Many Hands in a Common Direction

This community is a culmination of many hands working with the same philosophy to produce a beautiful way of life. Much of the work was done by ‘wwoof’ers (willing workers on organic farms) who have long since departed, but their mark remains. Those who are still here carry on the traditions and ideas. After a week on the farm, I can attest to their success. The lifestyle is as interesting as the biodynamic farming. Most of the food that is eaten is grown on the farm.
We seem to be bumping into foreigners during our travels more than locals. The majority of people who come through this farm are foreign. There are many Germans here, probably because Tony is German.
Some of the buildings are constructed using these bricks made from clay, straw, and sand. They’re not load bearing, but are great insulation. All these materials are available here on the farm, and they’re not that hard to make. They’ve been having some trouble with the auger they’ve been using to mix the materials. Perhaps if I pass through here again, I can lend some engineering help to build a better auger specifically for these bricks.



It seems to be a challenge drying the bricks since it rains quite often here. Although we’ve seen a fair share of rain, we’ve also enjoyed beautiful sunshine. With the weather the soil here, it’s not difficult to grow plants.
Uli is using straw and mud to fill in his walls. Now he’s waiting for the mix to dry so that he can plaster over it. He may be waiting a while given the amount of rain they get here. Here’s a picture of Uli. As you can probably guess, he is quite a character.



Uli is originally from Germany, as is Heidrun who was visiting for a few days. She was on her way back to Auckland on Christmas day when I took this picture.



Becky, Marty’s wife is originally from Ireland and met Marty when wwoofing here about seven years ago. Here she’s colorfully dressed for the Midsummer festival.



Becky is holding Amber their other daughter, Rosie is checking the possum trap with Quinne.



The possums are not from New Zealand, and are killing off all the Kiwi birds.
There’s no question where Rosie is from. Her New Zealand accent is strong, and she’s not afraid to use it.



Rosie and Quinne have been tearing it up.



They’ve even been lending a hand on the farm.



Salvatore also lives on the property and is originally from the US.