At just 10-years-old Charlie Baitch is running a successful business and promoting a healthy, sustainable way of living with the wider community at the same time.
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Charlie, who is on the autism spectrum, operates a stall at Maitland Earth Market in The Levee once a month where he sells fresh produce that has been grown on his family's farm at Bolwarra.
The venture came about after his parents Tim and Emily were supplying their homegrown produce to a number of local families, but wanted a different way to sell their goods.
"Charlie has a special interest in talking to people he doesn't know, he really loves to chat and can strike up a conversation," Tim said.
"That's where the market idea came in."
The Baitch family established Maitland Urban Farm about six years ago on their neighbour's horse paddock.
"We were interested in food kilometres and making chemical free food," Tim said. "And being able to produce a lot of food on a small amount of land."
Charlie has been involved in taking care of the garden since the beds were first put in, helping with the seeding and planting.
- Take a look at some other Hunter Heroes here.
Tim and Emily said they thought Charlie being involved in the market would help to keep the farm going while also benefiting Charlie's development.
"It's been great synergy," Tim said.
"The market is a very inclusive environment.
"We foresee Charlie having a future in the services industry. At the market he does cash handling, he interacts with people.
"He's sort of the marketing side of the farm rather than the production.
"We're trying to gear his educational experience and arm him with more skills."
Tim said since Charlie started at the market about a year ago, he had seen huge growth in the 10-year-old's development.
"He struggles to express how he's feeling," Tim said.
"I've seen his confidence grow, it's been a really positive thing.
"He likes talking but we've seen improvements in his listening and the appropriateness of conversation. The market helps him to practice that.
"It's not easy having a child with a disability, so it's nice to see little pockets of development and improvement."
But more than that, the Aspect Hunter School and Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School student absolutely loves his monthly day out at the market and Tim says he's also a great role model for his younger siblings Monty and Annabel.
"He loves it and gets a real buzz," Tim said.
"He really looks forward to it, he gets to see his regular customers.
"It's terrific. We're really proud of him."
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
