IT’S BEEN NEARLY TWO YEARS! Where have I been and what have I been doing?
A long story! Where do I begin to take you on this forgotten journey before this Global Pandemic came upon us. Yes, there have been blessings and a huge amount of internal work done during this period. So, I had decided that whatever I was going to do for the rest of my life, it was to belong to a re-generative and sustainable community! So, having packed up my life to continue to explore the rest of the Shvil and the possibility of living in Auroville…… life happened.
I found myself on my family farm of 36 years and decided, why not go into all the aspects of rejuvenation, spend the year in isolation researching Perma-culture gardens and the workings of a functional community.
I had the blessings of unlimited access to information from the Ceder – Auroville & The Communities Solution – Creating co-operative communities in South Africa Foundation ( in Auroville, and with the help of You tube and Geoff Lawton, I got to planting my NO DIG Gardens.) I luckily had been working on a compost heap for years and had access to straw bales and endless hours to myself. Within one month I began eating from my garden. During the 18 months of lock down I harvested onions, spinach, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tamarins, turnips, not a very successful carrot crop, basil, rosemary, my favourite herbs and endless crops of beetroot.
It was truly a joyful process which later influenced me to become totally vegan after most of my life being a vegetarian.
So……..Covid continued, and feeling more blessed than most at the endless space I had to walk and the ground I could nurture, I did indeed nurture myself too along the way and even found love for a while. However, as life unfolded, my family didn’t support the vision I had to regenerate our farm and unfortunately I could no longer choose to support animal harvesting and certain old school practices on the land.
I felt that in order to stay in my integrity it was time to make a change….. and so, my new journey has begun………………………………….
In many conversations with Auroville and the Ceder Foundation many groups in South Africa, Western Cape had collaborated to start a conversation to recreate the Auroville principles here. Covid had given people time, like myself to go within and seek a more desirable life-style and the importance of Sustainability and food security had taken centre stage. I was elected to represent Auroville here in the Cape and took the responsibility very seriously. This journey has brought me into the Genadendal Valley, where I have found a unique place, with ancient many Khoi elders and their rich history.
I have committed to contributing as much as I can for a year, or a life-time with this vibrant, challenged, extra-ordinary community.
I have been blessed to move into a beautiful home in the original part of the village and I believe that Peacetree can once again play a in part alongside the great people here to bring healing this fragmented, wounded community. I have found everything and more that one requires to start a community already exists here. The challenge is to Unify with like-minded in the vision and start the process.
Peacetree Pilgrimage has gone into a co-creative relationship with the UP-liftment Programme https;//theup.org.za/ spear-headed by a dynamic woman called Nicky Jackman. We are in conversation with the elders and working with the Elders documenting and filming their stories of when Genadendal was a flourishing, abundant community living in harmony with nature. We will also be supporting The Compost Cyclers http://www.compostcyclers.co.za I am delighted to say that we will be joining Greenpop once more on a new venture to clear the water-ways and reforest the riparian areas of Genadendal. Planting the FUTURE DREAMS! - TOEKOMS DROOMING!