I spent my late teens living on a smallholding in rural Shropshire. We had chickens, sheep and dogs, an orchard and huge vegetable plot all set in acres of land for exploring. Having lived in large towns up until this point I loved this new lifestyle. After university I moved to Bristol. A vibrant city home to Banksy, BBC offices, 2 universities, and birth place to trip hop bands Portishead, Massive attack it is a great city to be young in as there is always something to do….
However since having my son I have found city life quite claustrophobic and have been dreaming of the small holding, homestead life again. I would absolutely love to give my son the opportunity to experience open land, apples, fresh eggs and mud!! Obviously you can get all of these in the city but it’s not quite the same…..
So this has led me on my Instagram obsession of finding beautiful inspiring Homestead mama’s, so for the time being I can live vicariously through them. One such homesteader is Hannah aka @whispering_land. Her beautiful pictures are unpretentious as they are warm, earthy and so homely. I just want to jump into every picture and have been inspired to buy a number of cookbooks that I have seen on her feed. So I was thrilled when Hannah let me find out a little more, and even more excited when I read her answers….. what a lovely soul she is.Their beautiful home is such a visual feast of earthy tones and wholesome loveliness!
1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself and background?
I grew up on the country side on the edges of a small town surrounded by mountains, rivers and woodland. Some of my fondest childhood memories are connected to nature. When I finished my degree as a kindergarten teacher I left my family's home to move in with my boyfriend in Vienna, the capital of Austria. I worked there for 6 years as a kindergarten teacher, but soon started to commute back home on weekends. I really enjoyed living there though, it is a great city for young people. Full of art exhibitions, lovely markets, concerts, literature festivals, cafés,... I loved it!
2) When did you opt for the Homestead life and what was it that attracted you to this lifestyle?
In 2011 I quit my job and travelled to the UK to work on organic farms (I did the exchange via an organisation called WWOOF) which was one of the best experiences in my life! Living off the land you nurture and connect with on a daily basis was such a profound experience and shaped my way of living in so many ways! Back in Vienna we dreamt of that simple lifestyle and I read every homesteading book and blog I could find! Dreaming of growing our own vegetables in a lush green garden with a happy flock of chickens running around, buzzing bees from our own hives and Children happily playing in the nearby woods - that was our dream! When we found out that I was pregnant with our son we started looking for land to settle down and start our own little smallholding. We moved to the countryside when our baby boy was 6 months old and started our little homesteading adventure!
| Whispering Land |
3) You make soaps, candles, honeys and salves, what inspires you
I was always fascinated by the old ways of handcrafting and really love to experiment with our homegrown herbs, the wax from our bees and everything I can find in nature. It is really important to me to use pure, all natural ingredients and it is quite difficult to find pure cosmetics or candles without any chemicals added nowadays. So I started to make my own and discovered how satisfying it is to use homemade soap for showering. A big plus: It's good for the environment too, making your own care products safes plastic and using all natural ingredients doesn't pollute water or land! Next I am eager to learn how to spin since we have two very woolly sheep. I can't wait to plant dye some skeins of their wool and knit a shawl with it!
I was always fascinated by the old ways of handcrafting and really love to experiment with our homegrown herbs, the wax from our bees and everything I can find in nature. It is really important to me to use pure, all natural ingredients and it is quite difficult to find pure cosmetics or candles without any chemicals added nowadays. So I started to make my own and discovered how satisfying it is to use homemade soap for showering. A big plus: It's good for the environment too, making your own care products safes plastic and using all natural ingredients doesn't pollute water or land! Next I am eager to learn how to spin since we have two very woolly sheep. I can't wait to plant dye some skeins of their wool and knit a shawl with it!
| Kitchen: Stunning ceramics |
4) Your home is clearly Waldorf /Steiner inspired, what led you down this pathway?
I really like the approach that during the first years of life children learn best by being immersed in an environment they can learn from through unselfconscious imitation of practical activities. This way of learning is perfect for homesteading families and from the participation of children all can benefit! I also like the holistic and nature inspired approach with soft colours, natural and wooden toys, pentalyric songs, daily rhythms and rhymes.
I really like the approach that during the first years of life children learn best by being immersed in an environment they can learn from through unselfconscious imitation of practical activities. This way of learning is perfect for homesteading families and from the participation of children all can benefit! I also like the holistic and nature inspired approach with soft colours, natural and wooden toys, pentalyric songs, daily rhythms and rhymes.
| Lilac's in the kitchen |
5) How has having children changed you and your home?
When we moved into our house we already had our boy so we didn't have to adapt it for a baby because the house literally grew with him. But for me it was a big change because I could focus on one child's needs instead of more than 20 as I was used to from my work as a kindergarten teacher. I know how blessed I am to spend the time with my wee ones, watching them grow and evolve every single day, I will forever treasure these days and having children definitely brought much more consciousness into my life and taught me how to embrace each moment!
When we moved into our house we already had our boy so we didn't have to adapt it for a baby because the house literally grew with him. But for me it was a big change because I could focus on one child's needs instead of more than 20 as I was used to from my work as a kindergarten teacher. I know how blessed I am to spend the time with my wee ones, watching them grow and evolve every single day, I will forever treasure these days and having children definitely brought much more consciousness into my life and taught me how to embrace each moment!
