We bought land! Now What?
Almost a year. That’s how long it took us from the moment we first saw the property we fell in love with to the moment we signed the papers that made us its official new owners. Well, 11 months to be exact. Ten, maybe, if you count from the moment we decided we wanted to buy the place. No matter how you look at it, it has taken quite a while. We are partly at fault, because we wanted to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s –
Woodworking & growing our tribe
Last summer Francois looked up interesting projects in Portugal that we might want to visit or connect with once we landed there come Spring 2017. One caught his eye in particular, and he encouraged me to check out their website – but I kept being distracted (classic) and so the tab stayed open for months. Earlier this year, it finally got to me to have this tab giving me the judgey eye every time I used Chrome. So I finally took a look, and Terra Alta had just started
Working the land in Tasmania
One of the first projects we got really excited on Workaway, when we started looking for places to volunteer during our around-the-world belated and extended honeymoon trip, was Tiger Hill Farm. Paul Kean, the owner of the property, was a little surprised at our email as it came more than a year ahead of time (we might have been slightly over-eager). However, that gave us the opportunity to Skype once or twice and confirm that our time in Australia would include a few weeks in Tasmania. All thanks
Organic Farming in Cambodia
We had not initially planned to volunteer on a farm in Cambodia, but after our permaculture plans in Thailand fell through, we decided it would be a shame to go through all of our SE Asia itinerary without any farming experience. For once, Workaway did not have any inspiring projects, so we turned to Google. A few clicks and articles later, we came across a blog about a couple who spent time on an organic farm outside Siem Reap. We followed the OrganiKH trail, contacted the farm via
Four Seasons Farming in Chiang Mai: Part II
Continued from the blog about the Four Seasons Chiang Mai, their vegetable garden, and Royal Projects in Thailand. When a friend pointed us to a permaculture farm about 90min north of Chiang Mai (thank you Stella!), we investigated and decided to go for a visit (volunteering requires a different visa in Thailand so that was unfortunately not an option). This turned into a fascinating 24h excursion. We arrived at Earth Home Thailand in the afternoon and were treated to a delicious late lunch prepared by the founder, P’Thongbai Leknamnarong. After
Four Seasons Farming in Chiang Mai: Part I
We love food and we are aspiring farmers, so with the anniversary of our civil wedding coming up on August 2 and having just found out about the Thai Royal Projects focused on organic farming as an alternative to opium production and which the Four Seasons Chiang Mai worked closely with… naturally, I reached out to the Four Seasons to explain our interest and book a table for dinner to celebrate our (belated) honeymoon. The Four Seasons Chiang Mai feels like a hidden piece of paradise, combining modern amenities
Getting to know Elephants in Thailand
When our initial plan for Thailand, a ten-day Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Rak Tamachat farm, fell through due to a change of date on their part, we were on the road and taken by surprise. In spite of many friends raving about Thailand, I was a bit worried it would be overly touristy and that our lack of research would backfire into a lukewarm trip. Luckily, Facebook saved the day. We crowdsourced what we should do during our ten days, and the verdict was loud and clear: go play
Planting Seeds in Prison: Rehabilitation by Gardening
A few weeks ago we had the chance to spend the day with Paul Bruns, founder of Hlumelelisa, a non-profit that works with prison inmates to train them in horticulture and gardening as a way to contribute to their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The need to heal and renew the spirit underpins the principles of Hlumelelisa, and is reflected in its name which is the Nguni word for "a new spirit". The initiative, a 10-month program, embraces permaculture principles, focusing on water management and seed conservation for a
Gardening Yoga & happy farming in South Africa
The first challenge of volunteering on a farm in a country you are not familiar with is getting there. As we were headed to Happy Toes Farm in Groot Marico, South Africa, we took the bus from Johannesburg and almost ended up in Botswana! Somehow we got off at the right gas-station-in-the-middle-of-nowhere and Jeannine, the farm and volunteer manager, was there to pick us up. Happy Toes stands on a piece of land of roughly 3 hectares, and when the owner - mysterious ex DJ Byron who was unfortunately away during
Olives, acorns & newborn lambs
While exploring central Portugal, we looked up a few WorkAway projects (similar to woofing) and – although most require at least a week stay – reached out to them to see if we could stop by for a day or so to see the setup and get some insights on life in the region. Alex and Karina were kind enough to welcome us to their farm, Olives & Acorns, for what ended up being two days and two nights. They are near Penamacor, which is not far from the