The Fence. Before Electricity.

Before we started bringing electricity to the land.
Before utilities, companies, contracts, and waiting.
We did one thing that seemed simpler.

We built a fence.

Not because it was a big project.
But because it was one we still felt able to do ourselves.

A first boundary

A fence is not just about separation.
It is the first gesture toward a place that wants to become a home.

It says: something begins here.
Not finished.
Not perfect.
But intentional.

We knew there weren’t many options.
Choosing a fence is not an art.
Building one is harder.

When reality speaks louder than plans

At first, we thought we would hire someone.
Then came the estimate.
And the sentence about leveling the entire land.

That was the moment we understood
that some things you simply have to do yourself.

Not because you want to.
But because it makes sense to start somewhere else.

And even then, plans shifted.

To bring the fence materials to the land,
an off-road vehicle was needed.
The land was there —
but not easily reachable.

Built by our own hands

We built it ourselves.
With help from people from the village.
Without heavy machinery.
Without a perfect level.

The fence wasn’t straight.
It was never meant to be.

It also took longer than we expected.
We kept running out of concrete.
Again and again, we miscalculated the amount
and had to order more.

The work stretched over time —
mixing, carrying, waiting.

We were lucky in one quiet way:
there is water on the land.

Not everywhere.
Not always.
But enough.

Enough to mix concrete.
Enough to keep going
without bringing everything from somewhere else.

With each post,
we felt we were finally beginning to read the land
instead of trying to control it.

This fence taught us something important:
Not everything has to be prepared for the future.
Some things are enough if they serve the present.

Before electricity

The fence was a pause before the next step.
A moment of quiet.
Something tangible we could finish
before everything started to slow down.

Electricity will come.
Utilities will come.
Companies will come.

But this fence will stay the way it is.

A little crooked.
And entirely ours.