You will recognise that we are building a grower network - it used to exist 3 years ago after a fashion - but is a shadow of it's former glory and in real terms a local food supply network has not existed in the valley for 50 years.
A reliable grower network does not just appear from will power or because people say yes I want local food. Growers - especially unskilled ones take years to become effective producers and take huge risks especially if they do not have very reliable water supply and sufficient cheap labour when they need it.
Creating demand does not immediately translate into a reliable grower network.
Creating demand and a supply chain simply generates a marketing service for Candelo Bulk and an expectation of continuity.
Everything you did was great stuff ... and you know I think that. In my opinion it was early in terms of the SCPA/Austcom effort to develop a known grower database, a baseline list of future grower candidates, a support network to facilitate reliability of supply and purchase... without anything to do with transport from farms to secondary distribution points, ordering management, debtor control etc.
I think the first thing is to establish who can grow local food to supply local markets reliably. That may take 30 medium scale growers (5 acres or more) - who are not present, skilled and resourced at this stage.
There is absolutely no shortage of outlets for local food supply.
From my personal perspective, to initiate a demand cycle by creating a supply chain - means that it MUST be followed by reliable continuous supply.
If that is what you wanted to achieve for Candelo Bulk - they are best able to manage the data management and supply, not us. If you just want to prove that it can be done locally - it seems a lot of effort to make a point that has been made already in other centres.
The food supply side of things needs significant human input from farm gate to plate - and I have no idea where that input can come from in the short to medium term from your model. It is not impossible - but given our insanely stretched resources at this stage ...I am at a loss as to how a food demand and local supply network can efficiently be managed at this stage for anything other than a once off trial. Which only proves it can be done - as you say - that's not rocket science.
There is no need for proof of concept of demand for local food - the farmers markets prove that twice a month - and restaurants all over the region are screaming for local food and will pay a premium for reliable supply of locally grown food.
My concern, at a personal level only, (not speaking for SCPA) is that you are creating expectation in the minds of buyers that a reliable purchase and supply network has been created - and if that is not able to be followed up reliably and consistently - it remains a trial.
If you are developing a one off trial, that is branded as a one off trial and it remains a one off trial - fine - go for it.
But your proposal, from my reading, went a lot further than that.
If there is an expectation of continuity of supply by the public (even if they are friends) - without the necessary support infrastructure to maintain that supply (wherever the food comes from) then Austcom and SCPA will be deemed to have failed. Close enough is not good enough.
It needs to be a whole of community response at this time in a region not known for it's agricultural (read horticultural) strength.
I do not know anyone locally who can supply even one carton of broccoli or even staples like carrots or onions.
Transition Towns as a process will develop a food growing and supply culture and process - and that activity in it's own right will initiate demand and more and more supply initiatives. But is must be from the ground up by many people deeply committed and passionate about the concept and willing to put in the work to get an enterprise of that magnitude up and keep it up.
In my view, THEN we can rollout an 'automated' supply chain system per any number of local, national or international variations - which would be well resourced by the community developed out of the TT process itself by the community of users and growers.
We do not have an active agricultural sector - we have a few discrete growers who process or sell their own produce via their own outlets in tiny quantities.
There is no capacity to increase local production at this stage - that is what we are doing now - increasing local capacity to produce in reasonable volume either via a few dedicated high volume risk takers or via a very big small-level production system - (families).
Supply chains (gate to plate) are the relatively easy bit to manage - but are highly vulnerable to negative perception if they are not reliable. Growers with infrastructure and seed capital are not so easy to come by.
I am not sure where the project stands now - but it is clear that what you have started is valuable - perhaps at this stage if you are running a trial - then go ahead. I for one cannot take on another project - nor even effectively manage the projects I am committed to.
SCPA, TT, Community Gardens and certainly my efforts in Austcom have been trying to simulate a 'gardener' culture for the past two years - and that is starting to generate results. SCPAs organic grower network (8 persons) is evidence of that.
These are lasting, long term projects that demonstrate a grower network is possible. Scaling up is physically and culturally a challenge without any government support, or even a training base out of Community College.
The development of a solid, stable grower base will probably take another three - five years - and by then the demand will be so high we will have another Cuba on our hands.
Quoting West End as a model does not take into account the utterly vast outpouring of energy we are already engaged in nor all of the local variations that have nothing to do with other communities who are developing supply chains of their own.
The other element I have not mentioned is that your model assumes people want food delivered to their homes. Some may for this exercise because they agree with it as a concept and because you have a personal relationship, but I suspect a more reliable supply chain alternative and one that is easier to manage is to generate more frequent farmer markets in the townships where people can socialise, where other products can be traded and the development of culture can take place - and where the education of people (future growers) can take place in the town 'commons'.
All of the 'home delivery' models I have seen are in large populations centres with completely different demographics to ours and easier transport solutions than Meals on Wheels, Australia Post and the local School bus.
