A small sustainable family farm in Macclesfield known for its fresh goat milk soap is expanding to artisan cheesemaking, with farm tours and workshops on the horizon, as JAMIE SALTER reports.
The Anglo-Nubian goat stud was formed in 2015 by Jemimah Van Geffel who wanted to get back on the land after travelling from her home in Belgium to France, then to Australia.
With a Master in Biology, Jemimah is passionate about sustainability and ecology and follows regenerative agriculture and permaculture principles on her 14 acre property.
Her goal was to be more self-sufficient and grow nutrient rich, fresh produce free from harmful chemicals.
“When you grow your own fresh produce it’s really nourishing you, and it’s not the same thing as when you buy from the supermarket,“ she said.
“You can also grow different things you can’t find at the shop and experiment more.“
Jemimah and her husband Fred raised their four children Blaise, Hector, Antoinette and Flora on home grown vegetables, meat, and dairy.
The name of the property when the family moved in – Iminamuck (I’m-in-a-muck) – was fitting, as the land was extremely swampy at the time.
Jemimah said looking after the land has been very rewarding.
“We put a lot of work in to improve the soil and put up fences to build the paddocks, but the name Iminamuck has stuck,“ she said.
A week after moving to the property, Jemimah got two Anglo-Nubian goats for the farm.
It was a challenge at the start of their journey, but the farm now has a stud of 26 goats – all of which have their own names that Jemimah can remember.
“At first when we moved here the land couldn’t feed our two goats and now we pasture feed all 26 of them,“ she said.
Iminamuck focuses on enhancing biodiversity, the health of the soil and the health of the animals.
Jemimah said the key was not to overgraze and to have a diversity of plants for her animals.
“The way we look after the goats is really ethical they are free range 24/7 and always have access to outside,“ Jemimah said.
“They are pasture fed through regenerative grazing.
“We do really long resting periods for the paddock between nine months to a year and we cross-graze with ponies because they graze completely differently to the goats.“
The goats are bred once a year to have babies in September, with the babies raised on their mum’s.
“We don’t separate or wean them and once they are eating solid food we keep all the babies together at night in their own pen away from predators,“ Jemimah said.
In 2021, Jemimah enlisted the help of Ares (named after the God of war Greek mythology) – a guard dog to protect the farm’s chickens from foxes and hawks.
Ares is a Maremma cross Sarplaninac who has been trained to protect the free range livestock.
Jemimah began making soaps using Australian extra virgin olive oil (known as Castile soap) and Iminamuck’s very own goat milk, finding it worked wonders on her family’s sensitive skin.
“Our soaps were born from the desire to have a gentle soap, free of chemicals, and that does not irritate our skin,“ Jemimah said.
“They’re ideal for all skin types including sensitive skin and can be used for body, face and hair.“
Essential oils are used to give the soaps different scents including lavender, lemon myrtle, cedarwood, rosemary, pine and coffee while natural botanicals and clays are used for colour.
Iminamuck Soaps are cured for a minimum of eight months.
“Our soaps are ideal for all skin types including sensitive skin and can be used for body, face and hair,“ Jemimah said.
Iminamuck goat soap is sold at Emerald, Cockatoo and Warbuton markets as well as online.
“We should have started selling at markets just before the start of Covid-19, so we’re glad to be out again now to talk to people and share our products,“ Jemimah said.
“A lot of people specifically come back to the market to look for me and buy the soap.“
The sale of the soaps is supporting the construction of a limestone building on the property for artisan cheesemaking.
A passion for cheesemaking has grown over the years and Jemimah has big plans to sell her own cheese made from Iminamuck goat milk.
“In Australia, I find it much harder to find good quality cheese that I feel is a really good product,“ Jemimah said.
“By making my own, I can play with what I’m doing to really find a cheese I enjoy.“
“The pasture fed – free range goats produce the most incredible milk, straight from the earth by grazing.
“We milk the goats once a day. The pasteurised milk is bottled and handcrafted in artisan cheese on the farm straight after milking.“
Construction on the building began in 2020 and is expected to be completed this year.
The first farm tour is set to be held in October where children can meet the kids and families can take part in soap making and cheesemaking workshops.
People will get the chance to explore the property and buy soaps and cheese straight from the farm.
But the plans to expand their range of products won’t stop there.
“My youngest daughter wants to make ice cream, so one day when she’s older we might start making ice cram for her,“ Jemimah said.
Almost 1,000 native trees have also been planted on the property in recent years.
For more information on Iminamuck and its products, visit iminamuck.com.au
