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22 The papers
No place
like home
Knitting circles and composting cooperatives
flourish as the renaissance of home-living
gathers momentum. Eating-in trumps diningout.
Meanwhile the more adventurous throw
their doors wide open to host concerts at home.
Convenient and chilled; it’s not hard to see
why ‘chez nous’ is the place to be. Is our loveaffair
with home a passing flirtation influenced
by the economic downturn or a deepening relationship
favouring cocooning over consumerism?
Is it nostalgia that inspires us to embrace
the humble home-made?
Annemie Nijs lives in the outskirts of
Ghent with her husband and their 18-month
old daughter. No hectic commute, everyday
life is structured around the home. “We’re
really doing this full-time,” Annemie explains.
Several years ago the couple established
a music school in the upper floors of their
house. Fifteen musicians come and go to
teach a variety of instruments and styles to
music enthusiasts young and old. The pace of
life is productive without being frenetic. Her
ˆ
“ Is our love-affair with home a passing flirtation influenced by the economic downturn or a
deepening relationship favouring cocooning over consumerism? ”
ˇ
husband works in web-development – again
from home. Annemie explains, “for a man who
works, he gets to spend a lot of time with his
daughter.” Home is so central to her lifestyle
that she took the decision to give birth at home.
“As I considered homebirth, it made more
and more sense. I was raised with a natural
approach and I don´t like all the checks and
numbers that go with hospitals.” Despite a difficult
labour, she has no regrets and is adamant
she would take the same decision again.
According to midwife Elke Van den Bergh,
while only a minority of parents currently opt
for homebirth, interest is growing. Her midwifery
service ‘Zwanger in Brussel’ assisted at
some 30 homebirths in Brussels over the last
year. Back home in Ghent, Annemie foresees
a home-based education – at least in the early
years. “As a young child it’s natural to be with
your parents and to become more independent
with age, so I don’t feel it’s necessary to go to
school so young. But I am eager to connect with
others. I’m not into home-based life in an isolated
sense.” Over 10 years ago, fearing a conventional
classroom education would dampen
her firstborn’s early zest for learning, Jennifer
Landsbert-Noon also opted for home-schooling.
She educates her four children from her
house outside Brussels, and believes home-ed
has enabled them to follow their interests and
love learning for its own sake. “They don’t
see learning as a chore they are coerced into.
They enjoy it. I used to think that as they got
older they would want to be at school but they
hear about school from their friends and see
how many constraints there are.” With recent
decades characterised by consumption rather
than self-sufficiency, is the resurgence of
home part of a search for that elusive work-life
balance? Technological advances may have
made working from a distance feasible, but
perhaps key to its popularity is the appeal of
a life lived at home. Her contentment palpable,
Annemie reflects, “It feels good to be around
the home to make the home. I’ve even started
to bake bread!” In another era, home-made
implied cheaper than shop-bought. In today’s
globalised world where ethical considerations
often lose out to profit, ‘Made at Home’ seldom
beats ‘Made in (insert dodgy regime of choice)’
for cost and affordability. For this new generation
of home-makers, cutting costs is rarely
the priority. These amateur seamstresses and
weekend gardeners are more likely to cite
concern for workers’ conditions and environmental
destruction as chief motivations for
their home-sewn clothes and home-grown
vegetables. (JK)