Welcome to Nillumbik Shire’s best kept secret.
Have you heard of the Round the Bend Conservation Co-operative ? If you have you are in a minority.
Just as in the 1970’s when the co op was founded the reaction is still …..”Oh that’s the hippy commune started by Neil Douglas isn’t it?” ?” or “So ….. you grow your own food and have cows and goats?”
The word co-operative conjures preconceptions and misconceptions in most people’s minds. Interestingly attitudes to the word Co operative haven’t changed a great deal over the many years of Round the Bend Conservation Co-operative’s existence.
This is the very reason for this blog. It is time the story of the Round the Bend Conservation Co-operative was told …… to share the experience of being custodians of this piece of land, what it meant to those who began the journey in 1971 and for current members in 2014.
We intend to explore its archives and work with Co-op members to bring to you stories about the reasons people live here, where it is, what they are trying to achieve and how they have been successful.