Living Without Money: I Quit Society to Live in the Countryside Alone

Money isn’t real, so I’m learning to grow my own food, sew my own clothes and live a life guided by nature. The rural countryside has taught me see the value in using my own hands, to find purpose in harvesting fresh fruit, building, cooking and making art. To always create more than I consume.

Our Book:
   / motherthemountain  ​
   / motherthemountain  ​
Anastasia's Instagram:    / anast.asia  ​
Julia's Instagram:    / juliavanderbyl  ​

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land.
In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined.

Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country.

We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.

Chapters:
0:00​ Escaping to the rural countryside and finding a new meaning of success
2:19​ Building a trellis from bamboo: purpose in using my hands to create
5:52​ Community is the real currency
7:01​ Harvesting wild berries: the importance of growing our own food
8:15​ Cooking and creating rather than consuming
10:40​ Harvesting bamboo and building community