INTRO
We have created this website to help realise our vision to buy land and to build an off-grid home.
As a missionary family, working with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) for the past 23/28 years, we are not in the position to do this alone and are therefore reaching out for help.
We invite you to find out a little more about us and our vision and to prayerfully consider partnering with us.
Thanks!
< 'TRABOCCO' - LOCAL COASTAL FISHING HUT AND INSPIRATION FOR OUR STILTED OFF-GRID HOME
MINTWOOD?
What's with the name Mintwood?
We wanted to give the project (our future home) a name. After praying I immediately thought of the name MintWood.
Perhaps I was inspired by our first walk through the field we hope to buy, where we were overwhelmed by the strong smell of fresh Mint.
For us Mint represents fresh new ideas, and Wood represents traditional Wisdom. We hope to combine these harmoniously in this project
< MINTWOOD VISUAL
OUR JOURNEY..
I'm Phil, and I am from Cardiff, Wales, my wife Lisanne is from Bristol, England. We met in 1991 while working in a Christian-run adventure camp in England. Around this time we both, independently, decided that we wanted to work in 'Missions' full time.
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I wanted to work with young people, and use my passion for architecture and sport to communicate the spectacular, original and stylish nature of God. Lisanne simply wanted to share the love of God with young people wherever God sent her.
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This led Lisanne to join YWAM and between 1992 and 1997 she served in Scotland, Colombia, Equador, NewZealand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Wales and the USA.
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During this time I studied architecture in New York, (preceded by a year working in Cardiff at a steel factory and an Italian restaurant to earn the money to pay the college fees).
I returned to Wales in 1996. Lisanne at this time was working with YWAM in Cardiff. We became good friends and eventually began dating.
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In 1998 we married, and began serving together. In 1999 we travelled to Uganda, Africa to manage a Christian Adventure Camp, modelled on the adventure camp we had met at, and run by the same British charity.
OUR FAMILY
ISAAC - 11
PASSIONS: MUSIC, RUGBY, PARKOUR
CHARACTERISTICS: CHEEKY, STRONG, ORIGINAL
LISANNE - MUM
PASSIONS: PEOPLE, TRAVEL, HUGS, THE SEA, WINE, COFFEE, CHATTING, ,
CHARACTERISTICS: ENCOURAGING, SPONTANEOUS, EXTROVERTED
PHILIP - DAD
PASSIONS: ARCHITECTURE, SPORT, MISSION
CHARACTERISTICS: ADVENTUROUS, CREATIVE, STRATEGIC THINKER
RYAN - 16
PASSIONS: WORKING WITH HIS HANDS, ANIMALS, CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES
CHARACTERISTICS: GENTLE, PLAYFUL, LOYAL
ETHAN - 13
PASSIONS - SKATEBOARDING, HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY, READING
CHARACTERISTICS: Â PENSIVE, DETERMINED, CONVERSATIONALIST
ECO - FEATURES
#Rain Water Harvesting #Orientation and Window placement to Maximise Passive Solar Gains
#Stilted Houses #Fruit Trees #Sheep's Wool Insulation #Minimal Building Envelope / Surface Area / #Compost Toilets #P.V. Solar Panels #Use of Natural Wood #Vegetable Garden #Hen House #Tiny House #Naturally Filtered Container Swimming Pool #Heat Pump Water Heater #BeeHive #Biogas Producer #Solar Oven #No Concrete #Reclaimed Materials
#Shading to Reduce Heat Gain in Summer #Window Placement to encourage Natural Ventilation
*We are passionate about all of the above features. We do not know if we will implement them all
ideas
Beauty and Environmental Sensitivity will inform all of our thinking. We are immersing ourselves in relevant information.
Storytelling
MintWood will be an ever unfolding story. We will walk this journey openly in the hope of inspiring others.
DESIGN
The siting of the buildings, their size, shape, orientation, the materials they are made with and the systems that support them all need careful consideration
Consulting
We are inviting others to help in this process. We appreciate the wisdom that comes from listening to the experience and ideas of others.
We are hoping this project will create a financially sustainable future for our family.
Our hope is to *reduce our current expenditure by 50% from 2000€ > 1000€,
We then hope to meet this new reduced expenditure through renting out 3 guest eco-pods to visitors.
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We hope to create a valuable asset to bless our children in the present and into the future. We believe this is a wise way to invest our time, energy and inheritance.
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*Current Average Monthly Expenditure: 2000€. Anticipated Monthly Savings 1000€ from:
- Rent: 650€
- Utilities (Electricity/Gas/Water) 200€
- Food: 150€)
Anticipated Monthly Income from holiday rentals 1000€
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INVESTING WISELY
CAN
YOU
HELp?
LOVING FRANCAVILLA
As a family we have a strong affection for the seaside town of Francavilla that God led us to. We are excited to deepen our relationship to this area through the realisation of this project. We also believe that this project will enable our family to remain in the area for many years to come.
We are looking forward to hosting our Italian friends at MintWood.. imagining meals al fresco with kids playing in the garden...
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