Explore Skåne: Simrishamn // Österlen permaculture home. Part 1-

  

A new summer chapter: I found a little paradise in Skåne.

This beautiful angel was my guide through the farm.

A place which fed my lost soul, that's how I felt after spending a few days and nights at the permaculture-garden paradise by Österlen coast in Skåne. The place has a name, it's "Ninni's permaculture trädgård". It is indeed an education visit worth place. This year I was lucky that the one and only farm I messaged replied to me with "yes", last summer it was a nutshell...

The boss lady or I call her the farm lady Ninni is inspirational. She is a powerful, strong character and soft and lovable woman and mother acknowledged and educated gardener. She is a ceramic designer too, and I fell in love with her blue ceramic plates.

Going back to farm life, felt like I'm at home. Getting trapped in raspberry bush felt better than traffic jams and angry Swedish pensioners walking on cycling path and yelling at you. Nettle "bite" nicer than human hurtful words. Dining in the garden with a plate full of goodies what grows around you, nicer than going to a city cafe and hoping it's all clean food. Waking up to first feed chickens and sheep, open greenhouse and walk around gardens, and only then have your coffee...love love love it and missed it. Helping out on this farm was a beautiful exchange - they fulfilled my soul, I fulfilled their boxes with berries.

 First meeting.

The first day I was just visiting the farm and meeting the owner Ninni. We only had few hours to share, but at that time already managed to help out at picking gooseberry bushes while chatting with each other. On arrival her daughter took me around the farm and showed me everything (but on her terms everything), she talked to me in Swedish about garden and animals, and weather and really like a farm boss who knows all the rules. We shared lunch made from fresh organic and ecological (add as much as labels you can here) vegetables from the garden. Sitting outside in the garden and eating lunch, and drinking coffee, having long conversations reminded me of what I have been missing these years of living in Malmö urban life - these simplest things. With my family we had outdoor meals all summer, starting from spring into September. During the UK and nomad in Sweden times it was normal as it gets, but now I felt it was something special! Huge thing as not have had for a while. 

Anyway. On the first day, we agreed it seems we have a good connection and it works out for us - 2-3 days here. I was overwhelmed in high emotions when I left going back to Malmö knowing I will have this place where I can be in a garden, doing garden jobs and errands than sit at the city. Everything felt exciting yet familiar... So, I left the raspberry paradise garden to come back later.

Coming back for two full days.

Checking my online notes during the second visit, I have said this: "This farm experience is freaking amazing so far. I can cook for myself whatever I want for dinners. What grows in the garden. Take a rest from 17 or 18. Go wander. Swim. Cycle. Just be. I get a stable place to live when I'm here, a nice colourful tiny house type thingy. And no stress in the mornings! Also, she's a person who LOVES that I ask twice or three times! I just have had such freaking bad experiences with people in life that I'm usually scared just to do something wrong. Just a tiny thing. And even if I do wrong something, she doesn't yell at me! But explains, teaches and we simply discuss. Now I'm sitting in my tiny house by the window, looking outside on white sky and wondering if I'll wake up for the sunrise watch...".

I did wake up to see the sunrise from this coast of Skåne. 

The main chore was to pick up berries as much as we can. I found it as meditation, mindfulness....berryfulness...Now I don't remember how many liters I had picked, but when you do it for the first time after a long time not doing it, you kind of enjoy it and it even becomes interesting! Then I had to fix they potato fields covering with hay so potatoes don't become green from sunlight. Those were really hot July days (or my kind of too hot) that the hay work a bit drained energy when exposed to the sun so much. But I enjoyed my time, and I wished for more physical work than philosophical. Her daughter was helping me out on the second field. We made good teamwork! And another duty was to switch the grazing field for them. This errand turned into interesting observation and my vegan heart was melted. I fell in love with these two sheep from this day. 

The plan to switch the land for sheep was not easy, and I wont go into details of it, but we had to try to catch them or fool them into the metal gate so we can take of the electric fence and make new land. The sneaking in was a challenge, as one of the sheep was Miss smarty pants. Ninni explained to me that one of them have had a bit tougher childhood and is more alert on stress moments than other. We didn't succeed getting in both, only one. Miss Smarty stayed outside. We left for a while to not continue stressing the sheep. During the "break" I came to check up on them. It started raining and one sheep in the metal gates was without shelter, they always have a shelter when it rains. Miss smarty could hide under the shelter, but in surprise, to me, she was standing next to the metal gate next to her sheep-soulmate-friend who was locked up, instead of hiding under shelter. I don't know much about sheep, but I thought wow what a sheep solidarity! Something we humans could learn occasionally - be selfless/sheepless. 

The week 29 of the 2017 year. Three days on a farm. It finally felt I am having a summer. Another chore I managed to do on these two days was helping out to make vegetable pick up boxes for her customers. That was really neat and creative activity! These short days were fulfilled with so many different activities! I was happy, somehow full of energy still, and I once again forgot about time! The best feeling when you can just be...

 I loved the freedom atmosphere, carefree attitude yet you still have the natural respect as you are not in your garden, but someones else. Ninni had certain hour rule how long I should work, but at the same time she was not strict - do as you feel, you need a break, take it, want a coffee, have it, but the work is done by the end of day. And this no stress atmosphere helped to finish all errands that I was surprised I even have my own "spare time" in the evening to go explore. 
My first dinner I cooked was kind of my style mixed up the root vegetable leave soup with tofu(which I obv took with me). It seems not many have heard of "beetroot leave soup", but my granny often made it. It is super simple the same as other Latvian vegetable soups. Just spices whatever you want, whatever veggies you have (i didn't have potato this time), I fried up kale and tofu with onion and garlic which I put aside. And made the soup. I usually have some lentils or pearl barley in my soups. Veggie broth and gurkmeja/kurkuma/tumeric. I made it so much that I couldn't finish it all! That what happens when you get to used to cook for 2 for long time and then suddenly for one person... what... I think with all the heaviness it could be for 4 people! Anyway, I loved it and enjoyed having fresh veggie soup. As we also know, more clean is food, less we need to eat, as it fulfils us better. Something I forgot that's why after one bowl I was already full!

On my "free time" I obviously went to the sea, or explored garden from every corner, climbed up in the tree, and took sunset photos. I also was trying to become friends with these chicks (chicken society), but they were not so interested in me if I am not a feeder, I think they may be thought I am a giant fox or something. Usually on farms I and chicks become good friends. Also I was next to a small tiny cute and super fancy countryside village which reminded me so much Cornwall small villages, called Baskemölla. I had gone through the village a month before as welcoming the first weekend of summer public transport card - Sommar jojokort. We had a skåneleden hike from Simirshamn till Kivik. And I remembered that we both stood at the harbour of this village and thought "yes, this is beautiful, would not mind to live here!", and then in a month turns out the farm I found is here! :) 

So here the first week snapshots of Baskemölla and Ninni's permaculture trädgård, AND my personal experience. Leaving after the workdays, I felt overloaded with energy, yet felt tiredness in the body, but my mind was clear not like usually. I felt I am gaining strength back to feel strong and ready to encounter the world again. Going to the farm was really a healing process for me, being closer to nature than only adventures-hiking-camping, was something I really needed after the life in a city. 

So, thank you for reading or only scrolling photos, if anything to ask or add, please, just leave a comment! :) Soon I will write about the next weekly experiences and summer sunrises in a hammock by the sea!

And this is how I saved my mornings - adding blueberry powder from AbsolutsEd(LV) and could happily eat the porridge, otherwise me and porridge...nah!

 

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