Our Story

The Nannafesto

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land, the many nations and people, their connection to country, and recognise that this always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.

We peacefully and productively protest against the destruction of our land, air, and water by corporations and/or individuals who seek profit and personal gain from the short-sighted and greedy plunder of our natural resources. We support energy generation from renewable sources, and sustainable use of our other natural resources. We sit, knit, plot, have a yarn and a cuppa, and bear witness to the war against those who try to rape our land and divide our communities.

We want to leave this land no worse than we found it, for our children and grandchildren. They deserve to have a future with a clean and healthy environment, natural beauty and biodiversity, (and don't we have our work cut out for us!)

The History of the Knitting Nannas

Knitting Nannas is an organisation well known in NSW where it began. It was formed in the Northern Rivers when there was a movement called "Lock the Gate", fighting against coal seam gas projects (also called "fracking"). That is why we wear black and gold - the colours of Lock the Gate.

Very early in the movement against fracking, older women wanted to get involved but felt excluded from discussions by younger men who expected them to make the tea and keep quiet - telling the nannas to go off and do their knitting. Undeterred, some of them decided to take action - surveilling the movement of company trucks and recording the information as they sat by the roadside and knitted to pass the time. The information they gathered was crucial to discovering which properties were being targeted by the gas companies and this important information was used to plan blockades and protests. From this, the Knitting Nannas was born!

There are many groups in NSW, involved in protecting koala habitat, protecting other wildlife and biodiversity, stopping the logging of native forests, drawing attention to issues such as fracking, fossil fuel expansion and the pollution of our waterways. There are groups all over the country and even internationally (5 in the UK). If you would like to see more, go to https://knittingnannas.org or look at the website of Sydney Knitting Nannas and Friends. You will find a lot of information there as well as funny videos of what they get up to!

Some Knitting Nannas are involved in non-violent direct action such as locking onto logging equipment. Dominique Jacobs (60) and Helen Kvelde (73) were arrested recently protesting the logging of Bulga State Forest. Both Nannas are deeply dismayed that these mature forests which store so much carbon are being destroyed at taxpayer expense.

Dom Jacobs said "I'm a grandmother and a wildlife carer. I'm terrified about the future my grandkids face and what is happening to the wild creatures and wild places. We are losing so much that is perfect and wonderful on this planet and I'm really worried about what will be left for those who come after us".

The Knitting Nannas also support other environmental organisations and we join them at rallies and protests about environmental concerns. Many go to the Rising Tide People's Blockade in Newcastle each year to protest against the export of coal. Newcastle is the largest coal port in the world.

Your involvement

It is up to you to decide how involved you want to be. Some people don't even join and just come to meetings. There is no pressure to do more than you want to do. To receive our information and news, however, you need to join (fill out an enrolment form) so that we have your contact details and we can add you to our groups. We are very flexible and understand that people have commitments. You will find the more involved you get, the more you get out of being in the group, especially when you are involved in campaigns.