Langrāti family settles at ancestral Siliņi home in Lēdmane

Ieva and Pēteris Langrāti have spent the last 13 years at Siliņi in Lēdmane parish, Ieva’s family property. Before that they came only in summer and at weekends. Both grew up and studied in Riga, later found work there, and began to plan a permanent move when their daughters were due to start school.

The family regained the property in the 1990s. Ieva’s ancestors had been deported during the occupation. In the Soviet years as many as 11 families were housed in the one house. Pēteris Langrāts said each household had left its own toilet, garage, shed and small barn, while the large stables and barns had been burned for firewood and only the foundations remained, filled with waste.

A circle of oaks planted by ancestors about 100 years ago still stands in the yard. Ieva Langrāte said the trees were once small enough for a flower garden to grow in the middle, and that the family tries to protect them. She said a childhood wish to live in the countryside faded during school and studies in the city, and that she is glad it has now come true. Pēteris, born in Riga, had also wanted a quieter place. The couple met at Bulduri technical school, then studied in Jelgava before working in Riga. He jokes that they have been at Siliņi since the 1870s.

The family house now includes a small workshop where they dry, freeze and freeze-dry flowers and plants they grow. The holding also has chickens, Muscovy ducks, a few cattle and about a dozen bee colonies. They make special beeswax vessels for restaurants. Pēteris took up beekeeping as soon as they moved, a skill learned at Bulduri, and the colonies grew quickly from two to 100. Beekeeping alone could not support the family, so they kept sheep for several years, then gave up the flock a few years ago after wolves began living in the nearby forest.

Seven years ago they founded Gardi ziedi and now grow and harvest about 100 flowers, plants and herbs for restaurants, in greenhouses and the garden. The idea came from a project, similar to Home Café Days, that set up temporary restaurants on farms in Ogre municipality. Ieva said chef Juris Latišenkos asked whether a local farmer would grow edible flowers, because the kitchens otherwise had to bring them from abroad. Pēteris said they trial new plants every year, often at chefs’ request.

Pēteris said the work has no visible end, yet the feeling is entirely different. Ieva said country life no longer requires what the city demands, and that the choice is about a preferred way of living rather than material possessions. The family does not regret the move.