“Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be”

Watching our dream come to life is one of the most exciting and satisfying experiences,  the whole plot is becoming a reality. 

The banana circle is flourishing, the trees are doing really well growing fast and with new shoots and leaves, all sorts of things are growing out of the compost in the centre.  

The beans have done really well, drying them out now to store. The groundnuts should be ready in a few weeks, the sunflowers are out and lots of both wild and planted creeping plants cover the soil.

The rainwater tank is up and running, Misheck helped me to make a strong slab to put it on.

I gave the materials to make the gutters to some friends locally who do metal work, they made the gutters to size for the house and bathroom. 

A funnel with a mesh filter attached to the downspout to clean any debris out of the water.

One gutter set up straight to the tank, we built another verandah on the other side which will also collect rain water.

yeahy!!!!

building the roof and frame for the canvas shower room

no power tools!!

inside the bathroom, thanks to Gogo for doing an amazing job sewing the canvas tent, it looks great!

catching every drop of rain we can!!

I've just finished the stem wall of the house, so once this is dry I can put the termite barrier on and start building with the mud bricks. 

Applying Permaculture to the land

For the past couple of  months I have mainly been taking a break from the construction to start applying what I have learnt to the land. It's been really exciting to see everything take shape.

The bricks are all finished, the last ones, curved for the corners...

...with bottles inside

...found objects that will make great coat hooks!

My neighbour kindly gave me heirloom seeds for groundnuts. I decided to plant them in a small field, along with some cowpeas , sunflowers, various melons, pumpkins, gourds(help with ground cover) and some rosela. Intercropped with Moringa and sebania trees. These trees along with the groundnuts and cowpeas fix nitrogen into the soil. 

I took part in an oyster mushroom growing workshop in Bulawayo, and grew some at home, very exciting to see them grow. 

Making a simple solar drier to drier for mushrooms, fruit etc 

The stem wall has been coming up and I will start working on the building again now.

We dug a swale on contour, this catches rainwater and keeps it on the land rather than running off and then planted the seeds below.

making seed balls with clay and a variety of seeds to throw onto the land.

shelling groundnuts

Both sides of the field are covered with mulch, this keeps the moisture in the ground, this side is leaves...

...and this side straw

Planting fruit trees where grey water will be running out of the shower. To protect from grazing animals Yabani made fences from branches as is traditionally done here. 

burying an unglazed clay pot for dry times, the water seeps out slowly.

a wine bottle filled with water and buried seeps water out slowly and directly to the roots. 

Flame lillies are out everywhere

making a pit bed, kitchen scraps are put in a hole in the centre to become compost that directly feeds the banana and pawpaw trees planted around it. 

Our first tank for rainwater collection

Moringa trees planted amongst the groundnuts 

It's very satisfying to watch everything grow, there will be challenges ahead though,  in the next month or so is when the elephants will start entering the fields. For now I will get back to building, I need to finish the stem wall, make a termite barrier and then start laying bricks. 

The Mud Brick Factory

It's been a long time since I have had the time to sit down and try and write and up load photos of what I have been doing. I am building every single day, it's very very hot but the building process is coming along nicely, so let the photos do the talking...

Friends and family have been visiting and helping out, here my parents are having a go at mud dancing

Taking a moment to admire the many beautfiul butterflies that flock to the moisture of the mud dancing 

preparing the tree nursery with oliver and his friends, we want to plant the trees in the rainy season on the plot

Oliver has been helping out

making his own house deisgn's 

So  I have finished the foundations and I'm  trying to get all the bricks finished before the rains,  getting there!! 

Putting up the roof!!

 We spent a weekend a couple of weeks ago building the roof on poles so that the foundations are protected and I can keep building even when it starts to rain, so I am very happy!! 

This amazing contraption allowed us to make holes for the poles without digging, just twist in wet sand and it goes in like a cork screw, a bit more effort but better than digging holes!! 

Collecting water at the village borehole, the hand pump is hard work! 

The roof coming up

Yabani making a quick ladder from some sticks, amazing

Tadaaaaa!!

I couldn't have done this without the help of my husband Brent, Roy, Misheck and Yabani, it was real team-work and it came together beautifully, thanks so much!! 

The roof covers the house and also has a verandah, guttering is to come so we can collect the precious rain!! 

My bricks are safe under the verandah's roof,  so I should be able to sleep soundly once the rains start!!