5 minute read
‘The Meadows Trufferie’
A STORY ABOUT CREATING AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOME — Andrea Long, Colour Consultant and Founder of A Hint of Tint, shares her story about transforming two old sheds into an eco-friendly home in the Tarana Valley.
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Five years ago now, we purchased a beautiful block of land in Oberon. Fifty amazing acres, 1165 ft above sea level. The land overlooked the whole of the Tarana valley, and all the way to Bathurst. I had been keen to buy something in the Southern Highlands, but my father-in-law found this block and said if you don’t buy it I will. My husband convinced me that Oberon would provide me with the four seasons I was seeking, and particularly the cooler climate, and so the decision was made, the land was purchased, and we named it ‘Longview’ Long, being our surname, and the view, well it just went for ever…
Our block has three paddocks and three spring fed dams. It sloped gently downwards. There are several large boulders huddled in clusters, the boulders give the terrain an interesting jagged skyline. We are very high up and exposed, with little protection against the elements, but we knew the land had several positions to locate a house, a home that would nestle comfortably into the hillside.
Neither of us wanted to be city slickers with a country property they visited on weekends. The thought that the land would remain redundant did not appeal to either of us, and was not an option. As I had no desire to farm animals, we had to come up with a use for our new block of land. My husband came up with the idea of farming truffles. Truffles love the cool harsher climate that Oberon has to offer. More research, attendance at truffle conferences, and excursions to other truffle farms increased our knowledge of this growing industry.
My job was to research and understand the selection and training of a truffle dog. My two beautiful aging poodles were not showing the slightest interest in putting their paws up for the job at hand! Having chatted to several other truffle farmers, it became evident to me that you just needed a dog with a great sense of smell. The best advice I was given, and the advice that appealed to me the most, was to go to the pound with a handful of treats in my pocket. Take the dog that finds the treats first I was told. I am bearing this advice in mind for when the time is right to purchase the new addition to our family!
The truffle trees, either English oaks or hazelnut trees will be purchased with the spores, and after having our soil tested by the CSRIO, we were confident that we had the right ingredients to potentially produce truffles. It can take around four years to produce your first crop, and there are no guarantees of success when growing truffles. We decided we were prepared to take that gamble, and our first batch of trees will now be planted in the next couple of months. ‘The Meadows Trufferie’ was born, the sign was firmly attached to front gate, The ‘Longs’ were about to embark on their latest business venture.
We dug for bore water in the bottom paddock; we needed to water our truffles. The truffles would be planted in the top paddock, exposed to all the elements. For growing truffles, we had learned, the tougher the climate, and the more distressed the trees were, the more likely we were to succeed with a crop.
My father in law had a couple of very run down old site sheds in Sydney. He showed them to me and asked if I wanted to use them. Recycling was appealing to my husband and I, we both thought this was an
excellent idea. After closer inspection of our newly found sheds, my husband designed a small house joining the two site sheds together, connecting them with a small mudroom at the front entrance.
A snow roof with a steel frame would cover the entire structure. This would allow us to build a verandah at the front, overlooking the stunning view.
There was no power on our land, and we wanted to create an eco-friendly home, it was important to us both. The site sheds would have solar power and tank water. The oven and fridge were powered by gas. We were setting ourselves up with some temporary accommodation, a place to stay, whilst we embarked on our project as truffle farmers.
We put in a new kitchen, very simple with a mirrored splash back. The reflection of the view is sensational, and brings the outside in. The bathroom, which consists of a small vanity, toilet and a shower, is neat, tidy and big enough for the two of us. A small potbelly stove nestles into one corner of the room. The potbelly stove will generate enough heat into our small space, and cook a fabulous casserole on the top if ever needed. Fuel for the fire was available on the land in abundance – someone just needed to do the chopping!
We managed to fit a new Queen-size bed in comfortably, as well as a sofa bed in the lounge room. Both of us are guilty of rescuing chairs off the streets during council clean ups. In fact we’ve had to draw a hold to this decadent pastime, as we can’t keep up with the restoration process. My office is becoming more and more cluttered with the furniture collection. The table and chairs in our newly furnished home were both rescued off the streets. Slowly but surely progress is being made on the interior.
Although this is a project in the making and the photographic evidence of our achievements thus far appear to be minimal, It should be mentioned that this has never been, nor will it ever be a full time venture – but a work in progress. We have always been two very busy people, city people. We wanted to do what we considered to be the right thing by the land, respect the environment, and contribute in some way to the local farming community.
I think it would be fair to say we are on the pathway to succeeding in our endeavours.
Andrea Long www.ahintoftint.com.au
