Author: Liz

The Compost Initiative.

by Liz1 Comment on The Compost Initiative.
The Compost Initiative.

When I moved to the United States in 2008, it shocked me how much food wastage there was. Where I grew up, left-overs went to those who needed food, and left over left-overs went to the animals and compost. Thus throwing out food was literally foreign, until I moved to the States.

So… Here I am, 11 years later and find myself in a unique position where I can help those who feel the same. I can help move your food waste to create vibrant living soil, to help rejuvenate the lands around us and to bring renewal.

Instead of your ‘garbage’ going to landfills, imagine a world where you single handedly bring what is known as ‘living’ soil to your area. Soil that is alive with real nutrients and not synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. Soil that has an active biome, from worms and bugs to the microscopic. A soil that has a higher Cation exchange capacity (CEC) count because of the organic matter, which yields to a denser, richer soil, able to hold more water and nutrients before run off, which thus allows anything to be grown in an environment that is cheerleading it to be its best.

How can we partner?
1. At Wozani’s front gate we have a wheel barrow that you are welcome to drop off food waste, anytime Tuesdays through Fridays. This is a free service.
2. Door to door pick up. Compost will be picked up Once a week, Twice a month or monthly, depending on your need. This is a feature we are currently in the process of working on, and will be starting soon, based on demand. If this is something you’d like to see, please reply to this blog or reach out to us on instagram or facebook.

What we accept.

YES. Compostable

As our need grows, so will the items we accept.  

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Pasta, bread, cereal
  • Cooked foods
  • Dairy products, egg shells
  • Coffee grounds, filters, & tea bags
  • Paper towels and paper towel rolls
  • Muffin wrappers
  • Candies, cookies and cake
  • Baking ingredients, herbs, spices
  • Household plants including soil

NOPE.

Not compostable, some items will be removed from this list in the future. 

  • PLASTIC (unless labeled compostable)
  • Styrofoam meat trays
  • Aluminum foil
  • Clams, oysters, mussels (basically rocks)
  • Candles, synthetic corks and gum
  • Artificial flowers and plants
  • Rugs, carpets
  • Cigarette butts, tobacco
  • Dental floss and Q-tips
  • Baby wipes
  • Disposable mop sheets
  • Dryer lint sheets
  • Vacuum cleaner bags
  • Hair, pet fur, pet waste
  • Dead animals
  • Fireplace or BBQ ashes
  • Recyclable materials
  • Paper fast food packaging*
  • Soiled paper food packaging*
  • Flour and sugar bags*
  • Pizza boxes*
  • Meat, bones, fish products*
  • Paper plates*

*These Items may move to the compostable list in the future. 

Saying fare-well

by Liz1 Comment on Saying fare-well
Saying fare-well

We were relieved when we found out our property was not incorporated by the city limits that surrounds it. Instead we are Weld county, unincorporated Frederick CO.

This means that we are zoned agricultural and have a little more wiggle room when it comes to doing things. One of those things are controlled burns 🔥

All we have to do is phone Weld county and let them know our plans. And they responded with an easy simple, “ok, Don’t forget you are responsible for your actions.” Yessir!

So on a windless warm Sunday we took all the debris from around the property and created a spectacular and momentous burn pile. We burned all the clippings from the trees we had pruned, and then anything else organic that could burn, cardboard, paper and broken (untreated) fences.

This was the kids first experience of fire, real big flaming fire! And Rainer learnt that I, his mighty South African wife, knows her stuff when it comes to building and maintaining a fire.

For our first warm sunny windless winter day, we had such a fun time As we cleaned up the farm!! 🔥❤️

What we know for sure.

by LizLeave a Comment on What we know for sure.
What we know for sure.

When I pick up an O Magazine, the very first section I turn to is ‘What I know for sure’ right in the back. It’s where Oprah spends time telling us her truths and what she’s learnt over the years. They always lead you to believe in the greater good, in yourself and each other. To breathe deeper and to take it slower.

What we know for sure when it comes to our wonderful Wozani Farm is all centered around the thought of community and sustainablility. Both of which Rainer and I strongly believe is needed and lacking in the US. So below we will be defining some of what we know for sure.

What we know for sure:

  • Let every avenue we explore be a teachable moment for ourselves and others.
    • Community classes
    • Community courses
    • Community Gatherings
  • Permaculture is a word that keeps coming back to me.
    •  Reuse.Reduce.Repair.Recycle +Sustainability
    • We are going to strive for low impact to the earth.
      • By Conserving water through zericscaping and drought tolerant plants, while maintaining an attractive aesthetic.
      • Use grey water from the household for garden/farm needs.
      • Creating Habitats which allow for symbiotic relationships.
  • Keep it green.
    • We are so saddened how Round Up, giant corporations and city build up are creating worlds that are destroying entire ecosystems, where the butterfly and bee are no longer thriving, thus by default or chain reaction farmers can’t produce (bee pollination) and insects species are endangered (monarch butterfly) So we will strive to create safe habitats for all Gods creatures, well, most of Gods creatures, be-gone all snakes and spiders! 😉
      • Bee Friendly – We will resolve to do all we can to make our 4 acres as bee happy as possible, by both hosting bees through bee hotels and hives, and by planting pollinator friendly crops, flowers, shrubs and trees.
      • The monarch butterfly is in a steady decline. Milkweed, the essential plant that sustains the butterfly’s life cycle is being eradicated as for its name sake – MilkWEED. We’d love to become a certified Monarch Waystation where we would aide in the conservation to assure the preservation of their species by creating an ideal habitat for them. In order to do this, we would have to verify that we provide enough milkweed to sustain the Monarch in all its life stages. More information at http://www.monarchwatch.org
      • Organic! Yup, all plants and animals on our little farm will be grown and fed with organic practices. We’d love to be verified as an organic farmer. (we got goats to help control the weed situation, because oh man… weeds are bad in the back.)
  • Healing! Both Rainer and I love to help and uplift. But, it goes beyond our education, Rainer as a Nurse Practitioner and I as a Holistic Nutritional Consultant, we yearn to strive for more.
    • We want to bring health back to families encompassing mind, spirit and body. We are not sure exactly what it will look like but here are some ideas.
      • A healing garden that soothes the soul with herbal smells, and soothing running water. Both bringing you closer to God, while filling your senses.
      • A wellness practice on the property that gives one the option to seek western medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutritional, physical therapy, movement classes, to get you in your best health for a perspective that pain is telling us something is wrong, and we don’t want to dull the pain, but rather find the root cause and target that.
      • Finally, we are thinking of creating some kind of retreat. More of that to come.

These are some of our Founding Principles, and what we do with Wozani will always be based off of these.

Step 1 – Fencing

by LizLeave a Comment on Step 1 – Fencing

We got to walk the farm again today as a family. The sun was out and so were our dreams and… the goats. ❤️❤️ The reason we got goats in the first place was to control our abundance of weeds, but it became apparent very quickly that the goats need secure fencing, and we certainly don’t have that yet, the fencing may be as old as the house. So for the most part they are in their pen unless we are out with them herding them away from the neighbors delicious yards.

Step 1 for us is border security (not trying to be political or anything, but we really need a great big wall, just kidding, but that would be nice;)), this will allow the goats freedom to roam and enjoy and guzzle all the weeds – their intended purpose! Which will in turn give us the ability to start amending soil and prepping for veggies.

Securing the perimeter will also allow us to get our dream LGD (livestock guard dog) of sorts, to protect the goats and chickens and love on the kiddos (human).

The problem with fencing is both the cost and the time it takes. I’m herding my own little human entourage at all times, and when out back I have to be even more on my toes because the goat heads are outrageous and Margot is a crawler and a I-put-everything-in-my-mouth person at the moment.

Soooo, I think we are realizing slowly that this dream of Wozani Farm will take longer than anticipated but, because this is a forever home for us, we are ready to tackle the long slow journey of transformation. It might be a 10foot tackle at a time, and take us 25 years to accomplish all our dreams. But hold on tight to your slow horses, here we come. :):)

Wozani – The Meaning.

by LizLeave a Comment on Wozani – The Meaning.

DSC_0085In both Xhosa and IsiZulu the word Wozani means Come.

We believe that this piece of land is here for more than us. And we believe that what is ours belongs to God, so we feel strongly that God is calling us to create a bringing together of sorts here on this land.

When we went through farm names, we thought of everything from Long meadow farm, to Shalom, or Narrow Field and Cotton wood farm. We wanted the name to hold meaning, and description, but not to hold us to one type of crop or venture.

We knew ultimately that our land will be used for community. We want it to bring people together, to build people up, to spread love and hope and beauty.

I truly think that a whole lot of pain and issues we all face today is because of lack of community, lack of coming together, lack of getting our bubbles popped and sharing our depths with others.

Growing up in South Africa, Xhosa was my dad’s first language, and we lived many years in KwaZulu-Natal where Zulu was the mother tongue, so when looking into words, of course Xhosa and Zulu both spoke to us, and having them share the same word for the meaning COME was special.

Whatever Wozani becomes, and OH MY GOODNESS, the ideas are many and HUGE, Wozani will be a place of community. A place to build. A place of peace.

Here are some of our ideas, but we’d love to hear your ideas with what the 4 acres of land could be used for. Or even expand on some of ours?

  • Community horse.
  • Classes for veggies, homesteading, plants.
  • CSA
  • Community sensory garden
  • Community events
  • Venues
  • Rainer’s practice or store front near the busy road.
  • Lavender fields

So WOZANI friends!!

Please come and visit us!!

Rainer. Cool, Calm, Collected.

by LizLeave a Comment on Rainer. Cool, Calm, Collected.

Here’s a little get to know session. 🙂

When I was a we little lass, my favorite form of precipitation was the rain. I remember always saying, ‘if rain was a person I’d marry them.’

It blows my mind that God does grant us the desires of our hearts. Like. True story ya’ll! Maybe 20years or so later, I married RAINer on May 8th, 2014.

And he really does bring out all the feels that rain gives me. He brings peace and comfort. And of course we want to cozy next to our wood burning together every night when the kids are in bed, him with black tea or whiskey in hand, and me with a warm apple cider vinegar.

He’s a man of many hats.

For work, Rainer is a full time Family Nurse Practitioner, and a reservist in the Airforce. He started studying for his NP License when we were growing our first kid, 3 years later and 3 kids later he graduated. Omg! It was a time of our lives that nearly broke me. But his persistence and forward momentum/dreaming always kept us going.

Let’s talk about his loves.

– Books, he has a good old fashioned library with hundreds of books and a catalogue of them all. Do you want to borrow one, no problem, he’ll check it out to you. Favorite genres are history and spy thrillers.

– Chickens, which are strictly his. We say Rosie is Willa’s but we all know the truth. His (lovey lady lumps) hens, are precious and loved on everyday by him. We’re planning on 6more in the spring. :):)

– He loves to see fruits of his labor, gardening, sowing, harvesting and prepping are things that we are both drawn to.

We decided early on that we’d love to bring kids up with space, and teach them good old fashioned hard work. One of our many reasons for this farm, and I’m so grateful he’s my partner through it all!! 🙂

Goodness Gracious – Space Matters.

by LizLeave a Comment on Goodness Gracious – Space Matters.

38626337-0bc0-494c-b592-6d7610df9493We moved, as you’ve already read by the lovely posts of my husband. But this post is from me, Liz, and the realization of how much I needed space.

Oh

My

Goodness!

I seriously had no idea that space (and what comes with space) would play a large role in my mental and physical health.

Since moving here, I can breathe a little deeper, and smile a little wider. My kids laugh a little louder and run a little faster. Before kids I was able to escape every time I felt the calling. Open air, mountains, trees and fresh air would ground me and bring me back to Jesus, my resting place.

And It’s not just the size, but the fact that I have creatures depending on me. I have found myself using wire cutters daily mending fences for Goat Control, which leaves me feeling quite uhh, empowered, yup, that’s the word. I love to feel like I’ve done something, that’s perhaps why bathrooms are my favorite to clean, because you can literally see the sparkle of a toilet rim after tackling the job.

It’s hard. Don’t get me wrong. Life is sooo hard with littles. The amount of self sacrificing is huge and insane, and I am grateful for it. And. It is hard.

The romance of livestock, that we got for weeds and cuteness and no other reason at this moment, is sometimes met with the reality that a kid (human or goat) just knocked the water pale that I spent 15minutes filling, or someone stepped in poop and brought it upstairs into the lounge, where Margot was exploring the texture. But then the flitter flatter of Julie Andrews singing the Hills are Alive… plays through my mind as we all get to explore, and run and play and sing.

Yes.

Indeed, size does matter for me. A smaller house and bigger yard bring me to a place of peace, as I have more time to spend in places of purpose; talking with God and running around in his creation.

It matters to my soul, my mind and my body.

I’m grateful for this space, and wake up every morning counting my blessings.