What Pocket City Farms does

Pocket City Farms is a registered not-for-profit charity operating Australia's first urban farm, established in June 2016 at the former Camperdown Bowling Club site (Camperdown Commons) in inner Sydney, NSW. The organization runs a 1,200m² ecological market garden producing chemical-free vegetables, herbs, honey, and pantry items, supported by a community food forest, propagation greenhouse, composting zone, and native bee apiary. Operations are volunteer-led, with a small core team including a Farm Manager (Chris) and Operations Manager (Jacqui Besgrove, a UNSW-affiliated permaculture designer). The farm serves as a demonstration site for regenerative agriculture, permaculture design, and closed-loop food systems.

The business model combines seven distinct revenue streams: direct-to-consumer produce and merchandise sales (pickup-only e-commerce at the Camperdown site), school excursion and incursion fees (minimum A$600+GST per secondary booking; A$25/child for vacation care), corporate team retreat packages (half-day and bespoke full-day options), PCF Projects consulting services for urban farm design and management, ticketed workshops and the annual Permaculture Design Course (A$1,800), sliding-scale public farm tours (A$0–A$20), donations via the GiveNow platform, and an A$25/year PCF membership subscription. Education programs (Urban Farm Adventure Course, Virtual Farm Tour, Pocket School Farms incursions) are mapped to the Australian Curriculum and NSW NESA standards across Early Stage 1 to Stage 6.

Customers span four primary segments: Sydney schools seeking curriculum-aligned sustainability education, corporate clients pursuing ESG-aligned retreats and team-building, community volunteers and individual supporters purchasing produce and memberships, and developers/councils engaging PCF Projects for urban farm consulting. Distribution is exclusively on-site at Camperdown Commons (for produce pickup, education, and retreats) plus on-site delivery of consulting services at client locations across Australia. Key partnerships include WaterUps (core commercial alignment with school fundraising), Camperdown Commons (venue host and hospitality integration), Young Henrys (event sponsorship), Save Our Bees (product supply), and UNSW (academic convenorship).

Name

Pocket City Farms

Legal name

Pocket City Farms

Website

https://pocketcityfarms.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pocket City Farms is a registered charity operating Sydney's first urban farm (est. 2016) on a 1,200m² market garden at Camperdown Commons, delivering curriculum-aligned school education, corporate retreats, consulting services, and direct produce sales to local consumers, schools, businesses, and developers across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Agriculture & Community Education

NAICS

Vegetable and Melon Farming (1112), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover (111419)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Greenhouse Herb & Microgreens Production (Culinary Herbs, Microgreens) (AFAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Urban agriculture
• Regenerative farming
• Environmental education
• Community gardening
• Sustainable food production

Headquarters

HQ city

Camperdown

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Produce and Goods Sales: Direct sales of farm-grown produce (vegetables, herbs, honey, olives), pantry items, seedlings, merchandise (t-shirts, tote bags, tea towels), gift vouchers, and PCF membership. E-commerce with pickup-only fulfillment.
2. Education Programs: Revenue from school excursion fees (primary and secondary), vacation care/OOSH programs, virtual school tours, and incursions. Minimum booking fees apply for secondary school programs.
3. Events and Workshops: Ticket sales for workshops (permaculture design course, natural beekeeping, native food gardening, weaving, preserves and ferments), urban farm tours, and special events including the annual Winter Solstice Festival. Farm tours offered on a sliding scale from $0-$20.
4. Corporate Team Retreats: Paid team-building retreats for businesses including half-day and full-day packages combining urban farming activities with sustainability education and team challenges. Revenue aligned with ESG goals.
5. Consulting and Design Services: PCF Projects offers consulting, design, build, and long-term maintenance of urban farms and gardens for communities, corporations, and developments. Initial consultation including site visits, project concept development, design, build, and ongoing management.
6. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Donations from the public supporting fair food access, environmental education, and community programs. PCF is a registered charity. Donation page links to GiveNow platform.
7. PCF Membership Subscription: Annual membership at A$25 providing 10% off produce, workshops, seedling sales, events, and merchandise, plus monthly activity updates, invitations to members' functions, and AGM attendance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pocket City Farms operates a 1200m² urban regenerative farm at Camperdown Commons in Sydney, combining chemical-free food production, curriculum-aligned environmental education for schools, corporate ESG retreats, and urban farm consulting. The registered charity runs on-site and virtual school programs, sells produce and merchandise via an online shop, hosts workshops and tours, and provides PCF Projects consulting for urban farm design and management.

Product overview

Pocket City Farms operates a multi-faceted urban farming social enterprise centered on its 1200m² ecological market garden at Camperdown Commons in Sydney. The core offering combines food production with community education through School Excursions & Incursions (including Virtual Farm Tours), Corporate Team Retreats, and Community Volunteering programs. The consulting arm (PCF Projects) provides urban farm design and management services. Complementing the farm operations, the organization runs a retail shop offering Fresh Produce & Pantry Items, branded Merchandise, PCF Membership, Gift Cards, and WaterUps Wicking Bed products. Seasonal events like the Winter Solstice Festival anchor community engagement throughout the year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pocket School Farms: A program that integrates urban farm education directly into schools, offering interactive, project-based learning for creating sustainable, edible education environments.
• PCF Projects Consulting Services

Products and services

• School Excursions & Incursions

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides fresh produce to people facing food insecurity through community partnerships
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WaterUpscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing partnership with WaterUps, an Australian company producing wicking bed systems made from recycled plastic. PCF receives free WaterUps planters for every school that books an excursion. PCF also resells WaterUps products (Oasis Square Planter, 1240 Wicking Bed Kit, 1680 Wicking Bed Kit) through its shop, with proceeds supporting PCF charity programs. Additionally partnered with WaterUps Ready Fund Grow, a free crowdfunding platform designed for schools to raise funds for WaterUps garden infrastructure and PCF excursions.
• Young HenrysminorOthersLocal brewery Young Henrys sponsors community events by providing drinks for volunteer working bees and monthly community dinners. The partnership supports PCF's volunteer programs with in-kind beverage contributions.
• Camperdown CommonscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-located at the former Camperdown Bowling Club site, Camperdown Commons is PCF's physical host venue. It also provides catering (lunch) as an optional add-on for corporate retreat packages. The shared site enables integration of urban farming with community hospitality and recreational facilities.
• Save Our BeesminorOthersSave Our Bees supplies raw honey to PCF for resale in the pantry shop. Save Our Bees is focused on promoting honey bee and native bee health in Australia, particularly in Sydney and suburbs, with hives located in Earlwood and Bardwell Park.
• Restorative Ecologies (UNSW)minorOthersPCF Operations Manager Jacqui Besgrove is the course convenor for Restorative Ecologies: Permaculture Principles and Practice as part of the UNSW Master of Environmental Management program, creating a formal academic partnership.
• Yukako / Wukado KitchenminorOthersYukako heads up a team of volunteer chefs who cook community dinners using farm produce during monthly working bee events, providing in-kind catering support.
• Wafu KitchenminorOthersVolunteer chefs team led by Yukako from Wafu Kitchen cooks community dinners using produce from the farm during monthly working bee events from 7pm–8pm.
• Leichhardt Men's ShedminorOthersVolunteers from Leichhardt Men's Shed handmake loop weeding tools for PCF from recycled timber (primarily bed slats and decking), creating unique handmade tools sold in the PCF shop.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Square Roots: US-based urban farming company operating container farms with a leadership and accelerator program. Comparable to PCF in the urban agriculture and education space, though operating at significantly larger scale with venture-backed growth ambitions.
• The Farm Byron Bay: A larger regenerative agriculture enterprise in Byron Bay combining working farm, farm-to-table cafe, education tours, and events. Comparable to PCF as a regenerative farm destination offering education, retail, and community experiences, though at a significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• CERES Community Environment Park: Melbourne-based urban environmental education centre and social enterprise with an urban farm, community gardens, retail nursery, education programs, and sustainability events. Operates a similar multi-revenue social enterprise model combining food production, education, and community engagement in an urban Australian context.
• Common Ground Project: A regenerative farm and social enterprise in Daylesford, Victoria, combining food production, education programs, and community engagement. Comparable to PCF as a community-anchored regenerative farm running workshops, tours, and educational experiences on a small land footprint.
• Green Connect: NSW-based social enterprise that operates urban farms, runs employment programs for refugees and disadvantaged youth, sells produce, and offers sustainability education. Notably, PCF's Operations Manager previously worked at Green Connect, indicating direct operational overlap in the urban farming/social enterprise space.

Emerging players

• Farm It Forward: NSW-based social enterprise urban farming organization with a community-supported agriculture model that sells produce, runs educational programs, and provides subsidized boxes to food-insecure households. Comparable to PCF in combining urban farming with charitable food access.
• Permaculture Sydney Institute: Sydney-based permaculture education organization offering design courses, workshops, and community events. Comparable to PCF in the Sydney permaculture education and community engagement space, with overlapping workshop and Permaculture Design Course offerings.

Regional players

• Brooklyn Grange Farm: New York City-based commercial urban rooftop farm operating as a for-profit enterprise with education programs, volunteer sessions, and CSA produce sales. Comparable to PCF as an urban farm combining production with community education, though operating in a different geographic market and for-profit structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pocket-city-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pocket City Farms