A place of peace
Jandarra, meaning “place of peace”, is a former banana plantation, now being regenerated using holistic management practices.
Certified through Ecotourism Australia, Jandarra’s goal is to model and inspire responsible ecological stewardship and foster harmony and creativity to build a regenerative and abundant future.
Located in the blend of farming and forested area of the Tallebudgera Valley in the Gold Coast Hinterland, Jandarra is registered with Land for Wildlife. In addition to the cattle, who are our co-workers in our quest to build soil biology and rebalance nature, Jandarra is home to chickens, bees and worms.
The farm is available for peaceful camping through Hipcamp and the land invites you to connect around a campfire, gather for a meal under a canopy of trees, rest by the rockpools or hike through the rainforest.
Regenerative Agriculture
At Jandarra we are passionate about working in harmony with nature and caring for the land. The use of regenerative agriculture such as grazing management, natural beekeeping, worm farms, an orchard, tree planting and vegetable gardens, free of synthetic chemicals, are some of the practices undertaken.
Regenerative agriculture is described in many ways. We like John Kempf’s words: "To create conditions conducive to furthering life including restoring landscapes and whole ecosystems and having farms be economically viable enterprises. The most important piece is that regenerative agriculture needs to regenerate the capacity for stewardship. If we want to regenerate landscapes, that requires the presence of loving, caring hearts and hands on the landscape. Simply put, we need more people in rural landscapes, not fewer; particularly, we need more people who care."
Learn more about Regenerative Agriculture from the Savory Institute or White Oak Pastures.
Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV)
Knowing nothing about cattle and regeneration until a few years ago, Tania Potts, Jandarra’s steward, completed the Holistic Management Course with Brian Wehlberg and has ridden a steep learning curve ever since. Stumbling across a podcast on EOV with Victoriah Kaziah, the brand manager for the Savory Institute, was a major turning point.
Jandarra Farm is in its third year of Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) monitoring in Australia undertaken through the Savory Institute.
EOV was developed in collaboration with leading soil scientists, ecologists, agronomists, and an extensive network of regenerative land managers around the world. EOV is a practical and scalable soil and landscape assessment methodology that tracks outcomes in biodiversity, soil health, and ecosystem function (water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow and community dynamics). Jandarra has 10 short-term monitoring sites plus one long-term monitoring site. By recognising both land regeneration targets and trends, EOV endorsement is bestowed as long as land health moves in a net positive direction.
We believe EOV gives the land a voice, and through this process, provides us with feedback to make better management decisions. We welcome conversations about this when you visit.
Learn more about our EOV journey on the Farmer’s Footprint Farm Yarns blog here.
The Tallebudgera Valley
Jandarra is nestled in the Tallebudgera Valley, within the Hinterland core habitat system and the Currumbin to Currumbin Valley hinterland to coast critical corridor. According to the local council, these lands are of high ecological value, which includes large areas of remnant rainforest, vine forest, and sclerophyll woodland, creek lines, and hill slopes which offer significant habitat value to native fauna.
Wildlife & Community-led Conservation
In March 2022, Jandarra participated in a site survey as part of the Tallebudgera Valley Nature-Culture Alliance (NiCA) Bushfire Landcare Understories Project.
NiCA is a newly established group of landholders who have formed for the purpose of regenerating ecological communities and together we have planted 1500 native trees on the farm and adjoining creeks to stabilise riparian and eroded areas.
The following observations of flora and fauna are drawn from that report, which identified important and protected species:
- Jandarra’s dams are fenced off from cattle and provide a habitat for common native amphibian species such as the Eastern sedge frog Litoria fallax but also potentially the Tusked Frog Adelotus brevis listed (Vulnerable), Fleay's Barred Frog Mixophyes fleayi (Endangered), and Cascade treefrog Litoria pearsoniana (Vulnerable).
- Threatened bird species that have been recorded in the local vicinity, that may be found on upper slopes where remnant vegetation is found include the Plumed Frogmouth Podargus ocellatus plumiferus (Vulnerable) and Albert's Lyrebird Menura alberti (Near-threatened).
- The Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus has been seen at Jandarra and the upper slopes potentially provide habitat for the Vulnerable Long-nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus tridactylus.
Cultural Heritage
We acknowledge the Yugambeh people as traditional custodians of this land, and pay respects to Elders past and present and to all who care for this earth. Moving forward may we understand and implement cultural and regenerative practices, developed through affiliations with community by listening carefully, observing keenly and tending respectfully.
Aboriginal people are encouraged to be on land, hold fire ceremonies and immerse in nature and share stories. Jandarra has hosted two indigenous week-long retreats in recent years and through their stories, we have learnt about Country. We encourage more of this and actively engage in dialogue whenever possible.
Our Team
The Jandarra team is committed to building social connections, community cohesiveness, and inspiring personal contentment.
- Tania Potts, Jandarra’s steward, shepherded the not-for-profit organisation Boomerang Bags into existence to raise awareness of plastic pollution through community engagement with co-founder Jordyn de Boer. This ethos paved a path forward into regenerative agriculture and the evolution of Jandarra Farm as another response to the ecological crisis we find ourselves in.
- Courtney Adamson, Jandarra's marketing and business development lead, channels her extensive experience in nature-based tourism and skills as a connector and communicator into building Jandarra's community, sharing stories, and supporting the delivery of memorable guest experiences.
What our guests say...
