Earlier in October, I was lucky enough to spend a week in Herefordshire, volunteering on what can be best described as an eco-B&B.
A Taste of Self Sufficiency was set up by a couple, Andrew and Yolande, to share their knowledge and expertise on all things health and sustainability.
Producing nearly all their own food (pesticide and fertilizer-free), and primarily using solar panels for their electricity, they live off around £6000 per year. Despite this, they are two of the wealthiest people I know – not in material possession, but in health and enthusiasm for life. Andrew previously worked in IT management, and Yolande spent time in nursing and community development. Whilst these careers gave them a wealth of experience, they now lead lifestyles overflowing with enjoyment and fulfilment.
For me, one of the major takeaways from the week was the discovery of how empowering the act of eating fresh food can be. And when I say fresh – I mean fresh! There is something very satisfying about picking some fruit off a tree and eating it right there and then, or digging up some root vegetables and bringing them straight to the kitchen to prep, cook and eat. This close connection with food sparks something biological in us, and for me, it makes the whole experience of eating that much more enjoyable. But not only does growing your own food FEEL good, it is also the healthiest way to eat! The more you know about the farm to fork journey of food – the better.
With just a few rows of strawberry plants, they produced over 50kg of fruit...
They showed me that, even in my small apartment block in the middle of the city, I can grow a range of food – from herbs and spices to fruits and vegetables. I now have chillies, strawberries, and spinach, as well as herbs like rosemary, basil and oregano all growing by my little window!
Producing our own food goes much further than just producing foods to eat. This week also showed me how simple (and fun) it is to make my own juices, jams, sauces, teas, ferments and even alcoholic drinks! The strawberry champagne, blackberry whiskey and cherry wine were my favourites…
My window's new horticultural hub...
Towards the end of the week, we also went foraging. At first, I was sceptical about what it would produce, since my preconceptions of foraging were that it was a fairly random process that didn’t produce very large amounts of food. However, whilst we only went out for one particular food, I was shown a great number of different plants that at different times of the year produce an abundance of healthy, eco-friendly, FREE food!
Let me give you a few examples – sweet chestnuts (a relative of the conker/horse chestnut) drop from trees in their hundreds from October to January, and can be boiled or roasted into a great number of foods – flour for baking, Pâté for dipping, in salads, in soups, for stuffing, or on their own as a tasty snack. Blackberries – produced in their thousands – are great in desserts, cereals, juices, or as a tasty snack. (I have a big bag of blackberries in my freezer which I use in my porridge over the winter – meaning I don’t have to buy frozen berries from supermarkets that come in plastic). And the root of the infamous Dandelion can be roasted, ground, and made into an alternative for coffee.
We made burgers from sweet chestnuts... ...with apple and blackberry pie for dessert!
The biggest takeaway from the week, however, was the mindset with which Yolande and Andrew take on life. Whilst they’re hardworking and committed to improving the world around them, they approach life with patience and playfulness that brings much more joy than it does stress.
I think there’s a lot we can all learn from them!
I give A Taste of Self Sufficiency 10/10
Comments