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1975. My mother in the north of Norway, twenty-two years old and recently married to the love of her life. Six years and two children later, they would have me. An additional six years and two countries later, their small family would move to a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahara desert with the aim of helping the poorest of the poor achieve a sustainable life. No one knew for sure then that twenty years later, the second generation of Eden farmers would be reaching for a sustainable life thanks to the fruit-bearing trees growing in their fields, but they are. And the sky is their limit.

The daughter of a sea captain, my mother grew up on a little fishing island off the West Coast of Sweden. Desiring more than a conventional life, she trader her sky for one with a drier background. Although her heart ached for the sea in the same way that mine will ache for the African bush, she knew what she was doing and she never looked back. She never regretted a moment invested, nor the price she paid. Although I miss her more than words can express, I could not be a prouder daughter.

For sky contemplations from other parts of the world, check out Skywatch Friday. It will open tonight at 7.30 pm GMT.