'We're raising our son 'wild' by some people’s standards'

"He's at home in the dirt - and that's exactly how we want him to be."

Many of us try our best to be sustainable and enjoy the outdoors—but for Tessa, it’s not just a choice. It’s a way of life.

She’s raising her three-year-old son, Tulsi, in what she describes as “wild — at least by some people’s standards.”

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"At home in the dirt and the trees"

After moving from Adelaide, the city lifestyle is a distant memory, and that's influenced Tessa's parenting approach.

“Every time we go back to the city, I’m reminded of just how different our parenting style is. Our child is always the one running around barefoot, hair tangled with sticks, completely at home in the dirt and the trees,” she told Kidspot.

“He reminds me of that one kid from The Wild Thornberries—and that’s exactly how we want it.”

Tessa, her husband Sam, and Tulsi live in the NSW Northern Rivers town of Nimbin, where they call a tiny house home. At Tulsi’s doorstep lies a world of endless possibilities.

“We built this life with the specific intention of raising a child who is deeply connected to the natural world,” Tessa shared.

Their humble little abode has also brought financial flexibility, and strengthened their connection as a family.

“In big houses, it’s easy for family members to retreat into their own spaces.

“You can go an entire day barely crossing paths with each other. That wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a home where we would always be present with one another.”

Image: Instagram/tofutess

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"Compost toilet video"

Of course, living rurally comes with its challenges. It's meant having to adapt in ways they never imagined.

“When we first moved, our natural instinct was to wait and outsource things, but after a while, we realised: if we want something done, we might as well figure out how to do it ourselves,” Tessa said.

“I’ve learned how to make bread from scratch, fresh pasta from grains, and full meals using only homegrown vegetables. It’s become so normal for me that I don’t even think about it anymore, but when I look back, it’s wild to see how much I’ve changed."

Tessa loves sharing elements of her lifestyle online, and just recently, her approach to sourcing compost for the garden went viral on TikTok.

“Ahh, the infamous compost toilet video. We definitely didn’t set out to become ‘composting toilet advocates’—we just kind of ended up here!” she laughs.

After sharing how her family uses a DIY composting toilet, she left the internet scratching its head— but for her, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“It’s just a completely normal part of daily life, including for Tulsi. People visit our house and know exactly how to use our toilet—no big deal,” Tessa said.

The toilet sits in their bathroom, and once full, the waste is collected and stored in larger buckets outside to mature for a year.

“Right now, all of our humanure goes into our rainforest trees. A lot of people assumed from my video that we’re growing our vegetables with it, but we’re not,” she clarified.

The video left TikTok quite frankly shocked, and Tessa understands why—she herself wasn’t initially sold on the idea of composting human waste until their off-grid lifestyle made it a necessity.

“I totally get why people are uncomfortable with the idea at first. I felt the same way! But I would encourage anyone who’s skeptical to actually look at the research,” she said.

Image: Instagram/tofutess

"He never wears shoes" 

For little Tulsi, it's a lifestyle he thrives in.

“In our community, if I tell people that we’ve co-slept from birth, that he never wears shoes, or that we’re homeschooling, nobody would even blink. It’s just normal,” she said.

Tessa and Sam work to ensure the priorities surround time in nature, a vegan-based diet, no screen time, and plan to homeschool in the future. 

“At the end of the day, we’re all trying to do the same thing—raise happy, healthy kids. The way we do it just looks a little different. For us, this is our version. And so far, it’s working beautifully,” she said.

Originally published as 'We're raising our son 'wild' by some people’s standards'