After a few days hanging around Wellington I was getting antsy about moving on. I really needed to stop hemorrhaging money by eating out and I had spent the last two nights in hostels as I couldn't have a fire at my tent spot in Mount Victoria park. A couple of days online in the internet cafe hooked me up with at least a weeks worth of wwoofing at the farm of Carolann and Andrew Murray. I chose their farm because it was relatively close to Wellington, in the Whiteman Valley near Upper Hut, and their farm had been working towards self-sufficiency for about 14 years. So I hopped on a train headed north and 45 minutes later was waiting in the village of Silverstream to get picked up.
Turns out Carolann and Andrew used to be "townies", she was an organic beauty therapist and he is a techie who runs his own health software company. In 1995 they decided that city life wasn't for them and traded their house in town for 10 acres of farm land. Almost from the outset they have been hosting wwoofers to help make their self-sufficiency dream come true. Currently, Andrew still has a Mon.-Fri. day job in town and works hard on the farm on weekends. Carolann teaches horticulture classes, runs an online store (the Self-Sufficiency Store), tends the farm, and writes books on self-sufficiency, I read some of her first book "Mastering the Art of Self-Sufficiency in New Zealand". In the book she recounts how they got started, from home brew wine and spirits, to acquiring some cows, chickens, and sheep, to setting up solar, wind, and burner power generation, amongst many, many other features of their self-sufficient farm.
Much of how things are set up and run on the farm is based on permaculture and bio-dynamic principles. The bio-dynamic approach to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry was initiated by Rudolf Steiner in 1924. Bio-dynamic methods work toward the development of the farm or garden as a balanced and sustainable unit. They include organic practices such as crop rotation, recycling through composts and liquid manures, and increasing plant and animal bio diversity. Special plant, animal and mineral preparations are used. The rhythmic influences of the sun, moon, planets and stars are recognized and worked with where possible. These methods lead to a natural reduction of pests and diseases in plants and animals, and an increase in the nutritive and health giving value of food produced.
We arrived at the farm around noon and after a brief tour of the wwoofing cabin and composting and recycling setup, I was put to work. This wwoof had a 4-6 hours of work per day policy, the earlier you got up, the earlier you were done for the day. My first task was in their newest building, 1/3 of an old military hospital building they were converting into a working kitchen. My job, use a massive stand-up belt sander to start refinishing the hardwood flooring. After an hour or so I sussed the machine out and by the end of my first work shift, half of the floor was done. As I was cleaning up after my first few hours of work I was in the main house when I heard what sounded like a freight train or low flying jet. All of a sudden the whole house shook and swayed from side to side for a few seconds... Carolann came running from the garden and asked if I had felt that... I had just experienced my first earthquake... cool! Apparently it was a 5.7 centred on the town of Picton on the northern tip of the south island, around 100 kms south of us.
Another part of the wwoofing deal at this farm was that they supplied the food, primarily what they produced on-site, and the wwoofers then cook for themselves. Fine by me! They kept my fridge and larder full of fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, and meat from last year's beef cow slaughter. Certain grains and whatnot that they couldn't grow were bought, but most of my cooking ingredients were organic and from within 5 acres of my kitchen. In the time I was there I made spicy potato soup, a couple of batches of spicy cream of cauliflower soup, a couple batches of rice, vegg, beef curry, plenty of delicious carrot cake, and rabbit a l'orange... rabbits were a nuisance there, so Andrew would pull out his .22 every now and again and pop a few for eating.
My first full day was spent finishing off the sanding job and cooking, plus I did a little 20 km bike ride into Silverstream and back... my body was still used to hiking with full gear, so some extra exercise was needed to get me to sleep. As I was cooking my dinner one of the cows went into labor, Carolann and Andrew assisted the birth, although I wasn't able to watch as the cow giving birth was weary of strangers and my presence might have complicated the birth. No matter, the next day I got to hang out with the new calf for a bit... too cute!
The following day the builder showed up to do some work on the new building. My task while waiting for him to get ready was to read up on the NZ electrical code as, I was informed, I would be helping to install lights and wire up switches and plugs in a few days. Once the builder was ready I assisted him in installing some exterior weather boarding and then priming it all so the coming rain wouldn't ruin the wood. With my work for the day done, I retired to my cabin, ate some leftovers, read my book, and hit the sack, but not before having a nice hot shower. Bathing on a self-sufficient farm sometimes takes a little preparation. Since heating water takes a lot of energy, the wwoofer cabin was equipped with passive solar water heating. Thank goodness it had been sunny for the last couple of days... even though the last half of this day had been cloudy, the water in the system was still scaldingly hot... amazing! Also, since all grey water from the farm goes in a pond used to water the livestock and plants, only 100% natural soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste could be used. No problem, Carolann makes all of these things on-site. She also gets milk from the cows and makes various cheeses and butter, she makes jams and preserves from the many different berries and fruit trees on site, and she even maintains two apiaries for two varieties of honey.
The next day I was just finishing off my morning coffee when Carolann came knocking with my task for the day, but before setting me to work, she asked if there was anything I wanted to know about what they did on the farm... I asked for a guided tour of the whole 10 acres. Part of maintaining their bio-dynamic certification meant that ALL plants must be certified bio-dynamic... even starters. Our first stop was the "orchard" which consisted of plums, apricots, cherries, apples, and pears. Fruit trees don't typically produce fruit until they're around 10 years old. So, to speed things along they use portions of existing root systems and then graft bio-dynamic starters onto them, thereby shortening the time needed for the trees to produce fruit.
Next were the herb and vegetable gardens used to produce the various food plants eaten on-site. Following bio-dynamic principles, all the gardens follow a ten part (or more) rotation cycle ensuring that the soil stays well balanced with nutrients, minerals, and bugs. Plants are rotated according to family types as various groups of plants share similar soil requirements for robust growth. According to bio-dynamics a strong, healthy garden/plant is more resilient and resistant to pests and plant diseases... not to mention producing larger, juicier, tastier veggies.
We then strolled through their eight or so paddocks used for housing and grazing their half dozen or so sheep and half dozen or so cattle. Because they have so little livestock, rotating paddocks is unnecessary, bit it does allow them to separate animals who have personality conflicts with other animals on the farm. Usually they keep their two bulls separate from the cows and the cows with the calves separate from the rest. As Carolann and Andrew have learned more about cattle, they've decided to breed primarily dairy cows as opposed to beef cows, as beef cows produce less milk and Carolann loves making her cheeses and butters. The sheep are used primarily for wool production as Carolann also teaches spinning and knitting classes.
Next stop was the chicken coop where they keep about a dozen chickens and one rooster. The chooks (as chickens are sometimes called in NZ) produce enough eggs for regular baking and cooking for anywhere between 2-6 people. Any chicks that are born are raised to a few months (if male) then slaughtered for food, while females renew the aging egg layers. Chicks old enough to be separated from their mothers are put in a portable coop so they can pick at various places on the lawns.
After the chooks, we took a look at the on-site power generating setup. In addition to photo-voltaic panels on several rooftops, they have one wind turbine at the top of one of their paddocks. Most of their energy needs are met by the bank of deep-cycle batteries hooked into the system with the wind turbine only turned on when wind-speeds are adequate. For low energy production periods the farm can still be switched over to power-grid electricity. When it comes to water heating, it's a similar situation...with passive solar working away whenever possible, a wood stove water heater in the main house, and power-grid water heating available when needed. Heating of living quarters is achieved through a combination of wood-stove and propane heaters.
Finally, the water system for the property is fed by a combination of rooftop rain collection and a couple natural springs occurring on the property. Water is fed into two 10,000 litre tanks by a gravity powered water ram. The tanks are located far enough up one of the hills on the property to ensure good, regular water pressure in all buildings. Rain collection barrels are used mostly for toilet and washing water, while drinking water comes from the springs.
After the tour, Carolann and I got down to work for the day... roughing up the second layer of varnish on the hardwood floors by hand. Some grueling work for sure, but one of those jobs you get the reward of seeing what you've accomplished at the end.
The next day was rainy and therefore short. I spent a couple hours tacking down wires in the attic of the working kitchen and then cooked up a couple days worth of beef curries, spicy cauliflower soup, and carrot cake. During the morning after, I was enjoying a nice quiet coffee in the wwoofer cabin when I heard another freight train coming. I perked up, paid attention, and sat very still as the 4.2 tremor briefly shook everything around me. I took this as a sign to head outside and see what was in store for me on the farm this day.
The day I had arrived, Andrew was busy creating finishing moldings for some cabinetry using a router and some reclaimed wood. My job was to measure, miter, and join the moldings on said cabinets. By the end of my four hours on this day I had managed to cut most of the pieces needed for the 11 cabinet doors and had installed the first set... as much as I was dreading doing finishing work, because of the precision required, the farm had all the right tools and my finished product was definitely up to snuff. The rest of my day involved a bike ride into town, some curry, soup, and carrot cake, and a nice long reading session with my latest travel book.
The following day some fresh wwoofers were supposed to show up... and after 6 or 7 days alone in the wwoofer cabin, I was looking forward to the company. By the time I had finished the cabinetry molding and made it half way through hinging them all, Oliver and Manon, a French couple, showed up. Carolann had me give them the short version of the farm tour and we decided to drive into town for some supplies and a brief internet stop at the town library. When we got back after getting somewhat lost... Oliver and I pulled out and sorted some wood that would be needed for a later project... then we all shared a dinner of rabbit a l'orange and finished off the night with some of our favourite card games.
The next day I finished the cabinet hinges and Andrew put me to work wiring up all the plugs in the working kitchen... it was nice to do some more technical and less laborious work. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. The following was to be my last full day with Carolann and Andrew, and they really needed me to finish off the electrical work in the working kitchen. I put in a full day running wires, installing lights, and light switches. My crowning achievement of the day was a particularly tricky multiswitch system I spent a couple hours puzzling out... a proud accomplishment when completed.
I got up early in the morning on the 12th of December in order to catch a ride with Andrew to the train in Silverstream and journey further south...
Turns out Carolann and Andrew used to be "townies", she was an organic beauty therapist and he is a techie who runs his own health software company. In 1995 they decided that city life wasn't for them and traded their house in town for 10 acres of farm land. Almost from the outset they have been hosting wwoofers to help make their self-sufficiency dream come true. Currently, Andrew still has a Mon.-Fri. day job in town and works hard on the farm on weekends. Carolann teaches horticulture classes, runs an online store (the Self-Sufficiency Store), tends the farm, and writes books on self-sufficiency, I read some of her first book "Mastering the Art of Self-Sufficiency in New Zealand". In the book she recounts how they got started, from home brew wine and spirits, to acquiring some cows, chickens, and sheep, to setting up solar, wind, and burner power generation, amongst many, many other features of their self-sufficient farm.
Much of how things are set up and run on the farm is based on permaculture and bio-dynamic principles. The bio-dynamic approach to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry was initiated by Rudolf Steiner in 1924. Bio-dynamic methods work toward the development of the farm or garden as a balanced and sustainable unit. They include organic practices such as crop rotation, recycling through composts and liquid manures, and increasing plant and animal bio diversity. Special plant, animal and mineral preparations are used. The rhythmic influences of the sun, moon, planets and stars are recognized and worked with where possible. These methods lead to a natural reduction of pests and diseases in plants and animals, and an increase in the nutritive and health giving value of food produced.
We arrived at the farm around noon and after a brief tour of the wwoofing cabin and composting and recycling setup, I was put to work. This wwoof had a 4-6 hours of work per day policy, the earlier you got up, the earlier you were done for the day. My first task was in their newest building, 1/3 of an old military hospital building they were converting into a working kitchen. My job, use a massive stand-up belt sander to start refinishing the hardwood flooring. After an hour or so I sussed the machine out and by the end of my first work shift, half of the floor was done. As I was cleaning up after my first few hours of work I was in the main house when I heard what sounded like a freight train or low flying jet. All of a sudden the whole house shook and swayed from side to side for a few seconds... Carolann came running from the garden and asked if I had felt that... I had just experienced my first earthquake... cool! Apparently it was a 5.7 centred on the town of Picton on the northern tip of the south island, around 100 kms south of us.
My first full day was spent finishing off the sanding job and cooking, plus I did a little 20 km bike ride into Silverstream and back... my body was still used to hiking with full gear, so some extra exercise was needed to get me to sleep. As I was cooking my dinner one of the cows went into labor, Carolann and Andrew assisted the birth, although I wasn't able to watch as the cow giving birth was weary of strangers and my presence might have complicated the birth. No matter, the next day I got to hang out with the new calf for a bit... too cute!
The following day the builder showed up to do some work on the new building. My task while waiting for him to get ready was to read up on the NZ electrical code as, I was informed, I would be helping to install lights and wire up switches and plugs in a few days. Once the builder was ready I assisted him in installing some exterior weather boarding and then priming it all so the coming rain wouldn't ruin the wood. With my work for the day done, I retired to my cabin, ate some leftovers, read my book, and hit the sack, but not before having a nice hot shower. Bathing on a self-sufficient farm sometimes takes a little preparation. Since heating water takes a lot of energy, the wwoofer cabin was equipped with passive solar water heating. Thank goodness it had been sunny for the last couple of days... even though the last half of this day had been cloudy, the water in the system was still scaldingly hot... amazing! Also, since all grey water from the farm goes in a pond used to water the livestock and plants, only 100% natural soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste could be used. No problem, Carolann makes all of these things on-site. She also gets milk from the cows and makes various cheeses and butter, she makes jams and preserves from the many different berries and fruit trees on site, and she even maintains two apiaries for two varieties of honey.
The next day I was just finishing off my morning coffee when Carolann came knocking with my task for the day, but before setting me to work, she asked if there was anything I wanted to know about what they did on the farm... I asked for a guided tour of the whole 10 acres. Part of maintaining their bio-dynamic certification meant that ALL plants must be certified bio-dynamic... even starters. Our first stop was the "orchard" which consisted of plums, apricots, cherries, apples, and pears. Fruit trees don't typically produce fruit until they're around 10 years old. So, to speed things along they use portions of existing root systems and then graft bio-dynamic starters onto them, thereby shortening the time needed for the trees to produce fruit.
Next were the herb and vegetable gardens used to produce the various food plants eaten on-site. Following bio-dynamic principles, all the gardens follow a ten part (or more) rotation cycle ensuring that the soil stays well balanced with nutrients, minerals, and bugs. Plants are rotated according to family types as various groups of plants share similar soil requirements for robust growth. According to bio-dynamics a strong, healthy garden/plant is more resilient and resistant to pests and plant diseases... not to mention producing larger, juicier, tastier veggies.
We then strolled through their eight or so paddocks used for housing and grazing their half dozen or so sheep and half dozen or so cattle. Because they have so little livestock, rotating paddocks is unnecessary, bit it does allow them to separate animals who have personality conflicts with other animals on the farm. Usually they keep their two bulls separate from the cows and the cows with the calves separate from the rest. As Carolann and Andrew have learned more about cattle, they've decided to breed primarily dairy cows as opposed to beef cows, as beef cows produce less milk and Carolann loves making her cheeses and butters. The sheep are used primarily for wool production as Carolann also teaches spinning and knitting classes.
Next stop was the chicken coop where they keep about a dozen chickens and one rooster. The chooks (as chickens are sometimes called in NZ) produce enough eggs for regular baking and cooking for anywhere between 2-6 people. Any chicks that are born are raised to a few months (if male) then slaughtered for food, while females renew the aging egg layers. Chicks old enough to be separated from their mothers are put in a portable coop so they can pick at various places on the lawns.
After the chooks, we took a look at the on-site power generating setup. In addition to photo-voltaic panels on several rooftops, they have one wind turbine at the top of one of their paddocks. Most of their energy needs are met by the bank of deep-cycle batteries hooked into the system with the wind turbine only turned on when wind-speeds are adequate. For low energy production periods the farm can still be switched over to power-grid electricity. When it comes to water heating, it's a similar situation...with passive solar working away whenever possible, a wood stove water heater in the main house, and power-grid water heating available when needed. Heating of living quarters is achieved through a combination of wood-stove and propane heaters.
Finally, the water system for the property is fed by a combination of rooftop rain collection and a couple natural springs occurring on the property. Water is fed into two 10,000 litre tanks by a gravity powered water ram. The tanks are located far enough up one of the hills on the property to ensure good, regular water pressure in all buildings. Rain collection barrels are used mostly for toilet and washing water, while drinking water comes from the springs.
After the tour, Carolann and I got down to work for the day... roughing up the second layer of varnish on the hardwood floors by hand. Some grueling work for sure, but one of those jobs you get the reward of seeing what you've accomplished at the end.
The next day was rainy and therefore short. I spent a couple hours tacking down wires in the attic of the working kitchen and then cooked up a couple days worth of beef curries, spicy cauliflower soup, and carrot cake. During the morning after, I was enjoying a nice quiet coffee in the wwoofer cabin when I heard another freight train coming. I perked up, paid attention, and sat very still as the 4.2 tremor briefly shook everything around me. I took this as a sign to head outside and see what was in store for me on the farm this day.
The day I had arrived, Andrew was busy creating finishing moldings for some cabinetry using a router and some reclaimed wood. My job was to measure, miter, and join the moldings on said cabinets. By the end of my four hours on this day I had managed to cut most of the pieces needed for the 11 cabinet doors and had installed the first set... as much as I was dreading doing finishing work, because of the precision required, the farm had all the right tools and my finished product was definitely up to snuff. The rest of my day involved a bike ride into town, some curry, soup, and carrot cake, and a nice long reading session with my latest travel book.
The following day some fresh wwoofers were supposed to show up... and after 6 or 7 days alone in the wwoofer cabin, I was looking forward to the company. By the time I had finished the cabinetry molding and made it half way through hinging them all, Oliver and Manon, a French couple, showed up. Carolann had me give them the short version of the farm tour and we decided to drive into town for some supplies and a brief internet stop at the town library. When we got back after getting somewhat lost... Oliver and I pulled out and sorted some wood that would be needed for a later project... then we all shared a dinner of rabbit a l'orange and finished off the night with some of our favourite card games.
The next day I finished the cabinet hinges and Andrew put me to work wiring up all the plugs in the working kitchen... it was nice to do some more technical and less laborious work. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. The following was to be my last full day with Carolann and Andrew, and they really needed me to finish off the electrical work in the working kitchen. I put in a full day running wires, installing lights, and light switches. My crowning achievement of the day was a particularly tricky multiswitch system I spent a couple hours puzzling out... a proud accomplishment when completed.
I got up early in the morning on the 12th of December in order to catch a ride with Andrew to the train in Silverstream and journey further south...
Take lots and lots of pictures. we miss you have fun. play in the sun it is warm in Singapore. Hey Jon Singapore is one of the most Enjoyable cites in the southeast Asia. you should go to the Diving with the sharks at underwater world on Sentosa. from anne
ReplyDeleteSingapore was VERY hot... but I guess that's not too surprising considering how close it is to the equator. Alas, I needed to get to Bangkok fast to meet a friend, so I kind of skipped Singapore. But from the air it looks beautiful ;) Not to worry... I'm up to 8 gigs of photos, I just need to find time to post more.
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