Jess Dressler
1. Tell us bit about you, who you are, what you do, your family, your story?
I am a 33 year old mother of two boys - Van and Wolfe, soon to be three with a little babe on the way and wife to Carl. As a family, we are so grateful to live on Bundjalung county in the northern rivers, caretaking 14 acres of land including a native food forest and regenerating a rainforest. We live with our two dogs - Ray and Winston, 4 chickens and the many beautiful native wildlife that come in and out of the rainforest.
We have a small family business that is centred on offering what we grow on this land back to our local community and we are lucky within this to work with so many incredibly brilliant chefs and local businesses - many of whom are our good friends as well.
Carl and I also have day jobs, but are hoping to transition into the family business in time.
(Jess wears the "Cloud Shirt" and "Florence Pant")
2. Tell us about moving from the city to a farm
What a transition! Two years ago we were living in a small apartment in Clovelly, Sydney and dreaming of a more conscious, connected life where we could raise our children in a way that was in line with our values. We had a very unique and special experience in finding the place we now call home and for the moons to align to enable us to make the move.
Neither of us have ever lived or cared for country before so it has been a wonderful learning curve (with plenty more learning to be done - the beauty of living on land). We are so fortunate to have some inspiring and open hearted mentors (one of whom is the women who previously lived here) to help guide us. We’ve aligned with people who share our values - chemical free, no machinery, gentle, natural regenerative and organic practises - all carried out in right relation to the land, its creatures and our community. These principles have helped guide decisions we’ve made around how we do things and how we are raising our children. We are so grateful to be here, doing what we do!
The community of the northern rivers is something so special it is hard to put into words. We’ve made so many life long friendships since calling this place home. The people we have connected with have opened our world to a whole new way of living - that is centred around community, a localised economy where most people are making decisions being led by their heart not by profit or money.
3. What does shopping sustainable and local mean to you in the fashion industry?
To me, it means supporting local designers - people choosing to make quality pieces with a consciously considered end to end supply chain. Clothing that is made not to harm Mother Nature, and isn’t fast or rushed.
It also means leaning into some lost art forms in many places of our society, like knowing how to sew and mend rather than buying new all the time. Finding pieces that last and can be handed down through multiple people or children.
(Jess wears the "Honey Dress")
4. What steps did you take to help settle your family into a new community?
It’s always hard to find your place in a community - particularly one that is well established. For us, we have always led with an open heart and mind - finding ways to give rather than to take.
We spend time volunteering whenever we can - particularly planting days and the like and have found this to be such a beautiful way to connect with people who have similar interests but also values - whilst supporting our wider community.
Having a stall at our local markets in Byron each Thursday has also been a really beautiful way to connect and align with others doing similar things.
We have a small nanny share that our children go to which has also been a really beautiful - through this we’ve met other farming families in the area which has been wonderful.
5. what are some effective ways to teach your children about the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability?
Our friend Jarmbi told me once that children are born with an innate connection to the natural world and it’s our job as parents to not sever that. Something I like to keep front of mind.
Our children live outside and we are constantly reminding them that they are one with everything around them - they are not more important or seperate from what they see and touch. This comes through repetition, song and some thoughtful practises. For example, if they want to cut down a big leaf to use as part of their game, they must give something back to the tree they are cutting from. That when we pick flowers we never pick all of them because we need to leave some for the bees and the birds. Things that remind them of the connectedness of the ecosystem we (plants, animals and humans) are all apart of.
(Van and Wolfe wear the Voyager Pant)
6. Tell us about your brand byron bush foods?
This is a small offering we have for community to access the native foods that we grow on this land. We’re set up at the farmers markets in Byron each Thursday and online. We are very fortunate to be guided by our dear Bundjalung friends, elders and mentors in how we speak to this beautiful produce that has such a deep connection to this country we live on and its long standing culture.
We are actively engaging with Indigenous owned businesses in the native foods space to ensure supply of produce and access to land where these foods grow, but also building beautiful friendships as we go.
We want more people to have access to native foods, to learn to use them in their everyday diets and to honour, respect and celebrate their history - particularly that they have been cared for since time immemorial by our first people and talking about this when they consume them with family and friends.
7. What do you do to keep your self educated regarding living on Indigenous Bundjalung country to incorperating indigenous traditions into your lifestyle?
We consciously spend time listening to and learning from the beautiful wisdom held and nurtured within our indigenous community. We seek guidance from and are so open to being steered onto the right path in how we do things.
We have chosen a school for our son that is very focused on teaching Bundajlung language and we celebrate the fact that we are learning the indigenous names of place first rather than the colonised.
Whilst we care for 14acres of country we’ve sort guidance to do this in a way that is true to and aligned to the expectations and the practices of our first people. We don’t view this land is not ours, we are simply here to caretake and to share it with our community - something we do in many different ways.
8. What does being a woman mean to you?
Being a woman means to be love, a co creator with the earth, being aligned to the cycles, seasons and power of the collective mother and father moon. Being at oneness with nature and embracing all that is.
I think the colonised culture that we live within has tried really hard to strip women of their power and to belittle the important role they play within community, and particularly as mothers. Something each of us have the opportunity to reclaim.
My favourite book is ‘Women who run with the wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and this quote summarises the essence of a woman well -
“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”
9. What is one thing you can’t live without as a woman?
My children.
10. What are you goals for the next 5 years?
To slow down, be more present with my children and husband. To continue learning many different things - putting myself out there to do this and being open hearted, continue to be involved within our community.
11. Tell us your favourite 5 sustainable brands
- Land and Honey of course!
- We are Tutti
- Bluem
- Juem
- Rider wholefoods