Family of six lives off less than $90 a week | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

pretty cool, wonder how much they have invested in the property overall

They're an intriguing family, the Vinbruxes. There's an Amish look to their hairstyles and clothing. You can put that down to home barbering and wardrobes from local op shops. From their conversation and the books on their shelves it's clear that they're well educated. Richard gained a degree in agriculture and qualified as a master baker in Germany and produces fabulous fare for the weekly Oamaru Farmers' Market while Christel holds a Masters in home economics from Germany and there's nothing she can't do with raw ingredients to make delectable meals.  

Christel and Richard arrived in Oamaru in 1998 with the first four of their five children, bought 12.5 hectares of undulating farmland, set up an Icelandic horse stud to generate an income and began farming according to the biodynamic principles of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Their home is built from logs and furnished with rustic German antiques. A reconditioned Shacklock stove cooks the food and heats the house. Pitch-roofed outhouses in the yard are painted in fanciful colours. One of these is a bakery with a wood-fired brick oven while another is a dairy equipped for producing cheeses, yoghurt, separated cream and milk. There's a brew house for making hooch. 

Weekly grocery bills for the household of six plus a few Woofers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) come to about $90, which covers such staples as flour, rice, salt, sugar and olive oil. Other than that, they eat what they grow in the vegetable gardens and raise in the paddocks. Most of the land is in pasture that supports the livestock: horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, hens, goats, bees, geese, turkeys, ducks and pigeons. There are any number of mouser cats with dogs for stock work and companionship. Over the years they've planted a 1.5-hectare mixed wood lot, a half-hectare orchard and another half hectare in vegetable beds.

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