And so we find ourselves in our second work-away, now with a family that is building a homestead based on parmaculture. We should be staying here for three weeks.

Aris and Ija have lived in Riga for many years but had become interested in permaculture and they wanted to give it a try. So four years ago they bought a plot of land with an old farm in the countryside of Madona (pronounced ma-du-onna) and started working. Permaculture is a rather broad concept, but it boils down to "farming in a way that is good for nature, you and your community" (Aris' words, roughly). This means working with nature, instead of fighting it. So choosing appropriate crops and locations and relying on natural weed and pest deterrents. And sharing the harvests, seeds, etc. with the neighbors.

So far they have dug a big pond, started a food forest, planted a bunch of vegetables, built (the outside of) their house, got some winter-proof chickens, set up a green house full of tomatoes and prepared more fields. Now they live here about 4 months in summer, together with their youngest son and their dog, the rest of the time they live and work in Riga. In winter here it can dip down to -35°C. But eventually they hope to sustain themselves here in full.

We are staying in our van on the grass but we share all meals together in their house. Until now we have made compost heaps, tilled and prepared a plot for garlic, wacked a lot of weeds and mulched and weeded young trees. Aris and Ija took us mushroom foraging to collect a dinner and we have biked around a bit. We spend a lot of time around the kitchen table just chatting, mostly about our different cultures and histories. The couple is equally interesting and curious!