Book Review: Cultivating Change – Regenerating Land and Love in an Age of Climate Crisis by Caro Feely

This is the fourth book by Caro Feely to take the reader on a journey of adventure, and introspection courtesy of Chateau Feely. It is seasonal, like the organic farm and vineyard, Chateau Feely, owned by Caro Feely and her husband Sean. Now pertinent more than ever to those who, after the pandemic, are questioning their purpose, their relationships, and what we are doing to each other.

In Cultivating Change , Feely provides examples from her own experience, with examples of what to expect when you go out on a limb and follow your dreams. So many people are reevaluating their lives now, and seeking alternatives which include leaving urban environments and their countries to make a living, or retire in countries where land is still affordable. She is a veteran of life transition, consequently knowledge gained from this book is immeasurable if you are thinking about a back to the land change.

A beautiful and honest revelation about what it is like to follow your dream, in this case a French vineyard, which fulfilled a young couples dream, but left the Feely family at the mercy of nature.

The price of the dream, and how it affects relationships within the family, and the bigger ecological picture. She questions her “prioritising business over family”, as the mother of tween daughters, while running a wine school, yoga classes, and conducting various tours.

Caro Freely is a South African by birth, and lived in Ireland with her husband before establishing the family vineyard in the Dordogne region of France. The reader is treated to dynamics of her first return since leaving South Africa. With her family in tow, and experiencing a strained couple relationship. She highlights how the man made environmental issues have affected her natal land.

As someone who earns a living from the land, Feely reflects on the negative effects of GMO’s on health and farming. Her example of changes in South African flora over the years are illuminating. She provides details from environmental conferences she has attended, while sharing the impact of global warming on her business, and the world.

The reader learns the reality of running a wine business and the hard choices that have to be made to rejuvenate a life on the brink of stagnation. She shares her personal expansion, not to mention her innovation, via her adapt of die diversification introducing yoga and online trails to her business model.

A wonderful read that is so satisfying on so many levels. Gastronomic musings to wet the appetite, with geographical insights as to why the foods from those regions taste so good. All washed down with explanations of wine growing in an organic and biodynamic way. The raw descriptions of business challenges for her family and other growers in the area reveal climate change concerns which bring something to the table for everyone.

Cultivating Change is poignant in its message of hope post Covid 19. Feely is detailed in her description of life on the land, not to mention giving a loud a call to action to protect the planet for future generations.