Farming for 6

Brad Anderson Start Date: Jul 2, 2018 - End Date: Oct 29, 2018
  • Florida, United States of America

My Travel Story

by: Brad Anderson Start Date: Jul 2, 2018 - End Date: Oct 29, 2018
Closet farmers! That is how we like to describe ourselves. Yes, we live in Cape Town (a large city by South Africa’s standards), so we are city folk too, but our hearts have long burned with a passion for farming. And not just any farming – we love the idea of sustainable, regenerative farming that is built on permaculture ideology. We love all things raw and natural, we culture our own yogurt, grow our own veggies, raise our own hens for eggs, activate our seeds and nuts, ferment our own kombucha, bake our own sourdough bread and make our own apple cider vinegar.

Our passion for regenerative farming has partly been driven out of a love for growing our own food and working in the soil, but it has also been driven by some very significant health challenges that Anne has faced. About 15 years ago she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease of the gut called Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s has had a massive impact on her health and wellness, especially in the last four years. We have taken the approach of wanting to manage it as best we can through healthy eating and lifestyle choices, rather than a more medicine based route that deals primarily with the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. In that process of changing the way we eat, we have become increasingly convinced about the importance of eating good food that is produced in such a way that it is dense in its nutritional value and free from GMO elements, hormones, additives, preservatives and synthetic substitutes.

Now we are in a fortunate position to have three months break from the church where I serve as a pastor, and would love to explore our passion for farming more. We (my wife, four kids and myself) have the wonderful opportunity to live and learn on a fantastic farm in Florida, as we work (for free) alongside the farmer and his family. 

We honestly do not know if our future holds a farming adventure of our own, or what His plan for us is. But what a great chance this is to learn and grow and immerse ourselves in a farming lifestyle. And what an incredible learning adventure for our homeschooled kids.

Our hope is not only for a time of refreshing, but that we would be able to bring all the principles and ideas we learn back to a South African context, and be even better equipped to maximise whatever peiece of the earth we find ourselves on. And who knows, maybe God can use us to begin influencing how others view farming, farms and food in our own country.

But we need help in getting there please. Would you consider helping to finance our plane tickets and visas?
  • Florida, United States of America

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