Mother The Mountain Farm

It's been a magical week, harvesting abundant fruit and cooking from nature.

The rainforest brings calm as we watch the summer rain and paint a portrait in the art studio. We reflect on our travels and settle back into our life on the farm.

Some peaceful, calming scenes from the past year in the rain forest. Let the sounds of tropical rain, birds, waterfalls and babbling streams transport you into another world. This raw, unfiltered video is a little gift of calm from us to you - to thank you for joining us through this special year. We’ve been in London exhibiting our art alongside the launch of our book, and experiencing so many new sights and sounds. But it is these soft moments of rainforest living that ground us, and we can’t wait to return home to the mountains and gardens and animals. Lots of love from us to you! We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land. In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined. Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country. We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.

🌱 Julia creates a painting of herself in the stream, and Anastasia cooks from food harvested from the trees.

Join us as we celebrate, harvest, paint, sew and pick many flowers from the garden for a special event.

We've been harvesting, cooking, painting and caring for all the animals.

his traditional life in the countryside has taught us many lessons - but mostly we’ve learned to find purpose in the simple things; planting trees, harvesting tropical fruit, gardening, growing food, and watching the seasons pass us by.

Spring is here in the Australian countryside and we’ve been busy! We’ve been gardening, regenerating the rainforest, sewing, up-cycling and enjoying a traditional way of life.

The painting in this video and so many more are documented in our book, alongside drawings, stories and practices of our life. Spring is such a magical time in the rainforest and we’ve been painting, baking and exploring the jungle waterholes. Julia’s art is always mesmerising and we’ve been reflecting a lot about nature, sustainability and our place on this earth.

This week we harvest, cook, sew and paint! We've been processing coffee from the tree and cooking with custard apples.

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land. In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined. Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country. We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.

I set on on an impossible challenge, to sew a fairy dress from silk that has as many seams as a dragonfly's wing.

In the springtime we harvest tropical fruit and cook delicious tempeh rice paper rolls. The garden is blooming with colourful flowers and we find

In our last days of travel in the USA - we set up camp above a magical waterfall, and slowed down in the simplicity of nature living. We enjoyed every moment of calm: cooking outdoors from foraged food, and sleeping to the sounds of water flowing.

We drove 1000’s of miles across the USA and Canada, going an a huge adventure full of painting, cooking, and wild river frolicking! We learnt so much about ourselves along the way.

I set out on a challenge that I thought I would fail: hiking up high in the mountains of Washington and camping in a tiny cabin onto of the cliffs. It was the hardest but most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done!

This week has been scary and magical all at once — there are highs and lows to travelling alone and some days you’re embraced by clear mountain water and others you’re being towed to a random town. Join me for the whole journey as I start my solo adventure travels in the USA.

A raw and calming film of harvesting from the garden and cooking outdoors. Something else really big and exciting happened this week – and we can’t wait to share!

Winter in the rainforest is magical so we savour it; we jump in cool water and feel the depth of the season. But, it's also a very busy time on the farm - fencing, building, mending and caring for all of the animals. It's a balance between hard work and meaningful moments, but that’s what makes this simple life so special.

I think that the secret to a slow life is to see wisdom in each simple thing; to find meaning in the ordinary and joy in the everyday. It is the simplicity of growing your own food, noticing the beauty of nature, and feeling the seasons pass alongside you. Inner peace is found when we use our hands to build, mend, garden, harvest and sew, but this simple life is much more complex than we think. It is filled with hardship and struggles, and work that never ends — but each drawback is balanced by equal magic.

We've been harvesting and cooking from nature! The trees are abundant and winter's misty mornings are magical.

Autumn in the rainforest brings bright blue waters, abundant fruit and golden days. Join us this week as we hike, care for all the animals, garden and enjoy the end of the season.

I renovated a 100 year old singer sewing machine and this week, I used it to chainstitch embroider a skirt from scraps of old jeans. I learned that creativity is what brings happiness and purpose to our lives. Living with zero waste is more than just sustainability lifestyle — it is an artful way of life, filled with curiosity, freedom and personal growth.

We've been painting, sewing, harvesting abundant fruit and exploring waterfalls. Its been a golden week in the magical rainforest!

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land. In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined. Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country. We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.