Oh hi! I’ve missed you.
After a couple months hibernating, I’m back on home soil. This time with Ethan and Ori, co-founders of Burlap & Barrel who joined us at L’Esterre last week.
We met nutmeg farmers young and old, big and small.
Trekked the fairytale food forests for fresh nutmegs in ill-fitting shoes.
Discovered new spices we didn’t know we had growing.
Knocked back Rivers and cane juice on L’Esterre balcony as the day drew in.
Kept on the correct side of the road—most of the time.
Lost a wing mirror. Found a wing mirror.
Ate far too much curry and fruit of every description.
Cooked Bygani with aunty Carm.
Sang Hebrew songs with aunty Lauren.
Received life lessons from unlikely sources.
Found the end of the road and felt it all.
We were itchy, sweaty, muddy, happy, curious and content all at the same time.
It was nothing short of a life-changing week.
I learnt a lot. Experienced a lot. Identified an entirely new set of problems.
But that’s a good thing. It means we learn. It means we find a solution.
It means we evolve. It means our island can move forward.
In the late afternoon slumber, when everyone would disperse to re-energise in their solitude before supper. Aunty Carmen, a dear friend of my late grandmother, would emerge from her room as quiet as a whisper and join me on the balcony.
We’d talk about books we’ve read and our childhoods. She’d reminisce about about afternoons with my own grandmother on that very same balcony.
I’ve learnt that it’s the small moments we remember most.
That we only realise the significance of after it’s passed.
This estate was passed down to us.
We are the descendants. The custodians.
Continuing to build the legacy my grandparents left us with is no easy feat.
He set the bar pretty high.
But the harder we work. The braver we are. The more risk we take.
The luckier we’ll get.
We can do hard things.
Things are going to be uncomfortable sometimes. There is no easy route. I still have a lot to learn. We all do. We are beings constantly learning, evolving and moving in time and space. Don’t beat yourself up about the things you don’t know yet. We’re all still figuring it out.
Words that changed my world: “In order to move our culture forward, revolutionaries have had to speak and plan from the unseen order inside them'“ - Glennon Doyle.
I have a vision for my home island.
It’s big. But it’s necessary.
So keep an eye out. Until next week.
With love, from the nutmeg forest,
Bobbie x
