{"id":227,"date":"2015-11-10T08:38:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T08:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerolivier.com\/?post_type=portfolio&p=227"},"modified":"2026-05-15T21:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T21:42:06","slug":"woofers","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/kerolivier.com\/?portfolio=woofers","title":{"rendered":"Contributors"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At the beginning there was Paul. He had the idea, the vision, the drive, the commitment. He set the standards and led the way. No one else could do what he did, work with him, even. He couldn\u2019t tolerate it. I could never have imagined myself taking charge, stepping in his shoes, no matter how much I loved our project, I had none of the necessary skills, not by a long shot. We even talked about it: If he were to have a fatal accident, what should I do? Sell the farm and keep the little house for the kids and holidays to remember their father by. But once he had marked out the path in his inimitable way, he went away leaving me to \u00a0\u00abmanage the rest \u00bb. \u00a0It took me less than 48h to accept my new role of full responsibility. It was the most natural thing in the world to take charge. It was like his death imbibed me with his vision and it became my own.<\/p>\n

Since then, so many wonderful people have spent time on this farm, rolled up their sleeves, contributed ideas and created wonderful memories. They are all part of\u00a0 the Kerolivier family. Being able to document their special input here gives me the opportunity to acknowledge their contribution and let them know (once again) how much I appreciate their part in this story. I\u2019m so proud of us all.<\/p>\n

Between us we have constructed walls, animal shelters, a hemp and lime bathroom and composting toilet, planted a forest garden, created wildlife ponds, made cider, beer and other alcohol from our own produce, cut, transported and stacked endless amounts of firewood, serviced and repaired old clapped out vehicles…all the things he could do and more, one man of a million talents.<\/p>\n

\u2026and how many hours have we spent putting the world to rights, discussing, politics, metaphysics and more over coffee as I used to with him?<\/p>\n

Often we had scarcely adequate technical skills to support our enthusiasm but we learned to ignore imagined limits. Unique pasts bring unique experience:\u00a0 \u00a0KM spent years in the circus as a trapeze artist, looking after horses and lions, which has proved useful for herding highland cattle, snake charming and trimming the high branches.<\/p>\n