Two hands in the soil, one life growing wild.
We're Lindsay & Chris — a duo who garden, cook, grow mushrooms, and wander the world trying to live a little closer to the ground.
Explore what we grow
We're Lindsay & Chris — a duo who garden, cook, grow mushrooms, and wander the world trying to live a little closer to the ground.
Explore what we grow
This short documentary was written, filmed, and edited by Lindsay, after she spent two weeks living at the Pachamama Center — an eco-village, meditation center, and sustainable living project in the rolling hills of Slovenia — in October 2023. It's become something of a mission statement for us: a look at an alternate way of living, away from the hustle of the Western lifestyle, and a sense of the direction we're hoping to keep moving in.
Gardening, cooking, and growing mushrooms aren't side projects for us — they're how we spend most of our days, and most of our joy.
Simple, seasonal food — cooked slowly, eaten together, rarely following a recipe twice.
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From grow bags in the shed to logs in the woods — mushrooms taught us patience.
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growing something worth tending
Real reviews from people we've volunteered for and house/pet-sat for, via Workaway and TrustedHousesitters.
"We loved everything about Christophe and Lindsay looking after our house and Pips. Pips was delighted with so many walks and cuddles, and was extremely happy to be in the care of such a lovely, kind couple. The house was spotless on our return, the sheets all washed, and a lovely vegan curry was ready for us when we walked in the door. We would welcome them back with open arms at any time."Annette, Hythe, England — TrustedHousesitters
"Chris and Lindsay were incredibly conscientious guests and carers. They were patient and attentive with our cat, sending regular updates. They left our house cleaner than when they came, including a generous offering of sourdough starter and a sample of their gorgeous bread. We can't say enough good things and would gladly have them back any time."Devon, Toronto, Canada — TrustedHousesitters
"We had an instant connection with both Christophe and Lindsay. They are kind and warm people, organized and self-sufficient. Communication was easy, and they went an extra step with special care for Kiki. Our birds are mega happy and healthy after their sit. Our place was in good condition on our return, and they even waited for us with an amazing pumpkin pasta! We really appreciate everything they did and wish them good luck in their new adventures."Mihai & Sorina, Brussels, Belgium — TrustedHousesitters
"Chris and Lindsay were great. Lindsay makes the most fabulous vegan food, is well organized, and a great seamstress amongst other qualities. Chris was a great help with a variety of maintenance jobs from roofing and making a new door for the garden shed, as well as gathering wood and baking delicious bread…"Host review, Workaway
"Christophe and Lindsay were amazing to have around on our farm, and are very grateful to have received their help this spring! They were thoughtful, hardworking, self starting and did a good job on everything we needed help with. They were also super easy going, and brought a nice energy to our home, as well as amazing new food…"Heartfelt Homesteading, Workaway host
"Christophe was with us as a resident for nearly 6 months. He was responsible for the daily care of some of our most vulnerable animals, and helped with their special needs as well as their feeding, which are tasks that are not assigned lightly…"Peaceful Animal Sanctuary, Workaway host
"Christophe and Lindsay were excellent sitters. They left the house spotless and looked after our pets as if they were their own. We cannot praise them enough and highly recommend them."Gerard, Alcobaça, Portugal — TrustedHousesitters
"Chris and Lindsay are a lovely young couple. We warmed to them immediately, as did Dora. They were charming and keen, asking lots of questions. While we were away they sent photos and videos of Dora, and on our return the flat was pristine. Thanks guys!"Maggie, TrustedHousesitters
"This was my first experience and I am very happy. They even prepared a meal the first evening. They took very good care of my cat and my house. I will contact them again if our paths cross. Very satisfied."Maria del Mar, Vlissingen, Netherlands — TrustedHousesitters
"Chris took such great care of our dog Mylee. We felt so comfortable while we were away. Thank you!"Melissa, TrustedHousesitters
Along the way, on Workaway and TrustedHousesitters, we've looked after all kinds of creatures.
We met wanting very ordinary things: good food, quiet mornings, a garden that actually produced something. Somewhere along the way that turned into volunteering at retreat centers on opposite sides of Europe, learning to grow mushrooms in a shed, and building a life that runs on seasons instead of schedules.
We don't have it figured out. We're just paying attention, together, and writing down what we learn.
Living close to nature. Growing and cooking our own food. Slow craft — fermenting, sewing, cultivating, building. Holding space for people passing through. Traveling not to collect places, but to learn how other people tend their small corner of the world.
None of it is a philosophy we read in a book. It's just what felt right once we slowed down enough to notice.
We're both vegan — not a rule either of us adopted overnight, but something we grew into separately, cooking mostly with what came out of the ground, and then found we shared once we met.
For us it's tied to everything else here: growing our own food, paying attention to where things come from, and trying to take up a little less space in the world than we might otherwise.
A sourdough starter that's been alive for years. Kimchi. Kombucha. A jar of chaga tincture steeping quietly on the shelf. Fermentation has become one of our favorite slow crafts — equal parts kitchen chemistry and patience.
It's a little unpredictable and impossible to rush, which turns out to be the perfect metaphor for most of what we've learned since we started this life: you can't hurry it along, you just have to keep feeding it.
Chris is inspired by Rob Greenfield's radical, hands-on relationship with waste and self-sufficiency, and by Thich Nhat Hanh's writing on presence — the idea that how you do something ordinary, like washing a dish or planting a seed, matters as much as what you do.
Lindsay's inspiration runs through Buddhism — not as a fixed practice, but as a way of paying attention: sitting with discomfort instead of avoiding it, and treating each small task, from mending a shirt to cooking a meal, as worth doing with care.
We share a house, a garden, and most of our days — but we didn't arrive here the same way. Here's a little about each of us on our own.
Lindsay trained in fashion design and spent years as a seamstress before trading a sewing studio for a garden. These days she's an all-out vegan cook, still sews and mends everything she can, and is slowly teaching herself fermentation — sourdough one week, kimchi the next.
Chris has worked an organic mushroom farm, helped run vegetable farms and a small ecovillage, and is quietly obsessed with fermentation — sourdough, kombucha, kimchi, whatever's on the shelf. He also builds websites and designs digital products for a living, this site included.
Apart, we're a seamstress-cook and a web designer with a taste for fermentation. Together, we're two people trying to grow as much of our own life as we can — one bed, one loaf, one grow bag at a time.
Travel
What it was like to trade a schedule for a hoe and a terraced hillside.
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Travel
Life inside a Buddhist retreat center, and what the silence taught us.
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Lindsay
Lindsay's chapter before the garden — a sewing studio, a fashion degree, and the slow pull toward growing her own food.
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Mushrooms
Growing our own, and what we learned exploring the Stamets protocol.
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Curious about volunteering, growing mushrooms, or just want to say hi? We'd love to hear from you.