Decentralised Life: A London family travels the world before settling on a homestead in Belize

Urban Exodus
Feb 23, 2024
2 min read

ASLI MOHAMED

Doula, Mother, Relocation Consultant, Homesteader and Entrepreneur

London, England to rural Belize

I’m excited to invite you to my conversation with Asli Mohamed. Asli is difficult to describe because she does so many things, and has lived in so many different places. She is a mother, a world traveler, a doula, a farmer, and an entrepreneur among many other things. While Asli grew up in London, she was born in Somalia, and has spent the last few years living abroad back in Somalia, then Kenya, and now Belize.

While in London, Asli and her husband had very busy lives. They were working constantly and not able to spend much time with their young son. Even though they were earning a good living, they felt unfulfilled. They were itching to see the world and experience new ways of life. A few years ago, Asli had the realization that she wanted to live what she calls a “decentralized life.” Meaning she has no singular place to call home. Instead, she hopes to move every few years to a new country, experiencing different cultures, careers, and communities.

Asli has made bold steps, moving countries (twice while pregnant), hand-building a home and homestead in Belize, and is growing her skincare brand while also homeschooling her children. She has embraced the unconventional nature of her life, preferring to live a life full of cultural and natural richness, and passing along that joy and curiosity to her kids.

“We wanted a place to grow our own food, teach our children all about the natural world in a community focused place…We have learned tons about plants and trees. We built our home ourselves! I physically took part in filling the foundation for our house & did the ramming for the rammed earth walls. We are bee keepers now, we have chickens & rabbits. It’s been the most incredible few years of life. We go to bed absolutely shattered at night but we are excited for another day of fun and learning.”

In our conversation we speak about the myths around childbirth, global citizenship, indigenous vs. western ways of living, the joys of travel, and nomadic sustainability.

This is a story about trusting yourself, stepping outside the bounds of convention, the oneness of humanity, and the magic of motherhood.