in recyclable eco-kegs.

Silo demonstrates that sustainability can be fresh and sexy. Here it’s about creativity with a message and thankfully there’s no chance of heavy-handed credo getting in the way of a great cafe experience. Says Colls, “We’ll just do what we do, and if people like it then we hope they’ll be inspired by it.”

Silo by Joost
123 Hardware Street, Melbourne
(03) 9600 0588

Hours
Mon to Wed 7am–4pm
Thurs to Sat 7am–11pm (nights beginning 12/7/12)

Turner and Lane source unique and bespoke pieces and constantly surprise their customers, with innovative and creative displays. Drop by and have a look…

MALVERN STORE:
1391 Malvern Road Malvern.
Phone: 03 9821 0012
Mon-Fri 9:30-5, Sat 9:30-5, Sun 10-3

SOUTH YARRA:
159 Domain Road, Sth Yarra
Phone: 03 9820 0654
Mon-Fri 9:30-6, Sat 9:30-5, Sun 10-3
Email: info@turnerlane.com.au

After watching the film, all of our Greenhouse and By Joost staff have joined the campaign by sending a message to Brazil’s Justice Minister, José Eduardo Cardozo, in protest.

You can do so too! – via the Survival International website.

Click here to view the video on survivalinternational.org

“One man has the power to stop the loggers: Brazil’s Minister of Justice. But it’s just not his priority.
Let’s push it up his list.” — Colin Firth

The Awá, who are some of the last uncontacted people on the planet, are a small tribe whose territory has been invaded by a vast army of illegal loggers, ranchers and settlers. The situation is now so critical that several Brazilian experts have spoken of a ‘genocide’ and ‘extinction’.

As nomads, they carry the things they need with them as they move: bows and arrows, children, pets. Everything comes from the forest: the baskets made from palm leaves, the loops of vine used to climb trees, and the tree resin burned to provide light. [Source]

Although wild monkeys are an important source of food, once a baby has been brought into the family and breast fed, it will never be eaten. Even if it returns to the forest, the Awá will recognize it as hanima: part of the family. [Source]

‘I spend a long time breastfeeding the baby monkeys,’ Parakeet explains. ‘And when they have grown they go back to the forest to live. I hear the howler monkey that used to be my pet, singing there in the forest.’ [Source]

The Awá wait to choose their children’s names until they reach an age when the right name presents itself. Another of Parakeet’s daughters is called Forest Tree. One particularly wriggly child has just earned the name Earthworm. [Source]

The Awá know their forests intimately. Every valley, stream and trail is inscribed on their mental map. They know where to find the best honey, which of the great trees of the forest are coming into fruit, and when the game is ready to be hunted. To them, the forest is perfection: they cannot dream of it being developed or improved upon. [Source]

The forest provides its bounty, but not everything is taken. Some animals, such as the capybara and the harpy eagle, are taboo and no Awá will eat them. Eating a bat is said to cause a headache. The large opossum? Bad-smelling. Hummingbirds? Just too small. Other animals are hunted only at certain times of the year. In this way the Awá ensure the survival of the entire forest, themselves included. [Source]

‘If my children are hungry, I just go into the forest and I can find them food,’ says Peccary Awá. Women encourage their husbands to return with plentiful game meat, and the men oblige. Those Awá still living uncontacted in the forest hunt with 2 metre (6 foot) long bows. Arrows fly high and silent into the forest canopy, allowing several shots before game is alerted to the hunters’ presence. [Source]

Despite their extreme self-sufficiency, the uncontacted people are also uniquely vulnerable. The common cold could kill an entire group, and, if they run into illegal loggers, their bows and arrows will be no match for the invaders’ guns. [Source]

The work of the loggers and ranchers has reached crisis point: some 30% of one legally-protected Awá reserve has been cut down. The Awá’s forests are disappearing faster than any other indigenous area in Brazil.[Source]

If their forests fall, the Awá have no hope of surviving as a people. As Blade Awá says, ‘If you destroy the forest, you destroy the Awá too.’[Source]

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“Having been to this part of the world, and appreciating its beauty and biodiversity, it saddens me that we need to be doing this – but I am happy for the initiative and fully support this approach.” – Joost

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“I’d rather be a black sheep than a white sheep: I like to do things differently” Jason Chan. Image via Time Out

Who is Jason Chan?

It’s not easy labelling Jason Chan. You could call him a ‘master barista‘ – he
was 2005 Age Barista of the Year and owns Batch Espresso, a ‘mad bartender‘ – he won the 42 Below World Cocktail Championships and opened Seamstress, or a ‘spirits aficionado‘ – he has now entered the distillery game with his award winning West Winds Gin - however these labels fail to describe his sustainable food ethos, commitment to local community and ‘you make your own destiny’ attitude.

Originally from New Zealand, Jason’s introduction to hospitality began at a young age in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant. It was there that he watched his parents work hard to create a welcoming community establishment in which customers were well looked after. This generous spirit pervades all that Jason does today – he lives by the motto that ’hospitality is all about giving’.

Jason & Joost

After studying nutrition and food science, Jason came to Melbourne in 2004 and worked at some of the city’s iconic hospitality venues including Ray’s Cafe and Der Raum cocktail bar. It is at Der Raum where Jason met Joost, who was commissioned to create floral installations, and who is responsible for the bar’s signature hanging bottle display – a concept Joost devised whilst watching Jason struggle to identify different liquor bottles during a busy service. The two creative thinkers have been collaborating ever since, with Joost designing installations for Jason’s ventures Batch and Sweatshop, and Jason consulting on drinks at the four Greenhouse restaurants.

Above: Joost’s octopus strap and hook installation makes life easier for Der Raum’s bar tenders. Image via Pages Digital

Above: Joost’s fit-out at Jason’s Sweatshop bar features reclaimed airport departure signs and wafer board stools. Image via broadsheet

Jason’s philosophy

In 2005 Jason opened his first solo venture Batch Espresso, a cafe that embodies
his ‘thinking small, thinking local’ philosophy. With a passion for making things  from scratch, all Batch’s jams, muffins and slices are made in house from locally sourced ingredients. Besides producing high quality food and drink, Jason says that one of the most rewarding things about Batch is that it has evolved into a multi-generational gathering place for local residents: “The cafe offers an amazing way of looking at life – I’ve watched kindergarteners journey through to school, high school students graduate to university, customers get married and bring their kids in”.

Above: Joost’s road sign art piece watches over the daily happenings at Batch. Image via Breakfast out

The Famous Lemonade

Jason created this syrup recipe for the first Greenhouse at Federation Square. Wanting to offer something to the hoards of young children coming through the restaurant, and inspired by an excess of organic lemons, this lemonade was a hit with patrons young and old. It has become a fixture at the subsequent Perth, Sydney and Melbourne Greenhouses as well the Hidden Pizza experience. Now you can try it at home!

Above: Refreshing lemonades at the Greenhouse. Images via Gastronomel & All Hail You Huiness

Via Dezeen

Above: “I’m strangely aroused” – A facebook fan gets excited by Greenhouse’s Wega

Below: Lattes by Lachie served in Homewares by Joost

THE MACHINE

The Wegaconcept Green Line uses 47.6% less energy than standard coffee machines and has standby and night energy saving features. With a brain of its own, the Wegaconcept has the ability to memorise the machine’s workload, adjusting energy functions according to daily/weekly usage patterns. It even has a USB port to update software and install customised programming.

In keeping with the Greenhouse aesthetic and Joost’s ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’ philosophy, electrician Kyle stripped the exterior shell from this top-of-the-range model to reveal it’s inner workings and glowing blue LED lights. “It was a challange, a lot of late nights, just like every Greenhouse” Kyle said of the stripping process.

Above: Melbourne coffee aficionado, Danny Colls, was Joost’s co-conspirator in stripping back the Wegaconcept machine

Above: The machine’s brain

Above: The Wegaconcept before; The Wegaconcept after the Joost and Danny treatment.

Above: “Disco espresso” – the Wega comes alive at night

WHO ARE WEGA?

Based in North-East Italy, Wega specialises in manufacturing professional, energy efficient espresso machines. We were excited to have Adam Genovese of Genovese coffee and Wega area manager Andrea Colombo from Italy visit the Greenhouse to take a look at the stripped back Wega. At first Andrea was surprised, but by the end of the visit he’d fallen in love with the concept and even made us an espresso!

Transcript: “Hi my name is Andrea Colombo, I’m from Wega in Italy. I’ve come out to Australia to visit my customers and have found this surprising Wegaconcept which has been remodelled, I would say, and it’s in line with the theme and it’s in line with our energy saving machine. And I’ll make you an espresso.”