As we embark on the last term of the year, we kick off with a great range of opportunities to learn,

celebrate and connect, with Trash Puppets for the kids, a workshop on ferro cement, a Biochar

facility tour, our usual Friday Market, a spring Farmer’s Market and Rhythms of the World

Day of the Dead- Mexican theme. That’s aside from all our usual and unusual weekly offerings.

We hope there’s enough in there to keep you entertained, dancing, eating well, learning, getting dirty

and being creative. Whatever you’re leaning toward, we look forward to seeing you.

And for those of you who haven’t been receiving our newsletters, we’ve resolved the glitch;

so welcome back!

 Up-coming calendar of events

Regular events:

• African Drumming with Kofi Kunkpe: Mondays (school term) 5.30pm

• ECOSS Valley Market every Friday 3.30-6pm

• Food & Farmers Market 4th Saturday of the month, 10am-2pm

• Valley Market Organics and Biodynamics open every Friday 3.30-6pm & 2nd & 4th Saturdays 9am-12pm

• Tea Ceremony every Sunday 9.30-11am

• Tonantzin Chocolate open every Friday 3.30-6pm,

Saturdays 10am-3pm.

Events

October:

Wednesday Oct. 21st

• Biochar Facility Tour, 3pm

Wednesdays 14th Oct.-9th Dec.

• The Art of Being Human course

Saturday 24th October:

• ECOSS Spring Market: Food, Farmers and Planters, 10am-2pm

• Earth Worm render workshop with Sioux Dollman

• Trash Puppets kids workshop with Yarra Ranges Council

Saturday 30th October:

Rhythms of The World-Mexican Theme, Day of the Dead Celebration

November:

Friday 13th Nov.

• Queer Recycled Fashion Parade workshop, 5pm-7pm

Friday November 20th

• Queer Recycled Fashion Parade workshop: Costume making & crafting, 5 pm-7 pm

Friday November 27th

• Queer Recycled Fashion Parade workshop: Makeup and execution, 5  pm-7pm

Saturday 28th Nov.

• Food & Farmers Market

• Rabbit & Blackberry Control Seminar

December:

Friday 12th December

• Summer Twilight Market and Queer Recycled Fashion Parade

Friday 18th December

• Last ECOSS Valley Market of 2026

2027

January

Friday January 15th Market starts back for 2027

March

Saturday March 13th

• Ecotopia

March 13th-21st

• Permaculture week

      With a little help from our friends …

Our ongoing project with the Earthworm-Sandpit in our playground has already enlisted the support

of over 200 students from years 5 to 11 from several schools. We estimate about 3 trailer loads

of landfill were diverted, including both car and bicycle tyres, soft plastics, broken pots from the

nursery and general hard rubbish, which is all within the body of this emerging creature. Our thanks

also go to Bunnings, which donated the chicken wire, cement, some safety equipment, and tools;

and we also used local recycled sand for the render.

Our final Ferro-cement workshop will be held on Saturday 24^th October from 10 – 4, where we’ll do

the finishing touches to this great new addition to our play-space. It’s a great opportunity for anyone

interested in the ferro-cement process, particularly as our local artist and teacher, Sioux Dollman, has

years of professional experience behind her.  So we invite you to learn new skills and have some fun

applying the decorative final cement render, using oxides and marbles. Lunch is available for purchase

at the ECOSS Farmer’s Market. Please BYO tough dishwashing gloves and a trowel if you have one.

$45 or $25 concession; we’re also offering a ‘pay what you can’ ticketing option for those who may

not be able to attend due to financial constraints; we don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone who

wishes to attend. Bookings are essential; please click on the link below. Humanitix:

https://events.humanitix.com/earth-worm-render-workshop-with-sioux-dolman

Facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1382942427113059?active_tab=about

 Click here to book with Chris: chris@thedreamingspace.com.au

 Friday’s Market

Held on the 4th Saturday of each month, this vibrant new little market celebrates the best of local

produce, delicious food, and artisan treats. Set within a stunning 17-acre permaculture-designed

environmental hub, the market offers a unique and welcoming atmosphere for the whole community.

Come and explore a variety of stalls featuring fresh local produce, great coffee, rich chocolate, and mouthwatering eats. Enjoy offerings from local favourites, including Tonantzin Chocolate

(serving tacos, coffee, and chocolate), local produce & plants. Bring your friends and family, soak

up the beautiful surroundings, and support local growers and makers—we can’t wait to see you there!

 Join us for a magical evening honouring

 Tradition, Community and Rememberance

Rhythms of the World: Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration 

Join us at Yarra Valley ECOSS for a magical evening honouring tradition, community, and

remembrance. Immerse yourself in the vibrant spirit of Día de los Muertos with live music, authentic

ritual, face painting, and dancing set across our beautiful permaculture grounds. We invite all

attendees to bring a photo of loved ones who have passed and a candle to place on our shared

community altar as we honour those who came before us, or those whom we have loved.

Date: Friday, 30th October from 6:00 PM – 9:30 PM (Program starts 6:15 PM)

At Yarra Valley ECOSS, 711Old Warburton Rd, Wesburn

Event Program:

• 6:15 PM: Welcome & Introduction with local resident Fernando

• 6:30 PM: Live Performance by Sin Frontera Duo

• 7:30 PM: Traditional Day of the Dead Remembrance Ritual

• 8:00 PM: Latino Music & Open Social Dancing

  Face Painting: Transform into a traditional Catrinaor Catrínwith our local face artists!

  Delicious Eats: Enjoy authentic treats and drinks available on-site, including handcrafted delights from Tonantzin Chocolate.

  Tickets:

  General Admission: $25

  Concession: $20

  Kids: FREE!

  Gather your family and friends, bring your photos and candles, and celebrate a

  night of profound connection, music, and joy.

 A Free Event for Kids

ECOS is hosting two, special two-hour workshops for children to build their own Trash Puppet Dog.

They’ll work with professional artists whose core mission is to encourage, empower, respect, and genuinely

listen to children’s ideas, and help incorporate them into professional puppets. Trash Puppets’ popular

puppet-making workshops empower children to get creative using clean recycled and reused materials –

no glue or paint required. Children will also learn puppetry, including how to animate and operate their own

dog puppet. This experience will enable children to make puppets from their own trash at home. Ideas will

also be collected towards a professional roving dog puppet set to appear at the Ecotopia Festival in

March 2027. This is a Free event, but bookings are essential; Presented as part of the Burrinja

Climate Change Biennale 2026

Friday 2^nd October from 3.30pm – 5.30 pm (Development 1)

Saturday 24^th  October from 10am – 12pm (Development 2)

Attendance is required on both dates. Suitable for children aged5 – 12 years

For bookings, please email events@ecoss.org.au

Vibe the Light is coming to ECOSS!

Remember the Blue Light Disco days? The music. The singing. The dancing. The face paint.

The DJs. The games. Now imagine walking past, hearing the music, seeing the colour and thinking,

“I might just go in for a look.” Come for 20 minutes. Stay for two hours.

Dance, play, create, laugh or simply hang out. While parents and carers shop, wander and relax,

young people can enjoy a fun, supported space of their own.

No pressure. No expectations. Just come as you are and see what happens?

You might walk in for a few minutes, and leave glad you stayed.

To find out more, go to: https://collections.humanitix.com/vibe-the-light-disco-events-workshops

 For more information check out the facebook page;

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DC7k4rR7S/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Many Victorian households are struggling to afford the food they need. Community food organisations report

growing demand while operating under enormous social and financial pressure. Children are growing up surrounded

by environments that heavily promote unhealthy food. Farmers face climatic, economic and psychological pressures

while being asked to manage an increasingly uncertain future. Productive farmland is being lost as our cities sprawl.

Long and concentrated supply chains create vulnerabilities in an uncertain world. First Nations aspirations for food

sovereignty and connection to Country remain inadequately supported.
These problems are systemic, and they are all connected. Our responses must be too.
Our position: Every Victorian deserves good food.
Good food should be nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate. It should be produced and distributed in ways that provide fair livelihoods, strengthen communities, regenerate rather than degrade the natural systems upon which agriculture depends, and respect First Nations rights, knowledge and aspirations.

How can you get involved?

Start by heading to the #VoteforFood webpage and signing the pledge! Share it with a friend (or many), Download our frames and attach it to your profile picture coming up to the election Email your local MP! Join our online launch event on 9 September, 12:00-13:00pm AEST (info below) Join the Vote for Food Community of Action on the Australian Food Network! Please add in this link to SIGN THE PLEDGE https://sustain.org.au/vote-for-food-victoria-2026/?utm_source=Sustain%3A+The+Australian+Food+Network+Newsletter&utm_campaign=784c91ea0b-sustain_enews_2020_nov_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c8ccbaa0ac-784c91ea0b-563973039

Regular Activities at ECOSS

• Mondays – West African Drumming contact: kofikunkpe@iinet.net.au
• Tuesdays- Crops for Community contact: allabilities@ecoss.org.au
• Tuesdays- The Dreaming Space Dance Classes contact: thedreamingspace@gmail.com
• Thursdays- Native Nursery Contact: nursery@ecoss.org.au
• Wednesdays- Food Forest Working Bees contact: jarh.butler@gmail.com
• Friday- ECOSS Valley Market contact: events@ecoss.org.au
• Friday –  UpCycles at ECOSS contact: upcycles@ecoss.org.au
• Saturday- UpCycles at ECOSS contact: upcycles@ecoss.org.au
• Second Friday of the Month- Poetry in the Dome contact: thedreamingspace@gmail.com
• Fourth Sunday of the Month- Yarra Valley Bee Group contact: lyn3777@gmail.com
• All Week- The Pottery at ECOSS contact: yvcpotterystudio@gmail.com