Rooftop Ferments with Dougal

Ahead of his third fermentation workshop in the rooftop communal room, we spoke with Dougal, affectionately known as the “King of Worms” by his neighbours, about community, curiosity, and what gives life at 4 Ballarat Street its funk and richness.

For Dougal, the building is not just somewhere to live. Many of his neighbours moved in when the building first opened, creating a shared investment in both the building and the community within it.

“I’m on the resident subcommittee, and everyone just chucks ideas around. People are open, receptive, and chatty. There’s something special about coming home, knowing your neighbours and catching up in the lift.” says Dougal.

His latest contribution to the building’s community is fermentation workshops. Like most passions, it started from mild disbelief at the price of kombucha when he was shopping with his sister.

“I was like, this is eight dollars? It’s tea and sugar. And bacteria. I can make this,” he says.

From there it escalated. Kombucha turned into kimchi, which has now turned into a full fermentation practice that he shares with his neighbours.

“The real benefits come from making it at home. It tastes so much different, like funky and interesting and has depth.”

“I gave someone homemade kombucha last night, and they said real kombucha has a faint scent of armpits. In a good way.”

Dougal, originally an engineer, approaches fermentation like a system waiting to be cracked.

“The rule of thumb is 3% salt for lacto-fermentation,” he explains, “Once you understand that you can apply it to any flavour combination.”

A batch of lacto-fermented green tomatoes with native herbs is his proof. “Everyone was like, this is so cool, you can take a set of rules and apply it to any fruit and veg and unlock a whole new realm of flavour.”

This third workshop focuses on kimchi, with Dougal planning to follow the seasons ahead, drawing on produce from the Ballarat Street veggie gardens.

The mindset to teach and not give is at the core of workshops. “If you give someone a dashboard, they’ll have analytics for a month. If you teach someone how to build a dashboard, they’ll have analytics for life. Same with kimchi: if you give someone a jar of kimchi they will have good gut health for a month, if you teach someone the principles of lacto-fermentation they will have good gut health for life.”

While the community is what first comes to mind, Dougal’s favourite parts of the building are the less obvious ones. His balcony is a personal retreat, big enough for a futon and built for long afternoons in the sun, but his top pick is up on the rooftop.

“It’s the little bench in the dog run where I can watch the sunset,” says Dougal, “I was there last night with my mates, like, quick, we gotta catch the sunset.”

It’s an oddly perfect detail: a small architectural decision to turn a bench away from the city views, nudging people instead to stop, sit, and watch the sunset unfold.

Ready to start your own fermentation journey? To join one of Dougal’s future fermentation workshops, you can register here to get notified of upcoming workshops.

Photography by Grace Banks Murphy (@gracebanks_)