Maureen Du Preez
Maureen Du Preez lives in Carinish with her husband Chris, son Iggy, and daughter Mara. Growing up in Benbecula, she was keen to travel and see the world, settling on the islands far from her mind. It was while living in London planning her wedding with Chris that Maureen discovered the art of alternative wedding photography, her ticket to explore, taking her to faraway places including Switzerland, Ibiza and Singapore.
Finding her niche in micro weddings and alternative elopements, Maureen’s photography bookings began to take her closer to home throughout the Highlands and Islands, and with them came a refound connection to the islands that shaped her. A trip to Chris’ home in South Africa was a pivotal shift in Maureen’s perspective on nature.
“I was a nerd,” she laughs. “I was on computers, watched lots of videos – very indoorsy as a kid. Then Chris took me to South Africa when I was 20, and I remember thinking, this is really nice. I feel good. Is this what we’re meant to be doing? I’m just like…nature! Rub myself in the dirt – I’m happy. I thought, I’ll bring up my children this way.”
Now, everything Maureen and Chris do moves with the rhythm of the seasons. Chris harvests seaweed, work that depends entirely on the weather, while Maureen’s creative practice has evolved to reflect the cycles of family life.
Motherhood and Women’s Circles
“My favourite thing to photograph is actually motherhood and women out in nature,” she says. “Having a child was this huge portal. I thought -women are amazing. Mothers are amazing. This is what I want to do.”
With births no longer encouraged in Uist, many women travel to Stornoway or Glasgow to have their babies. Having had two off-island births herself, Maureen understands the potential stress being away from home can have and the importance of post-natal support, especially nourishment through food.
Trained as a doula, she supports mothers by preparing and delivering food during those early days of recovery. This passion and sense of community led her to co-found a Women’s Circle, which meets every month: indoors during the winter, and in Maureen’s bell tent close to the shore by her home through the summer, often ending with a swim in the sea.
Home Education and the Natural Classroom
For Maureen, the balance of self-employment and childcare ebbs and flows with each season of motherhood.
“I feel like the work I do has to adapt around my children.”
During his early years, Iggy attended Sgoil Araich Bhaile a’ Mhanaich nursery, before the family began full-time home education. The number of families homeschooling throughout Scotland is up by 40% in the last two years, more than tripling in seven, though numbers may be higher as registration is not mandatory. For Maureen, it is more of a community education.
“My dad’s an engineer, so he’s always taking things apart, engines, bits of machinery. Iggy is right there with him in his little boiler suit. Then he’ll be cooking with my mum, or birdwatching. I love that he’s learning from everyone around him. I don’t know everything, and neither does my husband, but often someone in the community will have that knowledge.”
Iggy takes piano lessons and occasional horse riding on weekends, gymnastics and athletics clubs provide connection with his peers, and Iggy also attends forest school Otter Mountain once a week where he has gone since toddlerhood, learning to identify fungi and plants with founder Emily. Learning happens wherever they go; in the woods, by the shore.
“I love being outside, it’s always an adventure. We’ll head out for a walk and end up foraging, doing some gardening, or just enjoying the world around us. Every walk doesn’t have to be educational, but there’s always something to learn. It’s lovely getting into the woods and discovering new things, or going down to the sea to collect shells.
Chris often comes home from work with a bucket full of eels, starfish, crabs…and we’ll spend ages looking at them. Sometimes I’ll walk in and think, what’s that smell? and it turns out there’s an urchin somewhere that didn’t get washed properly! It’s a bit of a madhouse, but I love it.”
Maureen is part of a Whatsapp group of fellow homeschoolers scattered across the Outer Hebrides, and a facebook group for those in Skye – networks who share information, ask questions and arrange meet-ups, strengthening their connection to a wider community.
Looking Ahead
Looking to the future as her children grow, Maureen is making plans to build a cabin by the house for short stays and begin a food based business, bringing her work even closer to home. Rooted in rhythm, nature and community, family life in Carinish continues to evolve with the tides and the seasons, a balance of motherhood, creativity and care that feels entirely her own.
To learn more about Maureen’s practice, visit her website: maureendupreez.com, and instagram pages: @maureendupreez and @fromthemeadow.
