This was a really big factor in my disappointment about losing the house. I had so many plans and dreams, and it seems so difficult to implement some of them when we are living in a rental. We can't install solar panels, for example, or ceiling fans, and a water tank seemed out of reach too.
We are limited in the type of chicken run we can build, which limits the amount of chickens we can keep, which in turn limits the amount of eggs we can use to barter with. We already trade one dozen eggs every two weeks in exchange for another household's food scraps to upkeep them, as half our food scraps go to the chickens and ducks, and half go to the Bokashi composting system.
Yesterday, I had a hypnotherapy session. I came out of it with much more clarity and peace than I have felt in such a long time, and with an awareness that I was only limited by my own imagination. A significant proportion of Australian families rent, and sustainable living should not only be for the 'rich' or for homeowners. There has to be changes that every Australian family can make, regardless of their living situation.
So I got to thinking. I can still have a water tank... I can have an unplumbed one that services the garden, the chickens and provides drinking water.
I can still have fruit trees. I can buy dwarf versions and plant them in large pots.
I can still build a chicken coop... the materials for it can be shifted when we move house. (At the moment, our chickens and ducks are free range during the day and are closed into a smallish moveable coop at night to protect them from foxes... the coop is too small to keep them in all day.)
I can still live frugally, reduce my usage of energy and water, reduce my landfill garbage (this week, our half size wheelie bin was only one quarter full!!). I can still make sure I am living each day more responsibly than the last.
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| Some of our range of water collection containers and our Bokashi bucket |
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| Our rudimentary vegie patch; carrots, lettuce, onions, peas, garlics, spinach, capsicum and cucumbers currently growing. |
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| Our homemade chicken coop |
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| Our duck family.... hours of entertainment and fantastic pest control |
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| Homemade tortillas... best I have ever tasted! Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour 1 tsp salt 2 tbs vegetable oil 1 cup lukewarm milk Sift flour into bowl. Combine milk with salt and oil, whisking briefly to combine. Slowly mix the milk mixture into the flour to form a sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for a couple of minutes. Leave to rest for 10 minutes covered by a damp teatowel. Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls. Cover and rest for another 20 minutes. Roll the balls out very thinly on floured surface. Fry one at a time in a very hot pan sprayed lightly with oil. Turn after 20 seconds and cook other side. Keep warm and covered until finished; serve immediately. May also be wrapped and frozen after cooking for up to a month. Thaw and reheat in foil in oven. (Nath and also fridge the dough once it has been rested both times to cook the next day... this works just as well.) These are really yummy cooked on the BBQ :) |
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