{"id":9164,"date":"2021-03-31T16:54:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/?p=9164"},"modified":"2021-03-31T16:54:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:54:31","slug":"suidster-farm-life-in-the-slow-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/suidster-farm-life-in-the-slow-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"SUIDSTER FARM: LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE"},"content":{"rendered":"
When you turn off onto the dirt road that leads up to Suidster farm<\/a>, the only signs of human settlement are two crisp white triangles gleaming from the hilltop.<\/h5>\n

The two chirpy chimneys offer the only hint of a building. The rest of the home disappears into the mountain that yielded the stones that now clad the walls.<\/p>\n

Only once you\u2019ve turned the very last corner, does the steep track reveal the gracious dwelling. A simple A-frame greenhouse, offers a surprising welcome. To the right, a sprawling veggie garden adds another friendly sign of refuge against the untamed, almost brutish landscape. In the background, the house sits like a heavy chameleon against the hillside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two west-highland terriers are the first to greet newcomers to this beautiful, off-the-grid home. After spending over a decade in London, owners Ruan and Cobus dreamt of a countryside hideaway that would offer them a calmer lifestyle. Away from the stresses of city life, with its hour long commutes and tight work schedules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here, in the mountainous, semi-desert Klein-Karoo region of Southern Africa, the couple built a refuge that would present a very different type of hard work. With the wind on their backs and the bright sun on their brow, their everyday doings now revolve around keeping the water tanks full and their seedlings happy and healthy.<\/p>\n

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MOVE OUT TO THE COUNTRYSIDE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cAfter many years working in very high-pressured jobs, focusing on saving for the future, building careers and enjoying everything the world had to offer, we looked forward to doing our own thing \u2013 living life at a slower pace. Shifting our balance to more time together and less time worrying about the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED SINCE THE MOVE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cWell, a lot more sunshine than we\u2019re used to, after almost two decades in the United Kingdom! We now spend a lot more time worrying about the health of our plants than about traditional work\u2026 But we are building a future for ourselves here and between building projects, maintenance projects and making sure everything runs to plan, we keep ourselves busy. We also have a lot more time for our passions, including spinning and weaving! (Cobus just completed a beautiful blanket that he wove from yarn that he had dyed and spun by hand).\u201d<\/p>\n

HOW WOULD YOU INTERPRET THE CONCEPT OF BALANCE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cI like the definition of \u2018a situation in which different elements are in the correct proportions<\/em>\u2019. I think the point for me, is to live the life that works for you and works for you now<\/em>. One person\u2019s balance can be another person\u2019s nightmare!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

IS IT EASIER OR HARDER TO MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE HERE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cCategorically easier! There is always something to do, work never ends. But it\u2019s very easy here to call it a day, open a lovely bottle of red wine from the vineyard down the road and enjoy the sunset, with nature all around you and your best friend by your side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

YOUR GREENHOUSE AND VEGGIE GARDEN ARE LOVELY. I SUPPOSE HERE THE CONCEPT OF BALANCE ALSO PLAYS A BIG ROLE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cYes, I think one of the key things we\u2019re trying to do, is rebalance our impact on the planet\u2013by minimising our emissions, waste and ecological footprint. We are completely off-grid; power, water and sanitation-wise. Everything we have comes from the sun, our electricity, our heating, the water that gets pumped by the solar pump, and obviously, the veggies that grow in the garden, greenhouse and olive grove.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

HOW HAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL ENVIROMENT CHANGED NOW THAT YO LIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE?<\/h4>\n

\u201cInteresting question. The first thing that comes to mind, is just how big an impact nature has on you once you escape the city\u2026 In our previous lives, we were ruled by clocks; getting up at 4:45am every day to catch the train, the bus to get to work, etc. Now it\u2019s a lot more fluid. In summer, you wake up naturally at 4:30am, because it\u2019s sunny and summer. In winter, you get up at 6:30am, because it\u2019s cold and dark\u2026 Then there\u2019s the seasonal produce, the behaviour of the animals at certain times of the year… You just seem to notice and enjoy these things a lot more. There are no distractions, so you are able to see it all. It\u2019s really special.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOUR FARM IS INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL. TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS TO SHARE THIS BEAUTY AND LIFESTYLE WITH OTHERS.<\/h4>\n

\u201cThank you! We\u2019re currently working on finishing two small, self-catering, off-the-grid cottages, which we\u2019re hoping to make available to the public soon. Each has their own secluded setting, with unspoilt views across the valley. It\u2019s been hard work, and we\u2019ve been putting in long hours to make sure they look great and still come in as close to budget as possible. We\u2019re excited to share this beautiful landscape with its pristinely preserved Fynbos flora with other visitors to this region.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you turn off onto the dirt road that leads up to Suidster farm, the only signs of human settlement are two crisp white triangles gleaming from the hilltop. The two chirpy chimneys offer the only hint of a building. The rest of the home disappears into the mountain that yielded the stones that now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":9191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[27,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9164"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9201,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9164\/revisions\/9201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yun-berlin.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}