“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anias Nin

Reflecting on the last weeks and listening to the birdsong drifting through the open window, we are grateful for the joy that these bird beings exude as they celebrate the return of warmth and light. This time of year feels like an invitation to welcome new life, to cherish each bud that appears and revel in the little reminders of renewal that are all around, if we just slow down enough to notice them. 

In this newsletter we would love to share some updates from Terranu, as well as introduce you to our Community Investment Circle. You also let us know that you would like to hear a bit more about the things that are challenging or not going as planned, and we’ll end with our month of gratitude practice.

Equinox & Learning Village

To celebrate the spring equinox on March 21st we picked wild edible spring greens for a campfire soup and gathered bright yellow gorse flowers to make a gorgeous and very potent natural dye to make leaf imprinted spring eggs. The children crafted Silent Spirits out of clay with the intention to bring attention to the different senses. The Silent Spirits were taken to nature spots to accompany us to “hear, feel, smell and see” the arrival of spring.

On and around the Farm

We finally had a warm enough day to get the foundation posts into the ground for the polytunnel. The endless rain has meant that it has gone a bit slower than we had hoped, but if the winds and weather cooperate we will hopefully have it fully up in the next two weeks. Meanwhile we are busy shaping the garden beds and we have built a hare/rabbit fence around the garden. Our seedlings are growing bigger in a temporary home and are eagerly awaiting their new beds!

After the wonderful tree planting weekend we have been watching the whips for signs of taking hold. And finally the tender leaves of the hawthorn and birch are budding and the willow catkins are popping out everywhere!

Things that have gone wrong?!

It’s always harder to admit publicly the failures of a project like this,  but the reality is that prototyping and making many mistakes seems to be the quickest way to learn. So let’s say our mistakes are learning opportunities. One major mourning from the last weeks is the extent of hare damage on some of the particular trees & hedging that we planted. It is heartbreaking to see a perky willow, filled with fluffy catkins neatly “cut” at hare height! Luckily willows are robust and long to grow and set roots, so we have harvested/replanted the cut off bits and are working even harder to keep the hares out of this particular field. Another learning opportunity was the digging of the perennial bed for the rhubarb, which was curved to fit the land but in the end has mostly acted as a water catchment, and basically is flooding the rhubarb beds. Quick action with trench digging is a short term solution. We definitely learned that the soil on this field is quickly saturated with water, which there is lots of.

Community Investment Circle

This spring we are working to secure the long-term financial stability of Terranu through a community of impact investors. Based on our regenerative values, a ‘community mortgage’ will allow us to bypass exorbitant interest rates that serve to increase profits for commercial banks (current offers for farm loans in Ireland are around 7-9%). Our dream is to build relationships with people who are investing not only for financial return but recognize the other forms of impact they are enabling by lending to us. Such as increased biodiversity, availability of organic food, nature connection and community cohesion.

We are looking to finance €200.000 and currently have the first €75.000 pending. An example investment would be in the range of €5.000 - €50.000 for a period of 10-20 years at an interest rate of 2-4%, or against an in-kind interest. Of course we can customize the amount, term, and interest rate as appropriate. 

We feel inspired to finance Terranu in this innovative way, also as a way of prototyping community-led impact financing. In developing this strategy we have been advised by a financial consultant with >20 years of experience in financing organic farms, a lawyer in Ireland, and we have spoken to a regenerative farm in Spain that has successfully set up a similar ‘community mortgage’ last year.

By investing in Terranu your money becomes active in landscape restoration, your interest rate is higher than in your regular savings account and you become part of creating a healthy future. If you are interested to join as an investor and if you would like more information, get in touch via invest@terranu.ie

Gratitude Month

As we navigate the challenges of starting up Terranu, we're reminded of the power of gratitude. In the midst of rain, mud and the occasional overwhelm of an ever growing to-do list it can be easy to focus on what's not going right, but taking time to appreciate what we do have can shift our perspective and bring more reality into our lives. 

Because in reality life is just briliant at offering us exactly what we need to grow and move forward. And there is so much beauty and abundance patiently waiting to be noticed. 

That's why we’ve started a 30-day gratitude practice. Each day, we will look for things to be grateful for and name them out loud. We’ll post daily gratitude stories on instagram no matter how big or small...  

We believe that by cultivating gratitude, we can not only improve our well-being in the moment but also contribute to a more abundant and sustainable future for ourselves and others. Who's with us? Hop on @terranu.ie