Hands-on Adventure and Homesteading Experience at Pindari Centre

homesteading
homesteading
homesteading
Barry Rodgers OAM

Barry Rodgers OAM

Welcome to Pindari Centre!

The Pindari Centre, set on two thousand acres on the magnificent Pindari Dam in northern NSW has been running highly successful outdoor education programs
for schools for several decades, under the direction of Barry Rodgers OAM an experienced educator and adventurer.
Recently he has added an exciting new program aimed at those interested in homesteading farm stays and permaculture.
We invite you to visit the Pindari Centre, where sustainability, self-sufficiency, community and family adventures come to life. These new and innovative programs offer a rare chance to learn practical skills while enjoying an invigorating homesteading getaway in northern NSW.

Families that share adventures together stay together

 Family friendly and pet friendly, Pindari is a place of adventure, learning and inspiration. With cabin accommodation, van friendly facilities and a great healthy cuisine. As well as highly educational it is also a great adventure, one where you will leave with a lifetime of inspiration.

Come for one day, the weekend or longer. Leave with a lifetime of inspiration.  Your experience is completely customisable, with a range of experiences and day trips to choose from – including ATV expeditions, hands-on chicken care, traditional crafts an much more.

Our ethos is simple: to teach life skills, share adventures, foster community and traditional family values, all while being immersed in the wonder of God’s creation.

Barry Rodgers OAM

Homesteading

Farm Stays

Permaculture

homesteading

Homesteading

Pindari Centre – a hands-on adventure homesteading experience.

 

Permaculture retreats

Pindari Centre, where sustainability, self-sufficiency, community and family adventures come to life.

Hands on farming experience

The Pindari Centre Farm Stay, and Sustainable Living experiences are immersive, practical programs for anyone wanting to reconnect with nature, learn traditional skills, and enjoy good company.

Sample Schedule

For a Homestead Weekend at Pindari Centre

Day 1

  • ATV tour of the property visiting the grass trees paddocks, balancing rock, the dam and morning tea at the stone hut.
  • 11.00am Hydroponics and wicking bed session.
  • 12.00 pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Suit up with protective gear for our bee hives and honey extraction exercise.
  • Chicken tractor demonstration or Chicken raising session including incubators and brooder box setups.
  • 3.00pm Afternoon tea
  • 3.30pm Preparing goat feed with a small grain roller mill then feeding and milking goats session, including milk pasteurisation.
  • 5.00pm GPS hike to Dagwood rock to visit a solar pumping plant. (Arrangement can be made for those unable for a 2km hike).
  • Check out the Solar water pump on the creek and talk about how it goes through an Osmosis plant before drinking.
  • 6.30pm Dinner in the dining room.
  • 7.30pm Mystery light on the hill night walk
  • 8.30pm Around the campfire session

Day 2

  • 8.00am Breakfast followed by a reflection for the day
  • 9.00am Homemade bread and yoghurt/cheese making session
  • 12.00pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Final session and wrap up. Departure mid-afternoon

Sample Schedule

Homestead 5 day Experience at Pindari Centre

Day 1

  • 10.00am Introduction to Pindari.Includes ATV tour of the main features of the property, lunch at the, lunch at the “stone hut” Pindari homesteading tutorial, lets visit farm.
  • 6.00pm Dinner
  • 7.00pm City of the bees
  • 7.30pm Q&A (diary time)

Day 2

  • 8.00am Breakfast
  • 8.30am Pindari reflections
  • 9.00am Video and discussion what is homesteading
  • 10.30am Morning tea
  • 11.30am Protective suiting up for a visit to the bees and extract honey. Honey uses etc
  • 12.00pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Preparing feed for goats and chickens from raw grain using a roller mill Egg incubation demonstrations and techniques, brooder boxes and chicken tractor demonstration
  • 3.00pm Afternoon tea
  • 3.30pm Milking goat tutorial film. Feeding the goats then Goat milking “hands on” demonstration pasteurisation and storage.
  • 6.00pm Dinner
  • 7.00pm Spectacular night life at Pindari through the lens of infrared binoculars and high powered spotlights. Then diary time and campfire chat.

Day 3

  • 8.00am Breakfast
  • 8.30am Pindari reflections
  • 9.00am Bush hike using handheld GPS units to the big solar unit at Dagwood rock on Spring Creek. Tutorial on the uses of GPS for homesteading (Alternate transport for those who cannot walk 2 kms)
  • 12.00pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Bread making and yoghurt/cheese making hands on afternoon in our commercial kitchen
  • 6.00pm Dinner… including fresh hot bread
  • 7.00pm Homesteading film, followed by Q&A then diary time and campfire chat

Day 4

  • 8.00am Breakfast
  • 8.30am Pindari reflections
  • 9.00am Constructing a wicking bed and worm farm including worm casting soil health and regeneration techniques. Water conservation methods including trickle irrigation.
    Note, Pindari has a commercial worm farm waste management system able to handle the effluent and waste of up to 100 guests
  • 12.00pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Canning preserving and fermentation processes, including a preserving hands-on bottling activity
  • 3.00pm Afternoon tea
  • 3.30pm Cooking session using freshly harvested food and depending on seasonal vegetables it could including a potato and leek, tomato, onion or pumpkin soup with home made bread
  • 6.00pm Dinner
  • 7.00pm Night walk to the “Light on the hill” followed by diary time and fireside chat.

Day 5

  • 8.00am Breakfast
  • 8.30am Pindari reflections
  • 9.00am The spiritual, ethical and community dimensions of homesteading
  • 10.30am Workshop Planning you own small-scale self-sustaining homestead project
  • 12.00pm Lunch
  • 1.00pm Wrap up and awarding of certificates

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