Elisabeth Fekonia explaining the finer points of cow milking

A year ago we filmed with Elisabeth Fekonia a fantastic little DVD on Home Cheesemaking and All things Dairy.

What we didn’t show you on the DVD – is what happens when best intentions don’t necessarily go according to plan. Elisabeth was instructing the camera how to milk a cow. She went into quite elaborate detail on how to curl the fingers, draw the first milk out from the cow teats and was explaining the finer points of udder control when the cow decided she had had enough.

We’ve hidden the footage in our vaults. Lets face it – its a bit embarrassing to be teaching a technique and then see it fail dismally or at least put it up on YouTube for the world to see.

Recently when talking with Elisabeth we decided it was time to share this wonderful moment with all the world. Not sure if it will go viral out there but it deserves its place in our collection of funny Permaculture moments captured on film.

There are two things you learn about working with animals. Never stand directly behind a horse when filming. Never stand to the side of a cow when milking!

Both animals kick in slightly different directions.

Thanks again to Elisabeth for agreeing to share this golden moment.

Elisabeth Fekonia in Centre speaking at her DVD Launch

Speaking at the launch of her new DVD on Home Cheese-making, Elisabeth Fekonia stressed the need for people to take charge of what they eat and start growing their own food.
Addressing a group of locals at the function room of the Cooroy Library she said that she recently had a blood test and her Calcium levels were very high. “Great Calcium from all the Cows milk!” she laughed. Elisabeth eats a lot of her own produce and when you saw the table laid out with the variety of home made dairy produce you realize Elisabeth must be a very busy lady.

“I don’t have time to go to the gym and workout.” she said, “I get all my exercise from working on my farm. All that milking, bending, weeding keeps you fit.”

“I leave a very light footprint” she laughed. People were encouraged to sample her many dairy products such as kefir, goat cottage cheddar, bries, butter and home-made seeded sourdough bread.

What about getting Cholesterol from eating all that cheese?

Elisabeth doesn’t believe you are in any danger from eating home made cheese and dismisses the idea.
“You get high Cholesterol from processed sugar products.” She says, “Processed Foods and refined oil.”
Certainly looking at her you realize how fit and healthy she looks.

Speaking at the launch of her DVD she said “It takes knowledge and experience to grow your own food.”

“We all know food prices are going up – but I don’t notice it.” she laughed.

She has been involved with Permaculture Noosa since 1995 and has taught her popular cheese-making course up and down the Sunshine Coast for many years. Her companion book to go with the DVD will have more depth and detail but the DVD does cover all the things you need to know to make your own cheese from either goat or cow milk.

She said the climate here on the Sunshine Coast was one of the best to grow all kinds of food and encourage more people to take control of their lives.
“We need to change our culture -from being consumers to being responsible for the food we consume.” she said.

Jersey Cow

When we caught up with Elisabeth Fekonia she was clutching her new Cheese-making DVD as she was preparing for an official launch at the local library near her home at Cooroy in Queensland.

We had a number of people ask if you need to keep a cow or a goat at home in order to make your own cheese? Elisabeth says you can still make cheese from any kind of milk although raw milk is best if you can get it.

“Alternatively pasturised only milk is okay if you can find it on the shelves of your store.” she said.

Cheesemaking implements, knives, containers and presses can be easily made from recycled materials as long as they are sterilized with hot water before use.

If you’re in the market for a cow and have a small acreage Elisabeth recommends a Jersey cow as a great milking breed. “This cow produces the creamiest of cheese.” she said. “and also the most cream for making fresh butter.”

Anglo-Nubian Goat

As for buying a goat, not all breeds are best. Elisabeth recommends you get yourself a Anglo-Nubian breed. “They make the creamiest milk which is great for cheese-making.”

Cheese-making can be a complex process but Elisabeth has been teaching her popular cheese-making course for 15 years and says she regularly seeks feedback from students to help her improve her teaching skills. “You got to listen to your students and seek written feedback.” she says. “Over the years I have learnt to be particular over certain cheese-making techniques and explain things clearly so that any beginner can easily learn the process and not be left behind. I have tried to be very clear in this DVD and explain the whole process in simple terms that anyone can grasp.”

Elisabeth stresses that people need a healthy immune system to stay well. She is a keen supporter of Probiotics.

“Getting healthy bacteria into your gut flora to enhance your immune system.” she says. “Making one’s own fresh yoghurt with culture and kefired milk is essential in your family’s diet. It will boost your health and vitality.”

Elisabeth Fekonia

Elisabeth describes the cow as the matriarch of the Farm. “When you get a cow you will soon realize the advantages of getting a pig and even some chickens.” she explained, “When you make cheese you will have some excess Whey. That Whey is half the nutritional value of milk. You don’t throw it away and lose the benefit. You feed it to – the pigs!” she laughs. “But it doesn’t end there. The pigs are then herded into secure pens in the garden to root around in the soil churning over the mud, depositing manure and cycling nutrients that then feed our vegetable garden. This is typical Permaculture.” says Elisabeth. “The chickens are also part of the cycle. I grow Sunflowers and feed the seeds to the chickens and get eggs and meat in return. These cycles are common on Permaculture farms like ours.”

“Everyone should try and make their own dairy products and feel the difference.” She said.

Elisabeth Fekonia

Okay it’s taken a while and we were expecting to release this title last year. We even had a few people ask for it for last year’s Christmas but the truth is we took too long to finish it. So now its here! Ready to go. Elisabeth Fekonia Home Cheesemaking and All Things Dairy DVD has finally been released!

Elisabeth Fekonia lives on six acres near Mount Cooroy on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and over the last 15 years she has been teaching people how to make all sorts of dairy products from raw cow and goats milk. She has two milking cows and a number of assorted goats which all have different names like “Bambi” and “Lydia” and so on and in this true DIY permaculture title she teaches you the basics of making your own Cheddar Cheese from raw cows milk, a soft brie from goats milk, cottage cheese, Ghee, Kefir, Sour Cream and Yoghurt are all taught in this entertaining DVD.

She even shows you how to milk a cow or goat as well as many small tips on keeping your animals healthy. Mineralization of stock feed is an important ingredient in keeping you and your family healthy and Elisabeth shows you how to mix your own mineral blend for your dairy cow’s diet. From milking the cow she takes you into her colourful home and into her kitchen and Elisabeth shows you how to make your own cheese from simple no fancy implements that you can fashion yourself. My favourite was a stainless steel dogs bowl that she transformed into a new life as a cheese container!

If you really want to live an independent sustainable life – then Elisabeth is the real McCoy!

Elisabeth is a permaculture teacher who writes frequently for Australian lifestyle magazines as well as conducting frequent Cheese and Sour-bread making workshops in Queensland. She and her husband Frank have appeared on SBS-TV and frequently on Australian ABC Radio.

Learn how to make:

• Cheddar Cheese from Raw Milk
• Goat Brie Cheese
• Cottage Cheese
• Ghee
• Kefir
• Sour Cream
• Yoghurt
• plus tips on animal health

Home Cheesemaking and all things Dairy DVD

• PAL Format
• Region Free
• Over 90 minutes of quality information

Price: $39.95

Quantity:

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What started off as an introduction to building a basic shed for housing goats turns into a lesson in cycling nutrients and understanding Permaculture.
When Ecofilms asked Elisabeth Fekonia to show us her goat milking shed we wondered what those two covered bathtubs in the corner of the shed were doing there? What we got was a lesson in Permaculture nutrient cycling and simple effective design that just works without costing you a lot of money.

Elisabeth and her husband Frank have built their shed all from recycled materials found at the local rubbish tip. If you were ever wondering what to do with that old sofa you were trying to get rid of – why not recycle it into a stand for milking goats? Thats what Elisabeth did. And while you are at the tip, bring back a couple of bathtubs too. They are brilliant at being turned into an effective worm farm. Elisabeth explains her process of living the good sustainable life with everything she needs being close to hand in this video clip.

Whilst filming at Elisabeth Fekonia’s farm we noticed long hedgerows of Mugwort grown along the perimeter of her property.
Mugwort is well known in Medieval times as regulating the menstrual cycle in women. Men used it to flavour their beer as an alternative to Hops. It was widely used as a poultice claiming to heal or sorts of things.
But a lesser known feature of this woody plant is it’s health benefits to goats. When EcoFilms came to her property to film her Cheese-making course she mentioned to us the health properties of this famous herb as especially suited to be used as a de-wormer of Goats. Elisabeth does not use any commercially made drugs or medicines on her livestock and she says her goats are always healthy due to this plant’s amazing health benefits.

Getting goats to nibble on Mugwort is not easy. Elisabeth says it took her cattle and goats about a year of grazing before they attempted to nibble on this plant. Now they readily eat this plant when they feel the urge to expel parasites from their system. She says the older goats usually lead by example and teach the younger goats what plant to eat.

We first came across Frank and Elisabeth Fekonia a few years back when we were making a video for the ABC on living the self-sufficient life-style. We made a very controversial video clip called Eating Guinea pigs which raised a lot of hackles with the YouTube audience who were outraged that someone could possible eat a childhood friend. Recently SBS TV interviewed the Fekonias on the same subject and featured them in an episode called Survivalist. Elisabeth and Frank live on 6 acres and live probably 90% off their own produce. They have a food forest, vegetable garden, chickens, a couple of cows and a number of goats and even the odd pig. Elisabeth has been teaching her very popular Cheese-making classes on a regular basis and apporached us to make a DVD on the subject.

In this video she makes a number of different goat and cow cheeses and shows you the basic steps you need to do to get the best results. In fact if you are interested in raising your own cows and goats, she even covers the basic things you need to know in getting the best out of your animal. Even if you’ve never milked a cow before, she’ll show you how to do that successfully. Visit Elisabeth’s website Here.