Tanderum French Island

TANDERUM ~

The name of our 40 acre farm is an Aboriginal word of the Wurundjeri tribe meaning

'a ceremony involving the presentation of gifts and the granting to others of free passage across one's land'.

We have given it this name to reflect our philosophy of creating a shared environment and whilst we enjoy the solitude and remoteness that French Island provides, we also set out to create a place people could feel free to share. We hope it also represents our philosophy of taking care of this small piece of land - farming it in a way that is sustainable for us and for the future.

With that as an underlying philosophy we are using organic methods for our 1000 tree olive grove (French Island Olives). In addition we have a small herd of non-breeding llamas to provide a small tourist enterprise (French Island Llama Experience). The property is run by an alternative energy system almost entirely dependent on wind and solar power. We have constant hot water provided by the sun (and the rain!) supplemented by a woodheater. At present we burn dead wood from in and around our property but have planted woodlot trees for the future. We have a composting toilet leaving only the grey water to be processed through a series of drainage channels. We recycle as much as possible and find creative uses for all sorts of our and other people's junk!

We have a large organic vegetable patch and a small mixed fruit orchard which produce much of our food. The greenhouse provides a micro-climate for propagating olives and indigenous plants from locally collected seed and germinating vegetable seeds. We have planted over 2000 trees and continue a round of planting each autumn to provide wildlife habitat, shelter and land management trees.

To add to the character and production of Tanderum we have free - ranging chooks and ducks (French Island enjoys a fox - free environment), 2 orphaned Angora goats, 4 alpacas, and 2 Clydesdale horses.

After a day's work we take in the beautiful view and the tranquillity that French Island provides.

Come and share the fun!