Get to know team Source
Who we are
We are three people who have had the desire for years to live and work in a more harmonious environment, closer to nature. In February 2022 we decided to give shape to this desire and visited the Ariège in the South of France for the first time. We fell in love and spent many months in the next years to look for land, build up a network and get to know the culture, nature and environment. Our ideas came to fruition when we found a plot of land where we could realise our ideas. In the spring of 2024 we were invited by the mayor of a tiny village above Ax-Les-Thermes to use at least 12 hectares of land in his municipality. We have officially immigrated to France and have been living in that municipality since then.
How we work
A lot of our work in the past years has been to learn skills relevant to the project, to integrate well in the area, and the village we now live, and to build up strong loving bonds with the people in our direct environment. Next to that it was a lot of inner work; looking at all the limiting beliefs that might inhibit us from realising our dreams. We are strong believers that our reality is a reflection of our internal world. This is a work in progress, as it will always be, but we have learned a great deal in the past years and have grown to be confident in who we are and what we do, as individuals and as a team.
As a team, we work very close together on each step we take within project Source. It is important to us that when decisions are made in our project, all opinions are heard, because we each have our unique skillset and wisdom to contribute. Sometimes that might take a little longer, but it leads to the realisation of ideas that are more durable and firm. Next to that, we also have our personal qualities in which we shine.
Sarah
She knows all about plants. With an education in food forestry, she will confidently give our food forest shape. She also knows how to process the harvest, being an excellent cook. Her sense of smell is one of her leading senses, she creates perfumes and also edible, fermented recipes.
Sarah likes to educate children in the world of edible wild plants. She will walk with them through the fields and the forests and stick every new adventurous ingredient in her mouth. This example leads to wonderful conversations with our youngest generations. Yes, we could eat more wild plants, but what about poisonous ones? And will we not harm nature or animal habitats when we pick a flower? She loves the bigger questions about how to find balance between nature and humanity.
In project Source she finds the space to connect with nature herself, but also to create an environment where everyone can learn together. She also loves animals, and creating such a safe environment for them that they can prosper and learn new things. Our chickens can give you an impressive flight show! She doesn’t like to say she ‘trained’ them because she has strong opinions about being a protector, not a boss of the animal world. She creates enrichment and fun for our animals, but also takes care of them when they are ill. Her passion for animal wellness is also practiced through massages and acupressure therapy.
Florence
Florence is the wool lady of the project. She studied philosophy and politics with a desire to change society, but realised that the best thing she could do was to change herself. She decided to put her feet on the ground and create a life based on her ideals. For starters, this meant to learn something that is practical for the basics in life: clothes! She started knitting first and discovered that while knitting, her mind became calmer and her body relaxed. That launched her into a pursuit of all things wool and she spend many hours in both the Netherlands and France to learn to spin, to felt and to weave. Florence brings this knowledge to the project and gives workshops in the transforming of wool to garments. With many spinning wheels and knitting needles, she aspires to share the peace of doing something with your hands.
Esmee
She is good with numbers. Having a technical background, she educated herself in 3D architectural design to give shape to all our building dreams.
She studied Econometrics and Operations Research in the Netherlands and while doing so was on a very different path until her first visit to the Ariège. It clicked. She realized she did not want to spend all her time behind a computer predicting stock markets. The simpler farmer life in the Ariège touched her in her heart. She loves to be in connection, with everything around her. Many things are still new to her but she enjoys the adventure of exploring how to interact with animals, how to learn to recognize new plants and how to construct new buildings. And she is good at it too.
She likes to observe animals. She dreams of herding, with a lot of joy, the goats to the fields and back to shed, the one she so carefully designed. She can spend a day sitting in the field and observing what is happening around her and it will be one of her happiest days. She also loves to teach children all the things she has learned in the past years, about nature, animals and life.
It is her greatest joy to create this space to share it with more people that feel the need for a space to connect, explore, create and be present.
Currently Source is a team of three but we have a wish to expand this as there are many more ideas to brings into fruition than we can realise with just three!
Meet Our Team (Animals)
Mirabel
She is the alpha lady. The most adult of the group. She makes sure everyone behaves, but we could not wish for a better matron.
Othello
Our adult bantam rooster. He is the definition of size does not say everything. He is also kind and loves his ladies. He loves to dance.
Olympe
Our bearded beauty. She is extremely sweet and intelligent. She is always up for a hug. She is a very good judge of character.
Brunhilde
A reincarnation of a dinosaur. She can fly very well and loves to give shows for kids. She will sleep on your lap for hours.
Ollie
She/he loves cucumbers, will eat a whole one in one sitting and wants to roost on your head. We do not know if it is a she or a he.
Draco
Our impressive very small boy. He feels like he is as large as the world though. He loves hugs and being close to you.
