Behind The Story: Mt Gnomon Farm
In north-west Tassie, right up the top within sight of the ocean there is a locally famous farm called Mount Gnomon, named for a nearby mountain. The two young farmers there, Guy and Eliza, raise rare heritage breeds, mostly Wessex Saddleback pigs but also Shropshire sheep and some impressive-looking Scottish Highland, Belted Galloway and Dairy Shorthorn cows. And a few ducks and chickens but we didn't see much of them.
The story of Guy and Eliza is a good one and you can read more about it here, and you can read my account of our visit to their farm. They're soon to open a tourism centre - farm tourism that is - that will include a cafe, butchery and orchard. It's all very inspiring and ambitious yet completely inline with the infectious enthusiasm these two bring to their work and lives.
Two things characterised our Tassie trip - it was bloody cold (unsurprising given it was winter in the southernmost state) and every place we visited has the highest standards of environmental care and animal welfare. Mount Gnomon was no exception. It was wonderful to walk around a farm and talk with farmers that cared so deeply for their lives and lifestyle of their animals. The pigs live free range, snuffling and digging the ground, wallowing in the rich red mud and suckling from their mothers until they naturally wean. There are shelters and paddocks but no barns or stalls and the animals come and go as they please.
We fed the pigs, cuddled a piglet (Lilly), kept a respectful distance from the shaggy hair and curving horns of the Scottish Highlands, breathed in the cold mountain air, and dreamed a little daydream of living a life just like this.
About the author: Lilani Goonesena is an Australian freelance writer, Squarespace web designer and blogger currently living in Vientiane, Laos. She is passionate about helping freelancers and small businesses get online with web design and content, blogging and her awesome weekly newsletter on digital marketing, social media, content, SEO, web design and "all that online stuff". She also writes food and travel articles for businesses and magazines, and blogs at the delectable Eat Drink Laos, just for fun.