In case you were
wondering more about
us, and who we are, we thought we
would fill you in. We were born proverbial gypsies. My
first move from my hometown came a year before the birth of my first
child, and we found ourselves the owners of a lifestyle block, where we
owner-built our first house. Here we grew our own
vegetables
and fruit. We collected
strawberries
by the bucket-load during the season and we made
jams,
preserves and
canning
when the fruit from the extensive orchards was harvested. Two Welsh
ponies were added to the picture with
chickens
next on the list.
More children were added to the family,
and they thrived on the fresh air and had access to the fruit and
vegetables that were all organically grown. Nothing was wasted. The
horses
and chickens provided good farmyard manure which went back onto the
veggies and around the fruit trees, enriching the soil in preparation
for the next
harvest.
Over the years we improved in what and
how we planted and gained more knowledge of
natural
pesticides for our produce. In addition, we were
lucky enough to be able to buy raw milk from a neighboring farm and had
lots of fun
making
yogurt, soft
cheeses,
butter
and
buttermilk,
and waiting impatiently for the cream to rise so that we could scoop it
off.
For a while our
self-sufficient
lifestyle was forced to come to an end due to
unforced circumstances and we ended up living far away from home in
diverse places such as Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Australia.
However, no
matter where we lived I grew my own vegetables and fruit on a smaller
scale, and even learned the art of spinning, natural dyeing and pottery
while living in these places.
Another move was on the cards, this
time in a place where one finds it difficult to be have some semblance
of self-sufficiency; the Middle East. However, even there, we have
managed for five months of the year when the weather is cooler, to grow
vegetables in
raised
bed gardens built off concrete floors, make
marmalades, cordials and lime aid from the lime tree, use the dates
that grow prolifically and even the mulberry tree obliges from time to
time. We still managed to
make
our own compost, but this time from kitchen scraps,
newspaper and some horse manure from the racecourse horses a block away.
We built a hen house in the backyard and
kept
chickens and quails.
After
that we moved to Perth, Western Australia. A beautiful part of the
world, with great weather and the Swan river that seems to go on
forever, but terrible sandy soil that needs lots of compost before you
can even think of growing anything.
Wherever we have lived, be it on a
small holding, the suburbs or even on a large farm, we have always had
some degree of self-sufficiency in our food. I try not to use too many
chemicals in my home and so am also big on homemade cleaning products,
homemade
cosmetics,
medicinal herbs, making
soap and
homemade
crafts.
Now, in our mature years, another
exciting phase has opened up to us. We are the owners of a
farmhouse
in Tuscany where we are busy at present renovating
the old farmhouse and plan to grow grapes, olives, cherries and have a
truffle orchard, along with an orchard, vegetables, nut trees, chickens
and
ducks.
We are no experts in growing grapes, olives or truffles, but with a lot
of hard work and research we believe that we will continue the same
level of satisfaction we have always enjoyed in our path to
self-sufficiency.
Making Money from Home
Finally,
if you are looking for some financial independence and have been
wondering how people make money online, see our page on
Learning
how to Build a Website the Easy Way.
Having 3 websites now we are well on the way to financial independence
which is great news for those who are still struggling with the present
economic situation.