Nature in Harmony: Soothing Beauty

Meet our favorite of the month, Martine Marras, passionate about permaculture and living in harmony with nature, who has turned her vision into reality with @thetamarindtree_permaculture. After leaving the hustle and bustle of Paris to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle, she shares her inspiring journey and commitment to eco-friendly living.

Can you tell us how the idea for @thetamarindtree_permaculture came about, and what inspired you to take up permaculture?

When we had children, like many people, we wondered about family life in a big city (we lived in Paris). We spent our daily lives running around and working, finding little space and few moments to share together. As we became more and more aware of our consumption practices, particularly our diet and our relationship with nature, we decided to start growing what we ate. We found an old farmhouse to renovate, with a garden, and embarked on what has become a real life-changing project! We didn't want to isolate ourselves by moving to the country, so we naturally decided to share our home by creating small spaces for one or more people.

What has inspired you most about the permaculture way of life, and how do you integrate it into your daily life?

We sometimes think that permaculture is just a gardening technique, but for us it represents a responsible way of life that has led us to understand how nature works and to draw inspiration from it in our everyday lives. This applies not only to our consumption practices, but also to our human relationships, so that we can be as respectful as possible of what surrounds us. To take a concrete example, in nature there is no such thing as waste: everything that dies returns to the earth (leaves that fall from trees, animals that die, etc.), so we draw inspiration from this natural cycle by trying to consume what we produce and by composting our organic waste. Similarly, we leave many areas of the garden wild to create habitats for small wild animals and bring back as much biodiversity as possible around us. There are a whole host of other permaculture practices that can be put in place to move towards a more sustainable way of life.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in setting up your project, and how did you overcome them?

When we started this transition from city to country, we had no experience of gardening or building. We had to learn everything from scratch, including the fact that failure is also part of the learning and experiencing phase, and that nothing is perfect or permanent. This allowed us to find even more beauty in the things around us, even the angles that aren't right or the shelves that are installed askew!

How did you link permaculture to your guest house concept?

We really wanted to share what permaculture enables us to experience as a family with those who want to experiment with this way of life through a stay in an ecological habitat and with access to healthy, local and seasonal food. After three years of hosting guests, it's fair to say that those who come and stay with us leave nourished in some way in their reflection or evolution towards a more responsible and ecological way of life, which is surely where our daily activism takes shape.

How do you choose your home decor to fit in with your permaculture and eco-friendly lifestyle?

When we have to build a new shelf or piece of furniture, we look at what's available and create from that. The idea is that all the materials we use, such as wood, terracotta, bamboo, etc., can one day return to the earth. The same goes for textiles, where I try to recover linen, hemp or fabrics made with natural dyes. I also love to include low-cost antique items from other cultures, so that our place is also an opportunity to travel a bit!

Where do you draw your inspiration for the design of your guest house, particularly in creating an atmosphere in keeping with nature?

We wanted to create in each guesthouse a place where people could come to rest and take the time to reflect and, above all, appreciate the simplicity of their surroundings, go out for a few moments in the garden and wander between the paths of the vegetable garden, or light a fire and gather around the wood-burning stove. Over the years, we've noticed that visitors take advantage of their stay to spend time together and slow down the pace of a fast-paced everyday life. The interiors are fairly uncluttered in terms of furniture, with some colorful details, notably in one of the guesthouses where we were inspired by Mexican culture, with floral motifs on the carpets on the floor or the wall hangings, or graphic representations of birds, very present in Mexican art.

Jamini is known for its floral and geometric patterns. What do you think about incorporating floral and plant motifs into your interiors, and how important is it for you to bring nature back into our living spaces?

It's well known that all the imagery and colors of nature give us happy, positive feelings. It's a great idea to bring it into our homes as much as possible through the fabrics and objects we use every day. I also think we should all be more a part of nature rather than the other way around, so getting out and exploring the natural environment around us is what can do us the most good.

At Jamini, we love floral interiors, whether with beautiful plants or printed patterns: how do you bring flowers and nature back into your interiors on a daily basis?

Inside the house, you'll find lots of aromatic herbs hung up to dry, as well as harvests such as colorful autumn squash, walnuts, hazelnuts, garlic and corn woven into the wall. We leave the flowers growing in the garden to benefit the insects and make the vegetable garden even more beautiful. I love colorful rugs, throws and flowery tablecloths to enhance our interior, whose walls (which have been renovated with hemp lime) are in rather light, plain tones. I'm also very keen on crafts and things that take us on a cultural journey.

Do you have any advice for people who'd like to start permaculture but don't know where to begin?

We're often afraid of getting involved in something we don't know or master. But everything can be learned and I can only encourage those who are hesitant to take the plunge, to find out more, to experiment, to join participative workcamps, to Woofing - we can all play our part in making the planet a more liveable place for our generation and future generations.

What are your goals for @thetamarindtree_permaculture in the future, and how do you want your concept to evolve?

Our main objective is to continue renovating the house to make it as passive as possible in terms of energy consumption. The garden is doing wonderfully well, so we'd like to keep it that way! We'd also like to develop more communal and meeting spaces in the garden, so that visitors to our guesthouses can share moments together, in the spirit of an inn. And finally, we'd like to develop other accommodation spaces that would enable visitors to stay whatever their budget, and make nature and access to quality food accessible to all.

Do you have a favorite room or design element at Jamini? If so, which one and why?

Quilted bedspreads can be used in lots of different ways, on a bed, a sofa or even on the floor when you want to create a cozy little corner. The patterns and colors are always superb and warm.

Quilt Dalia

What's your favorite color in the Jamini collections, and how does it resonate with your world and your vision of nature?

I love indigo pieces because they're made with natural dyes, and because it's a color that transports you to both Asia and Africa.

Finally, do you have a memorable anecdote or moment to share about your permaculture journey?

Older generations were very skeptical when we replaced our conventional toilets with dry toilets. After four years, they are proving to be the ecological experience that adults (and children) prefer, and they have a real positive impact on our environment. So there's no need to be afraid of change!