connecting people to planet through food
OUR LIVING FOOD CAMPUS
We believe that our food choices have the power to change our health, wellbeing and the planet.
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This is why we have expanded and evolved the original cheese making factory to become an educationary campus bursting with creativity and diversity. Step into a place where you can delve into the world of how some of our favorite foods are made, traditionally slow processed to unlock nutrition and taste. You will also interactively learn about the importance of plant diversity, circularity, regenerative biodynamic farming, soil health, and much more!
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We're here to empower you to take control of your diet. You'll leave our campus inspired to change what and how you eat – because each of us can make a difference!
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Classroom Workshops
Our classroom at the Brown's Living Food Campus offers you to connect to Kenya through interactive cooking classes, fermentation sessions, food demonstration meal, foraging and more.
Our creative workshops are designed to support you to make regenerative and nourishing choices back home, reconnecting you back to your food.
We're constantly collaborating and developing engaging curricula that is inspired from the ancient and the modern within Kenya and across the globe!
Yard
Our business started as dairy. Without our animals we would not have the products that we have, nor would our shamba be as bountiful! There is an inherit interconnection between the food we eat and animals. We don't believe in extremities, we believe in balance and a natural system that has a role for both plants and animals. They are in relationship with one and other and support one and other's potential.
Did you know it takes 17 days for food to fully pass through a cow's digestive system. In this time it makes protein from the fibre it has eaten through the microorganisms in living in their gut meaning their dung is essential for building up the humus in the soil. Humus is like the fat in soil, if we lose it, we lose life. That is why our cows play such an essential role in the aliveness of our entire business, and in supporting your health. Dung, as a cow's waste product, enriches our farm!
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The health of our cows, and that of our farming community's cows, is crtically important. What they eat and where they rest matters. Ventilation, shade and water must be plentiful. Curing any health issues quickly matters. We consider ourselves as setting the bar high for others in the industry, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shamba
“It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies” – Matshona Dhliwayo
Regenerative biodynamic farming at the Brown's Living Food Campus means an abundance of life, and colour, and activity and observation. There's always so much to pay attention to...to touch, to taste, to smell, to watch, to listen to.
Biodynamic is derived from two Greek words, bios (life) and dynamos (energy), indicating that the farm should be treated as a living system. Regenerative biodynamic farming is all about wholeness. It is about connecting with nature and our senses. It is about giving back to the land rather than taking. It is about tending to the roots rather than the symptoms, .nourishing them generously with our fermented compost preparations. It works on the principle that there is an inherent interconnection between different species at the soil macro and micro levels which work together to create balance and resilience to challenges such as insects or harvesting. Everything plays a role. When we see an insect on a plant, we ask “Why might you be here?” or “What are you trying to tell me?” rather than going in heavy handed.
We work with the force of nature, not against it, for after all, we are a force of nature too. Food that is produced in this way nourishes and revitalises humanity!
Learn more about these principles in our blog series.
Soil Laboratory
I'm coming soon!
We're busy building a soil laboratory for you to come and get curious about soil. After you've peered under a microscope, you'll never look at soil the same way again!
Soil is essential to life on earth, without it life could not be sustained. It is also money in the bank: the better the soil, the more interest you get. But sadly, much of the world’s agricultural soils have become inert and lifeless from the consistent application of chemicals. It is in healthy soils that crops can grow to their full nutritional potential, passing that same potential on as they are eaten. That is why here at Brown’s, we look after our soil before anything else. In fact we don’t just care for it, we actively heal and regenerate it through biodynamic farming principles.
Seed Bank & Nursery
I'm coming soon!
So much depends on seeds. They are the soul's biodiversity, beyond just food. If seeds aren't cared for then we risk losing important genetic diversity that supports life on this planet. Open access to seeds is also important in supporting smallholders to adapt to changing market demands and the changing climate - it increases resilience, one seed at a time.
This is why we're been carefully collecting ancient seeds from across the country. It is our small quest in quest helping to preserve the diversity and abundance that exists and making seeds more available for you to take home to plant and share more widely. And, if you'd prefer to take home plants, we've got these for sale too!
Patient Processing
As you explore the different areas of the campus, a common thread that you will notice is patient processing. We do this because slow food is good food. Traditional techniques of stone-grinding, aging and fermentation enhance the nutritional value and flavour of food. By tending the products regularly, our team are building a relationship with what they are crafting and that same care is passed onto you as you enjoy.
Did you know we allow our parmesan to age for 3 months before stocking?! Our vinegars also ferment for an entire month, our kombuchas for a week and our sourdough for 3 days...we do not believe in cutting corners, even as we grow. We are comitted to producing good, artisinal food that supports your health.
Circularity
“Nothing is lost...everything is transformed" (Antoine Lavoisier)
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Over the years, we've learnt from nature that life operates in cycles and everything can be regenerated if given the chance. In our shamba, production areas and classroom, we always ask ourselves 'How could this be reused? Where may this have value? Might we be limiting nature to regenerate?'. This leads to creativity, abundance and ultimately a business that operates by circular economy principles.
The soil, in which we grow many of our ingredients, is rich from the addition of organic 'waste', cow dung, shamba cuttings and processing bi-products (supported, of course, by the ingenuity of worms)! Many of the ideas for our new products are born from having siginficant volumes of bi-product that needs a new home. Without our Grove+Meadow kombucha we wouldn't have the Grove+Meadow Raspberry Fruit Bars. Without cutting up our Cheddar we wouldn't have Kid's Cheddar Bites!
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There is a continous flow of materials in all that we do.
We don't believe in the word 'waste'.
We leave more room for nature to thrive.
Together.
