Prince

And another year flew past and Nelson is a mom again. 

25November 2020

I was caught a bit off guard because I did not think she was due yet , but off course in hindsight, all the signs were there. 🙈

Prince to the world!  

He looks healthy, is latching fine, I could touch him easily on day 1 but he is a bit more skittish on day 2. Just another excuse to spend more time with them. 🥰

sunday lunch today is camping style

was busy cleaning ...or should i say derusting my cast iron pans and cast iron dish ( or skottel as we say in South Africa) and I decided to make Sunday Lunch on it....camping style.  

sooo easy, you need a hot fire initially and then slowly the food just simmer, cooking to perfection until you are ready to eat.  

i derusted the cast iron pans using a spraybottle with vinegar and a scrubbing brush.  i sealed it afterwards with vegetable oil.

they came out very black, rust free ....just waiting for a fire!

Lunch turned out not too shabby!

hope yours was good too...

#castiron  #campingstyle  #skottelkos  #campingfood #africanlunch
 

Speedy

Speedy is now a senior horse. He was already more than 9 years old when we got him and that was 12 years ago...so in human years he is in his 60s.  

And it shows...he is set in his ways, grumpy some days, ignores the younger animals , stiff in the mornings and at the moment loosing weight due to diarree.  

Got the vet out this morning because of his diarree and he gave Speedy antibiotics and a vit B booster shot. 

No horse deworming medication is available in Fiji at the moment but the minute he got a chance, Speedy took down 2 papaya trees! And that is an excellent natural deworming treatment....how clever is he not.  

So usually he does not have access to the papaya trees but untill the rains come and the grass starts growing again, I think we will sacrifice some trees for him. 

Laxmi had another calf

26 August 2020

Big was my surprise this afternoon when I went to check on Laxmi (she was clearly due) and found this little newborn calf.  It' s a .....he. 😞

Was hoping for a she 😌

 Lots of milk by the size of that udder .

Will start to milk her after a few days. 

Wood thieves!

Caught red handed! 

welcome...welcome!

at last!  after sooo many years we  finally said : "that's it! we doing it...now"

                                   NACIRIYAWA FARM STAY - FIJI
                             is welcoming you to our home. 

 Location : we are 12 km from Nadi International Airport in the rural, farming area of Saweni.  It is but a 15 minute drive from the airport and our farm is bordering an inlet with 1,2 km of waterfront, mangroves and marine life.

The farm house has an interesting history.  The original Hall was built in 1879 and most of the timber was Oregon Pine.  We bought the colonial era Hall in 2012 and used most of the timber to build our  cabin home.
We have 2 cabins , ensuite with an enclosed private garden.  The cabins are spacious and private and when you open the wide, barn style roller doors, you are in the garden!

We are off the grid on the farm, but has all the modern conveniences on generator and we even have wifi!

Claude and I offer a bed and breakfast service with an option for lunch and/or dinner if the chefs special of the day entice you! Meals are healthy and hearty, served family style and mostly al fresco!
the huge trees and twittering birds makes for peaceful living.

 
 Meals are prepared using fresh, organic ingredients .

It is a farm...we have animals.  We also have bugs and insects and noises and smells....and tranquility. and fresh air. and you will be surrounded by nature.

Lots to see and do in our area too! Besides relaxing on the farm, reading and just be, you could swim or kayak or take long walks .  There are a lot of touristy attractions in close vicinity and other resorts with pools and bars and people and dancing and restaurants.

                                       Come stay with us...and live life the way it should be.

Contact us by email :  naciriyawa@hotmail.com
or phone : +679 9288724/ +679 9240587
or connect with us on facebook :  Naciriyawa farmstay - Fiji
or book through Airbnb.


                                                                    Claude and Ronelle

tallow

We live quite a sustainable DIY life here on the farm.  There is always a project or two (or three) going...

I am now utterly convinced of the health benefits of Lard (pig fat)and has been using this in place of vegetable cooking oil for more than a year.

I received an order to make tallow (beef fat) for a very talented young woman that sells eco-friendly products and she wanted to experiment with tallow in her soap- and candle making projects. Olivia from Ecoconscious fiji is truely inspirational in her quest to live eco friendly.

Tallow is an alternative animal fat , similar to Lard which is made from pig fat.  It should be from grass fed animals.   It was the fat of choice for our grandparents before industrial seed oils (which is extremely inflammatory and bad for the heart) took over the market.  Basically, you make tallow by rendering beef fat. Rendering just means that the beef fat is heated and melted. Tallow is what the beef fat turns into when it is melted. Once it is cool again, tallow is solid at room temperature.

Tallow is made from rendering suet, which is the hard, white fatty layer that surrounds an animal's organs, specifically the loins and kidneys, also known as leaf fat. It takes hours of boiling over a slow heat but the end product is totally worth it.

It has a high smoke point and adds a lovely flavour to fried foods. Eating healthy animal fats like tallow, duck fat, butter, etc. along with foods helps us to absorb and assimilate the vitamins in those foods. For example, eating vegetables that have been fried in tallow or have melted butter on them allows our bodies to better absorb and use the vitamins in the vegetables and it tastes beyond yummy!

It is rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a fatty acid that can help burn fat that is high in minerals.

It is high in saturated fat, absorbing fat soluble vitamins A,B12, D, E and K which supports the immune system.

It is Keto friendly and an alternative to butter, lard, coconut oil or olive oil. (healthy fats)

Used in DIY home remedies and products , being the original "body butter" full of fatty acids that are the building blocks of skin cells.  Tallow is good outside and inside!

Used in soapmaking

Used in candlemaking

My tallow is sourced from grass-fed animals and I am proud to be making and selling it.