Riley Sails Away... I Start Building Our Food Forest
For so many years, both our lives have revolved around our boat... where we’re sailing next, what needs fixing, what the weather is doing. But somehow, I just know that going in different directions for the next few weeks is what's best this time.
This week, while Riley sets sail on La Vagabonde from Indonesia to New Zeaalnd, I’m getting stuck into the farm with the boys. We’re planting bananas, taro, island cabbage, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric… and slowly starting to imagine what this place might look like in a few years when everything has grown in around us.
There’s something pretty special about knowing where your food comes from, and I'm excited to lean into this food forest over the years to come.
Sometimes we read comments saying that it feels like we’re choosing one life over another, sailing or land, ocean or farm. But it really doesn’t feel that way to us. This is just another chapter and we're figuring it out along the way.
Thank you guys for all of your support over the years... we couldn't have embarked on either of these crazy adventures without you.
PS: What the heck guys, we've made it to 2M subs over on YouTube!!!! Thank you for always being our most dedicated and loyal fans. We love you guys.
❤️
Love,
Elay & Riley, Lenny & Darwin
xxxx
Riley Sails Away... I Start Building Our Food Forest (YouTube)
Comments (10)
Elaina,you are so cute! I don't think I've ever seen you get silly! You really are a wonderful woman !
Enjoyed the parallel stories!
I love the mixing of Riley on the boat and Elayna getting stuck into all the jobs at home. Finding clay soil not good but from the comments from people who know what they are talking about it sounds like you can get round this.
Once again your video was well laid out and enjoyable. Good to see Riley sailing again and admitting to miss Alaina, the boys, & and all on Vanatu. Wet clay may be tricky for your home build. 😵💫
Great editing, maintaining the water element on both sides. The drill was disappointing. Clay soil on a slope, regardless of the grade; is going to move slowly, inexorably down slope. Particularly on a geologically unstable island. But engineers have faced that problem for centuries. Did he find bedrock? How deep? Concrete caissons for a heavy structure, or galvanized steel piles for a lighter one, which is what y'all are going for.
Wow so good to see the boat again but so excited to see where your journey on land takes you 🥹💓
Well I think you’ll Need (layman’s term) under ground columns better known as caisson and grade beams. The caisson are pounded down until they can’t be hammered any further. That is done by a large hydraulic hammer. Then the grade beams Run horizontal on top of the caisson. Not cheap; your architect and engineer will understand. Columns and grade beams the the house sits on this foundation.
Hey Elay, if they can build in Venice, your engineers can figure out how to build on your land. Find and talk with more than one smart person in the field. You’ve got this.
So exciting! Are you familiar with Bill Mollison’s foundational permaculture principles? I studied this years ago and can recommend lots of fantastic books!
What a welcomed treat; sailing and island home life in one video🩵! You are a beautiful storyteller Elayna✨ thank you for sharing your journey with us🩵💖