EP 29: Off-Grid Homesteading In New Zealand, Navigating Chronic Illness, And The Joy Of Songwriting with Magda Cotman

Hello, and welcome back to the Shadows Run Podcast!

Today’s episode features a conversation with Magda Cotman. Magda is an artist, musician, and off-grid homesteader and gardener based on the far northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. When I was 18 I took a gap year between high school and college, and I spent a third of that year traveling through New Zealand and working on farms. Magda was the first person to host me and I spent about 3 weeks living and working with her. It was a total joy to reconnect for this conversation, 6.5 years later! 

In this conversation we talk about...:

• how she has built up her homestead over the years as a solo woman
• navigating debilitating chronic illness since her early 20s
• hosting travelers from all over the world on her property and the lessons she has learned from those experiences
• her goals for the future of her land
• music and songwriting - Magda has recently started recording and sharing her songs, and we talk about the power of music to heal and connect with others
• what Magda envisions as a healed and thriving world 
• ...and more :)

Thank you so much for joining us! Please be sure to check out Magda's music on Spotify, linked below. 

Magda Lena on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4M6ClAKbGJLHA2ACqXNXz6?si=9JvXeY_7Q5SdaFVXX06GCQ 

Magda's Website: https://magdalena.co.nz/