Making Christmas count for flood-ravaged bush businesses

In flood ravaged parts of Australia, there’s a common refrain, says Buy From the Bush founder, Grace Brennan. 

“The community sentiment has been the same: that they would take the rain over the drought any day,” she says.

But that positive spin on weather events that have devastated regional communities is starting to wear thin. And rural businesses need all the support they can get right now.

Based on a farm in the NSW town of Warren, 120km west of Dubbo, Ms Brennan started Buy From the Bush as an Instagram account in October 2019 to connect city dwellers with small businesses in drought-stricken regional areas. The idea was to create second income streams for farming families, as well as creating new markets for regional businesses who were trying to maintain an income in communities with considerably less disposable cash.

The response surprised everyone, as BFTB garnered more than 450,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram and city shoppers voted with their wallets, providing additional income, as well as hope and support, to struggling communities. Since launching, $10 million has been generated for small businesses in rural Australia as savvy shoppers seek fashion, homewares, jewellery, skincare and more.

Three years later, the source of the crisis is different, but the need is greater than ever, as farms and businesses try to deal with widespread damage and isolation. 

In Ms Brennan’s case, Warren and the surrounding region have been experiencing heavy rainfalls which have flooded the Macquarie River, isolating communities and individual families for weeks or even months

“We have not had a bus running since July,” she said.

But she’s quick to point out that many are dealing with much worse.

Throughout recent years, many in regional communities have tried to maintain a positive mindset. That’s getting a harder proposition as areas are repeatedly inundated with water.

“The attitude until recently was stoicism and optimism because rain presents opportunity for next year (for sowing crops),” she said. 

“But the more it goes on, the more I see that same feeling from the drought. What the flood brings that the drought did not is constant disruption. You can’t access roads and people can’t get into town.”

The impacts of being cut off from town are felt across the community. Where the floods have swept through the main business district, businesses have struggled to reopen, while access to services like the post office have made filling online orders difficult. Maintaining a sense of normality for families has been hard.

“Parents are thinking about how to get their kids to school,” Ms Brennan said. “At the moment, for me it would be a 400km round trip to get my kids there for drop off and pick up (to avoid flooded roads). So you plan differently. You know you’ll be in town for the day on those days.”

At the same time, Ms Brennan said many are aware that there are others in regional communities doing it tougher this time round.

“With the drought, we were in this shared experience,” she said. “But with the floods, there’s a spectrum of impact, and how much debt each farmer is carrying. Some people have big loans because they were expecting an enormous crop and prices are amazing.
“It’s devastating because you can see that crop, you can touch it. But it’s flooded.”

Next month, 20 creators, makers and designers from regional areas will be making the journey to Sydney for a Christmas market at The Rocks on December 9 and 10. Some will find the trip harder than others.

“Some who are coming to the Christmas market will be kayaking out or taking a dinghy out and relying on friends,” she said. 

Stallholders will be travelling from Molong, Condobolin, Dubbo, Warren, Minja, Narromine and Quambone, among other towns.

The market will also host An Hour for Eugowra, a live auction to raise funds for the small town positioned between Forbes and Orange in the NSW Central West. Eugowra was completed flooded last week by a volume of water from Mandagery Creek that left the town looking, in the words of mayor Kevin Beatty, like a bomb had gone off.

Not everyone will be able to make it to the Sydney market. Ms Brennan urged shoppers to consider Buy From the Bush businesses this Christmas. There are more than 185 creators, makers and designers to choose from.

“It’s a longer term commitment,” she said. “We need small businesses to be robust enough to survive these downturns.”

• The gallery is a selection of product on offer from bush businesses attending the market including: Bright Threads, Dumble Collective, Kennedy the Label, Note Couture, Seeking Summer, Castleden Co, French Soda, Riverina Gin and Cathy Hamilton Artworks