About Us
Cherishing
Mother Earth, the source of our nourishment, our lives and our survival
Michele & John
It was on a bus snaking its way around the glorious bush-clad mountainsides of the Pelion, Greece, that John and Michele – the owners and operators of Stonecircle Organics – had their epiphany. When they returned home they were to buy some land.
John and Michele
They weren't sure why, but that became apparent later as they 'wwoofed' (willingly workers on organic farms) in Ireland, Greece and India.
Over time their vision grew and it was realised in November 2005 when they shifted from Christchurch onto Stonecircle Farm near Amberley. An organic market garden seemed to be their next career move.
Both of them had 'dabbled' with their own organic home gardens but neither of them had any knowledge or experience in a commercial horticulture operation of this scale. John is a retired kindergarten teacher ( from Christmas 2007) and Michele resigned from midwifery august 2006. Both of them now work fulltime on the farm.
Our Stonecircle
Creating our Stonecircle was one of the first special tasks we undertook on the farm with the help of family and friends who each contributed with their own special rock. We didn't fully understand the significance of the name when we called our farm Stonecircle. At the time it felt 'right'.
View of our completed Stonecircle
It was on reading "Song of the Old Tides" by Barry Brailsford later that we learnt of its importance to us...
"Within the stone that is the crust of our planet, Io placed the building blocks of life, all the elements necessary for the creation of life. Everything that grows and moves, brings forth seed to produce its own likeness, owes its beginnings to stone. Stone is indeed, our first ancestor..." (p45)
Soil is born of stone and is the foundation, the mantle covering Our Mother Earth that provides our sustenance.
The circle is eternal, having no beginning and no end. It represents the forms and cycles of life and the universe.
The circle has now grown with the placing of 8 sentinels around the inner circle of stones. It is a place of peace for us.