News
Resilient, irrepressible Nimbin – a community responds to change
Nimbin is an extraordinarily resilient community. This past month of August, 2014, has seen big changes of a kind that many communities would find crippling and disheartening., but in Nimbin community spirit and resilience is irrepressible.
Three weeks ago a fire obliterated several iconic Nimbin landmarks in the heart of the village, and our beloved Rainbow Café and Nimbin Museum are now a pile of ashes, plus another business terminally gutted in the same blaze. Our fire brigade made an heroic stand, working through the night to quench a fire that could easily have taken out most of the historic timber buildings on that side of our main street. The community has been devastated by the fire, yet immediately started coming together to share their collective grief of what’s been lost and to begin exploring opportunities to rebuild and recover.
Two weeks later, close on the heels of the fire, we heard that our beloved Nimbin Organic shop was closing down at the end of the month. I’m not sure when Nimbin Organics was first started but remember it as an established business and integral part of village life back in 1990, and have seen three changes of ownership since then. The current owners, Anne and David, after 10 years of trading had decided it was time to close down on Friday August 29. Within a few days of the news getting round a meeting was organised by word of mouth and social media, and held in the village hall about forming a food co-operative to take over the store.
That inaugural meeting was less than one week ago, on Monday August 25, with around thirty-plus people attending. Anne and David were there to support the concept and provide factual information about the lease, rent, overheads and operations of the store. A working group was formed to go ahead with forming the Co-op and taking over the store, arrange a meeting with the landlord and another community group offered to auspice the transition period until the co-operative could be formed and registered. Three nights later we met again on Thursday, this time at the Nimbin Organics store, to make final plans for the handover and raise funds. The landlord has offered a one-month trial prior to entering into a longer term lease and to allow time for incorporating the co-op. On their last two trading days, Anne and David trained volunteers into how to run the shop and placed stock orders for the newly formed Nimbin Food Co-Op to start trading from Monday 1st September.
It’s amazing how a group of committed people can get things together. In one week our community has rallied to form a food co-op, get it operating and save an important local food business from closing. Memberships are already rolling in. A Conversation Café will be held this coming week at Djanbung Gardens to explore ways the food co-op can work closer with local producers and strengthen local food security, develop our collective aims and objectives and develop strategies for fund raising and membership drive. The first fund-raising event is scheduled in 2 weeks at the gardens.
I love living in this community, and am proud of the legacy of proactive community action and creative problem solving that keeps on manifesting here. Nimbin Food Co-Op continues this great tradition and will provide the community with local, organic, affordable fresh produce as well as bulk foods and other necessities into the future.
Robyn Francis, August 31, 2014