Movin’ to the Country - Season 2
From Friday, 8 July, 7.30pm
Movin’ to the Country celebrates the entrepreneurs, innovators and dreamers who are transforming the look and feel of Regional Australia.
The sheer vastness of Australia has been the main reason so many of us cling to the coast, hunkered down in the state capitals, grinding our teeth and daydreaming about escape. But thanks to an information revolution supercharged by a global pandemic, Australians are Movin’ to the Country faster than you can order a soy latte to go with your smashed avocado.
Now that we’re able to do just about anything from just about anywhere, regional Australia is undergoing enormous transformation as an exciting combination of locals and newcomers embrace a future full of opportunity. Research by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) shows that one-in-five city folk are dreaming of escaping to the regions.
Join our hosts Craig Quartermaine, Halina Baczkowski and Kristy O’Brien as they head off to a different region every week to tell the stories of folk looking to make a good living from their little patch of paradise. While it’s not all beer and peaches, despite struggles and setbacks, they’ve never looked back.
Episode 1 - VICTORIA
Friday 8 July 7.30pm
Craig Quartermaine kicks things off in Orbost in a remarkable brewery run by a young couple who make revolutionary beer by linking up with local farmers, foragers and divers to source unique ingredients, under the wise guidance of Indigenous writer and teacher Bruce Pascoe.
Kristy O’Brien heads out onto the Great Ocean Road to visit a third-generation dairy farmer changing the game by reviving the multiple benefits of the era of glass bottles.
Near Daylesford, Halina Baczkowski meets Buck and the community being created around the idea of sustainable, low-fi, ethical pig farming.
Episode 2– NEW SOUTH WALES
Friday, 15 July, 7.30pm
Halina Baczkowski starts out in Bowraville, near Coffs Harbour where she discovers a mobile plastic recycling station which transforms plastic waste into multiple resources, whilst also creating a huge opportunity for the local Aboriginal Corporation. Near Lismore, Craig Quartermaine meets a young Maori man using feral deer culled from farming land to make a range of food and clothing in collaboration with other enterprising locals. Kristy O’Brien is in Orange, learning about the massive highs and crushing lows of producing saffron, the world’s most valuable spice.