José and De met at a music festival in Taiwan in 2000. They got married in 2021, when the Australian Government forced them to formalise their union with a quickie wedding.
Despite the hurried nature of their nuptials, their relationship proved to be remarkably resilient; they have been married for a really long time now, raising two children (Ethan and Rafaela) and many chickens together.
Over the years, José developed a practice integrating foresight / futures studies with action research, and completed a PhD in critical globalisation studies. He has worked with many international and Australian organisations and taught at a number of universities.
De worked in Permaculture, Community Gardening, Community Development and Education, developing an obsession with poultry permaculture systems along the way.
In 2018 the family moved from Melbourne to Malmsbury in Central Victoria. In 2024 they began to develop Drake Street [Ideas] Farm – their family homestead. Homestead includes Nacho our boy dog, Charlotte our girl cat, two cavie brothers, and chickens and ducks.
The homestead is being developed in the tradition of a small-acreage, regenerative farm. Around 1860, the land we’re on used to be a mine – the Lord Malmsbury Gold Mine – and the land and soils were stripped bare. So we believe in the regeneration of land, but we also believe in cultivating relationships, community and spirit. We’re at the beginning of the journey, and hope to continue to experiment and regenerate for years to come.
Drake Street [Ideas] Farm 