Using resources found on the internet, advice from knowledgeable friends and occasionally calling in an expert they are turning the brick and tile three bedroom home into a very liveable, ecologically sound space all on a shoestring budget. 

At the front of the home, which faces the north, a traditional cottage garden was dug out and replaced with hardy edible plants including pomegranates, olives, robust herbs and some decorative drought tolerant shrubs.

“We are learning as we go,” David Murray said, but last year they yielded a good crop of olives from one of the trees. 

“We try something and if it doesn't work we try again.”

The transformation began with a plan for the block. They hired a landscape gardener to talk them through various approaches which would help them get the most out of their gently sloping backyard, which now features vegetable gardens, citrus fruits, fruit trees and herbs.

There are also three resident chooks living in a large open pen at the rear of the yard. Not only do they provide a consistent supply of fresh eggs, they are also a good source of compost. Castings from a worm farm is used a fertiliser.

“We use something from the garden at nearly every meal,” Ms Van Gestel said. 

The house itself is a work in progress to reduce the families reliance on fossil fuel energy.

“The plan is eventually to get off the grid entirely,” Mr Murray said. 

An electric hot-water system, accounting for 40 per cent of their electricity usage, was replaced with solar.

“We only turn on the booster in winter for a couple days,” Ms Van Gestel said.

A 1.8 kilowatt grid interactive solar system and the hot-water system provides three quarters of their energy requirements, they will extend the set-up in the future. 

“It’s a work in progress, but we are getting there,” Mr Murray said.