Amanda Callan is half of Church Farm General Store, which is the family business run with her partner Andrew Morris.
Bailing on a Sydney share apartment and moving north in 2012, they stumbled upon an old church for sale in Billinudgel. Amanda and Andrew converted the church into their home and turned the half-acre block into a small scale organic vegetable farm. Now Amanda and Andrew live at the Church Farm with their two sons Banjo and Percy, their rescue dog Maggie, their 21 chickens and a rooster!
With the arrival of the first son Banjo looming, Amanda started to make all natural soaps from the herbs she grew in her garden that she would use on her family, give to friends and family and sell on the side of the road in a little hut made by Andrew.
The business has grown (organically, pardon the pun) over the last few years and now Andrew and Amanda lease an acre of land in a neighbouring suburb where they grow fresh produce for three local farmers markets, and make a range of sauces, curry pastes, pickles, herbal soaps and creams that are stocked in over 100 stores Australia wide.
Amanda also works with Australian brands such as Stone & Wood, In Bed Store, Charcoal Me and The Clean Coast Collective to design customised soaps that are made with natural clays, essential oils and local plant seed oils.
In her spare time Amanda is on the home stretch of her Health Science degree in Naturopathy and teaches soap making classes at The School in Sydney.