That's why, today, I wanted to do a feature on my own free range and organic meat and veggie supplier, Terre Madre. No longer do we have to go hunting for food down aisles in grocery stores we'd rather avoid! Gillian simply sends out a list every week telling us what's available, we fill in the quantities we want of each, and she delivers it right to our door on a Thursday or Friday. The quality is guaranteed and her prices are really competitive.
I did a little interview with Gillian so that you all could get to know her, and her business, and hopefully support her! It's so hard to get a business up and running under any circumstances, but when you are up against the likes of Woolworths and Pick n Pay, it can be even harder. That's why I believe it's so important to support entrepreneurs like Gillian. The advantages are that you don't even have to leave your house to go shopping, you are getting good quality food LOADED with nutrients AND you have the added bonus of knowing that you are doing your bit for the environment by supporting sustainable agriculture and happy, healthy animals. What is there to lose really?
Introducing Terre Madre
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| Terre Madre is owned, and run, by Gillian O’Shea |
From the corporate world to life on a farm! It must have been a bit scary taking that leap of faith, to give up a secure job and step into the unknown! Did you always know it was going to happen and what was the journey that led you to that final decision to take the step?
Well I grew up on a smallholding so it’s not foreign to me; in fact it’s probably more like going back to where I started. Yes it’s scary to say goodbye to the security of a fixed salary every month but it becomes easier when you realise that the fixed salary is more like a prison sentence. So many people work in jobs they don’t like, for ‘secure’ salaries and they are miserable. I was one of those people. We stay in jobs we don’t like out of fear. Life is too short. We need to face our fears head on – spend our time doing what we enjoy, not waste our lives away. Besides, are those jobs really so ‘secure’. The journey that led me to the final decision to leave the corporate world was a long one but when I made my mind up I moved quite fast. The short version of the story is…working for people I can’t respect because of what they do and stand for. The long version may get me into trouble but seriously, I’ve been fortunate to work in some great companies. I just don’t think I am cut out for that world and South Africa needs more entrepreneurs.
Why the name Terre Madre? How did you come to it?
The name came to me. It was more like . . . waiting for me. Terra Madre is Italian for mother earth. Since a little girl I would have sleepless nights thinking about how we humans decimate our planet, its animals and resources…more often than not for the sake of money. My first magazine subscription was to WWF when I was 9 years old! A few years ago I went to see someone for something called cord cutting. Another long story . . . anyway, during that session she says to me my purpose is to nurture. I’m like the next Mother Theresa say says. I say to her hold your horses! As much as she has always been an icon and role model for me, I don’t want that - it sounds to draining and the poor woman never did anything for herself! I just want to live and be happy, buy pretty things and go on holidays!
I’ve also been told my purpose is to empower. I even once worked as a manager for a division called M Power, go figure. Look, the whole finding your purpose thing is also another story for another day. I believe our purpose is to be happy, love and live. Do what makes you happy and the means (money) will come from that. My starsign is Taurus and I am a typical one, in all ways! I am earthy and need to be in nature often otherwise I get grumpy and out of sorts. I was born catholic and my second name is Theresa…so you see how the name sort of was always there for me. It feels right. But the synergy of the name and the business is that we need to get back to living with nature and mother earth and not against or without regard for. The world is all messed up. We eat foods containing pesticides, genetically modified material and hormones. We use so many toxic chemicals, on ourselves and in our homes. We are killing ourselves and our planet. And do we really care? We all talk about it but how many of us are actually doing something about it? People are also realising this way of living isn’t working but they are not sure what to do differently. Start small, start somewhere, start with yourself.
You do kinesiology too. What made you choose it and what exactly does it entail?
About 10 years ago I was retrenched from a company and looking back it was a blessing because although it was devastating for me it also pushed me to think about what is it that I want to do with the rest of my life. During that period I took a bit of a break from work and life (let’s call it a mild depression:) I came across a book by Louise Hays called ‘You can heal your life’. It literally changed my life and I can recommend that everyone should read it. During this period I realised I wanted to know more about health, psychology, how the mind and body works but also about karma, consciousness and other concepts. This led me to study Specialised Kinesiology. It’s a wonderful modality that touches on nearly everything. Took me 6 years because I studied part- time while working but it was worth it.
You also studied permaculture. What exactly is that?
Permaculture is a practical design concept applicable from the balcony to the farm, from the city to the wilderness. It enables people to establish productive environments providing for food, energy, shelter, material and non-material needs, as well as the social and economic infrastructure that support them. The concept was first developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in Tasmania in 1974, leading to a world-wide movement. Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environments, our use of resources and how we service our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not only for the present, but for future generations.
From a philosophy of co-operation with nature and each other, of caring for the earth and people, it presents an approach:
• to designing environments which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems,
• to regenerate damaged land and
•to preserve environments which are still intact.
Permaculture encourages the individual to be resourceful and self-reliant, to become a conscious part of the solution to the many problems which face us both locally and globally. This covers the whole range from the production of our food to the design of our residential areas and management of natural environments and to the daily activities in which we invest our time, skills and money. Permaculture practice leads to conscious imaginative design and involvement in a productive agricultural system in relation to the needs, activities and contributions of the people who culture that land. This has a positive influence on the long term health and well-being of both man and the natural processes on the land.
I gather from your website that you literally go and BUILD an organic garden for people! Have I got that right and how difficult is that to do? What is actually involved there?
Yes that’s part of what I do. Through Terra Madre people can order fresh produce on a weekly basis and have it delivered to their homes or offices. I work with about 7 other organic and permaculture suppliers in order to offer this service. Then I also consult so I can design and implement a food garden for people and either do it myself or show them how to do it.
A lot of people have no clue where to get free range and organic produce. That's the main reason I wanted to feature Terre Madre actually. You source, and supply Gauteng with organic and free range produce on a weekly basis. We have been clients for several months as well! I know you grow a lot of the produce yourself but how did you go about sourcing everything else? It's so difficult to know if animal products are REALLY free range. There seems to be little regulation in terms of that whereas organic is far more regulated. Was it difficult to find ethical suppliers and what kind of checklist did you use to ensure they were up to your standards?
Thanks for your support Melanie. Yes I grow some myself but as my business is only 12 months old it takes a while to establish market gardens so I do source from other suppliers too, also for diversity. It’s tough finding enough produce that’s ‘slow’ and organic and it takes a while for customers to get away from the instant gratification mentality of being able to buy anything at any time and expecting it to look perfect and last a long time. With regards to my suppliers they all feel the same way I do. Believe me you don’t get rich quick by being passionate about growing food organically and raising free range animals. You do it because you can’t help yourself and can’t deal with the alternative. Yes maybe it’s not regulated but it’s costly to become certified. It’s really not easy to be an entrepreneur and it’s not a supportive environment. The government needs to do more to assist people who want to grow the economy and change negative ways of doing things. How ethical is it that the stuff sold in supermarkets is even available for human consumption and at what cost to the planet and animals? Not all my suppliers are certified but they are a lot better than mainstream suppliers and at least they are trying to farm more consciously.
People are so used to ALL foods being available to them all year round. They are simply unaware that everything has a season and that it's actually chemicals, hormones, bad agriculture and mistreatment of animals that MAKE everything available to them all year round. I know that I also took a while to adjust to having to do without things for a few months as I transitioned to organic! What are your thoughts on all of that and how do you get around that issue with customers who expect more?
I send them back to mainstream supermarkets lol
The more word spreads, the bigger the business is going to grow. Are you interested in going more large scale and employing people to do all the hard work you're doing yourself or do you actually enjoy the personal touch? I'd imagine it would be a challenge to keep things up to the standards you prefer, if things are on a larger scale?
Yes I want to grow the business and employ more people. It must be sustainable in all ways.
Following on from the previous question, what are your future plans for Terre Madre? (I personally hope you plan to be doing this for a very long time because I'm not sure what we would do without you!)
Well if people keep ordering and requesting food gardens I will be around a long time :) Future plans are big and involve permaculture schools in all our provinces but we need funding and government support for this.
If you would like to get onto Gillian's mailing list, you can send her an email at: terramadresa@gmail.com or visit her her website and browse around to learn more about Terre Madre.
Please feel free to spread the word and support not only Terre Madre, but also our local farmers who are working really hard to sustain our planet and provide us with wholesome, organic food!
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