Colorful illustration of a vegetable garden with the text 'The Island Almanac' surrounded by a sun, tomato, carrot, lettuce, flower, and a small solar panel.


“We weave ideas, scribe forward, align with life and create connection.”
— Dr Demeter | Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

Covering topics on Foundational Economics, Convivial Governance, Anthroposophic Philosophy & Everyday Regeneration in Tasmania

Overview
The Island Almanac is a living compendium of stories, tools and place-based examples that weave together foundational economics, anthroposophic wisdom and the rhythms of everyday life. Rooted in the soils of Tasmania and flowering from Magical Farm Tasmania. Across its pages you’ll find:

  • Practical essays on redirecting public and private wealth into community resilience

  • Anthroposophical reflections on seasonal rhythms, ritual and soul-led innovation

  • Tasmanian case studies from coastal hamlets to mountain valleys

  • Project spotlights on island-wide initiatives, from seed libraries to solar co-ops.

    Living Architecture: A dynamic framework of interconnected practices, food, housing, energy, governance, culture, activism and economics that grows, adapts and breathes like an ecosystem, rather than standing as static policy or infrastructure. These seven pillars form the Living Architecture of Regen Era Design Studio & The Island Almanac: integrating heart, head & hands to power a truly regenerative future.

    1. Food, Plants and Planets

    2. Housing and Natural Building

    3. Energy

    4. Community Life, Learning & Culture

    5. Sacred Activism

    6. Convivial Governance

    7. Regenerative Economic Design.

Wildflowers growing in a field with a backdrop of trees and a partly cloudy sky.
Emily Samuels-Ballantyne Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

Scenario Two Returns: A People’s Stadium for Tasmania

Tasmania is being asked to accept another top-down, corporate megaproject—this time a stadium shaped more by AFL interests than community wellbeing. Drawing on the legacy of Scenario Two – Powering Regeneration, this article offers seven alternative visions rooted in Designing with Country, justice, imagination and local place-making. These scenarios show how investing outside Hobart’s CBD, into Glenorchy, Bridgewater/Gagebrook, Shorewell Park, Risdon Vale or a retrofit on the outskirts, creates regeneration rather than displacement. First Nations leadership, diverse sports, food-growing, arts, youth programs and wellbeing ecosystems become the real legacy. Scenario Two reclaims public investment for the highest good of all Tasmanian’s, proving a stadium can uplift rather than extract.

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