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33 " appreciation for the kind of food that had always brought her family together. Regular visits to Zara's family in Slovakia gradually planted the seeds of a different future. In December 2021, the couple bought a house and plot of land in Bíňa, in southern Slovakia. Four months later, on 22 April 2022, they left Malta with four dogs, four cats and a van packed with their belongings. A journey expected to take 28 hours stretched to 52 after the van broke down. eir new home presented a few surprises of its own. e house had no toilet, the land was covered in heavy clay soil, and Elle had arrived in a Hungarian-speaking village without speaking either Slovak or Hungarian. What followed was the gradual creation of Country Comfort Farma, a regenerative permaculture homestead built through patience, hard work and a willingness to learn from the land. "When we arrived, there were a few old fruit trees, but no animals, no garden and no infrastructure," Elle recalls. "e soil was waterlogged when it rained and hard as concrete when it dried. We had to learn to feed it, cover it and work with it, season after season." Four years on, the farm produces lamb, pork, rabbit, geese, ducks, chickens and vegetables, both fresh and preserved. Elle and Zara also teach permaculture to volunteers from around the world. For them, regenerative farming is not simply a label. It is a way of approaching the entire food cycle, from caring for the soil to making the most of every ingredient in the kitchen. Animals contribute to the land's fertility, waste is returned to the system wherever possible, and seasonal produce is preserved for the months ahead. "We eat what we raise, we use the whole animal, and we preserve the summer so we can eat well in winter," Elle explains. "It's a closed loop, from the soil to the plate and back to the soil again." at philosophy is closely tied to the food traditions both women grew up with. Although Malta and Slovakia have very different climates, their traditional cuisines share a practical approach to cooking: make the most of what is available, waste as little as possible and ensure that the harvest lasts. In Malta, the sun helped preserve tomatoes, while kunserva and dried ġbejniet extended the life of seasonal produce. In Slovakia, cellars, pickles, compotes, cured meats and sausages helped families prepare for long winters. "Both are cuisines of people who couldn't afford to waste anything," says Elle. "e methods differ, but the thinking is identical: catch the harvest at its best and make it last." eir childhood food memories are equally rooted in family kitchens. Elle remembers her mother's qara twila stewed with corned beef, bowls of brodu on cold days, kusksu with broad beans and figolli at Easter. One Regenerative farming, for us, isn't a label. It's a closed loop, from the soil to the plate and back to the soil again. Everything has a purpose, and nothing should be wasted simply because we have forgotten how to use it. "