Pastor's Pics........    Back to the Blog

Six years ago we bought a field in Pego. It's 5500 sq mtrs. We spent a long time clearing it of scrub and weeds, and bought a little caravan second hand so that we could spend time here to work on the 'land' as it became known.
Four years ago in June 2009 Lynette and I broke ground digging a  foundation for this our 'home'. 16 days later we spent the first night indoors. Since then we have wired it (12 volts off-grid) and plumbed it. We spent the first whole year without a flush loo until the septic tank went 'in'. 18 months ago we improved the roof with insulation and the corrugated tile forms that you see now. It means we can go indoors on a hot day - previously impossible! We dug a well - by hand - and struck water. Although we use the 'irrigation' piped water from a neighbour, the well is a back up. We have a 25 year old wind generator (I bought it way back then and used it on another project....)  and solar panels. We upgraded the panels just recently so that we can still get power on a dull day. The little house is actually three wooden sheds placed in a T. The first two (27 sq mtrs) went up straight away, and the third one a year later to give a grand total of about 40 sq mtrs. It's compact but cosy.
The walls are only 28mm of spruce, but it seems to be enough. In 2011 we improved the plumbing to give us hot and cold running water in the galley-kitchen and bathroom. The hot water is provided by the solar water heater to the left of the building.
We have been constantly planting trees, and they are beginning to mature and give us fruit. Some we have grown from seed (yes!) some from seedlings and saplings from the campo, and some we have bought as saplings.  We have 3 Nisperos, an apricot, a plum, 5 mature mandarin orange, and many saplings, 1 mature olive, 1 half grown, and 2 saplings, 1 half grown fig (over two metres), 1  avocado sapling, and countless others in pots and nursery areas including almond, palm, and japanese acers.
The dog is Sheba - a rescue - and she's about 3 years old. We love her to bits.