Milk before breakfast, eggs before school, honey at the end of summer. Animals are not an afterthought on a Zen Valley plot; they are why the plot is five kanal.
Goats
A shed for four to six goats sits downwind of the house, with a run and access to the orchard's shade in summer. Goats are hardy, happy on the valley's scrub, and give more milk than a family drinks. Their manure goes straight into the compost and from there into the garden and the grain patch.
Hens
A dozen hens in a simple run, fed on kitchen scraps and garden surplus, keep a family in eggs all year and take care of most of the pests in the vegetable beds. Children usually claim the hens as their job within the first month.
Bees
Two or three hives in the orchard do two things: they pollinate the fruit, which is why Zen Valley orchards crop heavily, and they give honey. The learning centre teaches beekeeping in spring and autumn and helps with the first year.
The animals feed the soil, the soil feeds the garden, the garden feeds the family.
Who looks after them when you travel
Neighbours. That is what a community is for, and the learning centre keeps a rota for families who are away.
