Ep 28 Chris Ennis of CERES Fair Food - when in doubt go out!

With front line activism on his resume and a concerted effort to diverge from his familial farming and retail heritage, Chris Ennis embarked on a path of his own only to find himself at the front of the socially progressive 10 acre urban farming, retail and educational enterprise CERES Fair Food and now CERES Fair Wood in Melbourne's North. As you guessed it, an urban farm and retailer. Seems you can't escape what's in your blood... but you can reframe it to suit our times and cultural needs which is exactly what Chris has done as a social entrepreneur.SHOW NOTESWhat is a social entrepreneur? Caring about all the parts of business that aren't about moneyEnterprise stacking = an ecosystem of diverse enterprises that fit togetherMake up the rules of business! You can decide what the workplace looks like and how that fits with your lifeDifferent ways of being a farmer even in the cityHaving faith in kids to take their seeded habits and make them bounce in later lifeFrom fair food to fair wood and possibly fair anythingStacking diversity in life to ensure multi-purpose usesNot subscribing to traditional channels of business or being pigeon holedWhy he refers to ‘founders’ as weedsPlanning for business succession with the right types of peopleThe long game versus short-term-ismThe importance of seeing the pathway as having value The value of generational knowledge in businessYearning for indigenous wisdomBeing comfortable to ask uncomfortable questionsEmbedding ritual as the social fabric of lifePractical positive activism is nourishing and fulfillingAim for deeper change, it’s more potent than flashy shallow initiativesIf in doubt - go out!LINKS YOU'LL LOVEProm Coast Food CollectiveBaw Baw Food HubBeechworth Food Co opRetrosuburbia - David HolmgrenThe Social Dilemma Ubie - NSW based social enterpriseGreen Connect South SydneyCERES Fair WoodCERES Fair FoodDark Emu - Bruce PascoeSupport the show