Meet Luciana and James
Hi there! Welcome to the Orange Bloom Homestead. Thank you for being here.
We are Luciana and James, totally incidental farmers, sprouted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luciana is Brazilian, raised between five countries, vegan, yoga aficionado, on a perpetual quest for personal growth. James is an Englishman, born in Suffolk, raised in Malaysia, who lived in London, Portugal, Brussels and back to Portugal again.
Our common denominator? A passion for nature, animals, healthy food, friends, travel and enjoying life.
Let’s start by saying that farming, per se, was never on our agenda!
We moved to this property, which we now call the Orange Bloom Homestead, three days prior to the first lock down in Portugal, on March 18th of 2020.
Although we knew we were about to step into unknown ground by taking on a small farm, we were well aware of the responsibility involved.
What we did not realise at the time was that we were about to start an incredible journey. This time with no car, airplane or train involved! (You can check our travel adventures here.)
The plan of another long trip was put on hold, giving way to a new dream.
Our pre-COVID plans were to hire a gardener and maybe someone to help with the house, but as you have guessed, that did not happen.
We had barely settled in when the responsibility of over seventy fruit trees and a fully developed garden knocked at our door.
From substituting the obsolete irrigation system to trying to reverse the colour of the swimming pool from green back to its original crystal clear blue, were just some of our initial challenges.
Oh, and of course, we had to patiently wait for the delivery of a lawn mower, while we watched the grass go wild!
Another challange was to become adopted parents of three cats: Blue and the twin kittens, Yin (female) and Yang (male).
When we negotiated the property, we agreed to keep Blue, the then seven years old cat who had lived in the property all of his life. He immediatly adopted us and for a short while he was clearly blissful for having us all to himself.
But then, we wrongly thought he might be lonely being just with the two of us, so we brought in the lively twins who, for a few months, made Blue’s life unbearable.
That’s when we started affectionately calling him moody Blue.
Luckily, as soon as Yin and Yang were over puberty, peace was restored, although not for long.
Sadly, on the afternoon of the 24th of October of 2021, Yang’s life was prematurely taken by a car, leaving an imense empty space in our hearts, a desolate young sister and an, again, moody Blue.
Yang (photo above) was only 18 months old when he left us, but in spite of his loss, we are so very greatful for our kids and for all the love and fun they brought into our lives, especially at a time when everything was so uncertain.
As we adjusted to life at the homestead during the pandemic, we decided to turn an area where we once had envisioned a log cabin into a vegetable garden. The chaotically overgrown flower bed followed by becoming a herb bed.
Because vegetables also need food, and our organic waste was just the perfect feast to nourish them, our next project was to built a compost area with old roof tiles that we found on the property.
Time passed, imperceptible, while our connection to the land and passion for the idea of sustainable living grew as everything else in this property: steadily and strongly.
Growing our own food helped us assimilate the cycle of life and the concept of abundance under a whole new light.
Today, the Orange Bloom Homestead has become a hands-on labour of love project.
Living off the land, reducing unecessary consumption, recycling as much as we can, and reusing reclaimed material to develop our countless garden and building projects have become our way of life.
Now, we are here to share our experiences as we go about our country lifestyle.
Whether you come to stay with us, join our virtual community of vegetable and fruit home growers, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook, our hope is to inspire you to embrace the joy of living more connected to nature.
Let us all embrace a sustainable lifestyle for the health of our mind, body and earth.