I grew up in Kenya, in a close-knit African family where education mattered, culture was lived rather than explained, and working with our hands was simply part of everyday life. We grew food, made things from scratch, shared what we had, and understood that community was something you participated in.
Those early lessons never left me.
Years later, after building a life and career in education, my journey brought me to Australia and to my Welsh husband, Gareth. Together we built a successful business and a life in Sydney. Then the pandemic changed everything.
So we did something a little wild.
We bought a 4WD Toyota Coaster bus and began travelling around Australia. Somewhere along that journey, Port Macquarie caught my heart. There was something familiar in the open land, the birdsong, and the slower rhythm of life. We sold our Sydney home, bought a small acreage, and began again.
We called it The Arcadia.
What started as a home has slowly grown into something much bigger: a place where food is grown and preserved, old skills are remembered, ideas are tested, things are built by hand, animals are part of the family, and people can reconnect with the simple pleasure of making, sharing, and learning.
I still proudly work part-time at our local community college as a Youth and Community Programs Officer. Whether I’m teaching in a classroom or digging barefoot in the garden, being connected to people is part of who I am.
Gareth and I bring different histories and different strengths to this place. I dream, grow, cook, create, and imagine what might be possible. He builds, repairs, problem-solves, and somehow finds a way to make many of those ideas real.
The Arcadia is where our stories meet — African roots, Welsh heritage, and an Australian bush home that continues to teach us both.
We are still building it. Still learning. Still growing.
And now, we are ready to share it.