Our Story
The Short
We're two nerds who love food, nature and culture.
We care about the environment (because we're literally in it)
and the rest, really, is just a tale about designing a future we want to live in!
We've grown over 60 plants in a tiny concrete courtyard.
Killed dozens more.
Eaten food that tastes better—and felt healthier than ever.
Mastered sourdough.
Cracked the code on preserves.
Recently fell headfirst into the world of ferments.
Watched our once barren space explode with greenery and life.
Somewhere along the way, we realized—
This changes everything.
But let’s be clear:
We didn’t start this way.
At first, it was just a wildly underestimated idea:
"Wouldn’t it be nice to eat food like our grandparents did—just growing wild and abundant all around their backyard?"
That simple thought turned into an obsession.
Because the more we dug, the more we saw the truth:
The Modern Food System Isn’t Broken. It’s Working Exactly as Designed.
And that design?
Extractive. Wasteful. Fragile.
Ruthless in who it serves—and who it doesn’t.
We’re not scientists.
Not botanists. Not farmers.
No fancy degrees in horticulture or ecology.
But we are architects.
Ironically, we spent our careers designing the "built" world
—the spaces that shape how people live, move, and survive.
And the more we looked into our Food Systems,
the more we recognized them for what they truly are:
Infrastructure.
Like roads, they determine where nourishment flows—and who gets left behind.
Like supply chains, they control access.
Like cities, they shape our behavior.
If our Cities and Food Systems are two sides of the same coin, then that coin is Culture.
Once we saw this, we couldn’t unsee it.
We had spent the first half of our careers shaping one side of the coin.
It was only a matter of time before we turned it over.
"First, we shape our buildings [and food systems];
thereafter they shape us."
—Winston Churchill (with our modest editing).
We Tried "Staying in Our Lane"
As architects, we met with
Politicians.
Councilors.
Policymakers.
We politely sat in on their meetings.
Listened to their "strategies".
Watched them sit on the fence.
Discovered good intentions stall, delay, dilute action and opportune moments.
And then we quit.
First, we started our company Earthli,
where we designed and shipped seasonal Edible Garden Kits
to growers all around Australia.
Earthli Edible Garden Kits - helping growers all across Australia kickstart their very own permaculture edible gardens
And we learned how to code.
Because we saw what they won’t admit:
Expecting them—the status quo—to lead change means waiting for funerals.
Too little. Too late.
So we started from the basics:
Plant a seed. See what grows.
We wanted to know:
Could someone—anyone—like our grandparents still do this in the 21st century?
Between the modern grind and our 9-to-7 jobs, it was hard.
What we needed wasn’t just a guide—it was the wisdom of a village.
To help us navigate the challenges and re-learn what we’ve culturally unlearned:
How to grow food.
How to eat food.
How to avoid waste.
We Created What We Always Wished We Had:
- A way to skip years of trial and error.
- A way to grow food smarter, faster—with others on the same path.
- A way to leverage nature and evolution to drop the need for chemical shortcuts.
- A way to recover cultural wisdom and map it to experiences from millions of gardens, across the entire planet.
We didn’t set out to build an app.
We set out to build a system.
One that, if we get it right, could help solve food insecurity.
One that, if we succeed, could help rectify both our failing food system and climate change—at the same time.
Because ending world hunger isn’t the goal.
Ending the inequality of food, knowledge, environmental and cultural destruction—is.
When We Began...
the Paris Climate Agreement set a 1.5°C target for ocean temperatures.
And at every step of our journey, people told us:
"The planet is fine."
"It’s too big of a problem."
"Don’t boil the ocean."
Spoiler alert: The ocean boiled anyway.
This year? We sleepwalked past those targets.
So if the ocean’s already boiled, we figure it’s time to prove the opposite is possible too.
Because if not now—when?
If not all of us—who?
The Mission
Empower more people to grow more food.
To make it easy, healthy, affordable, and wildly rewarding.
To cut waste, protect biodiversity, and redefine what’s possible.
The Impact
On a good day?
We’ll eat better than ever before and save each other hundreds on groceries.
On a great day?
We’ll cut waste, shrink our carbon footprint, and put power back in the hands of all people.
On an epic day?
We’ll shape the future of human culture. Forever.
And if we really really succeed—
We'll slash 9% of global emissions, reverse a biodiversity extinction,
and spare our children from believing yogurt grows on trees.
(Yes, that’s a real concern.)
The Point Is…
This isn’t just our story.
It’s yours too.
Let’s grow something incredible—together.
For Reference
Ecopunk (noun)
A misfit. A maker. A rebel. A dreamer.
Someone who cares deeply about the health and habitability of their world—both built and natural.
Someone who believes in an optimistic future—and is ready to create it.
Someone who refuses to let broken systems dictate decline or erode the wealth of cultural wisdom.
Someone who knows that technology and ecology aren’t at odds but are, in fact, allies.
Are you one of us?
(Pink mohawks and cork sandals optional.)
Built by the duo at Earthli. Thanks to our early supporters:
