Tending the Fire

Tending the fire's story, is my story.

After years of working in community organisations, I noticed my own, and friends', struggle and need to keep our hearts alive.

There is an existing fire inside each of us. A call, a passion, a true essence, a desire to care and to live lives of meaning.

Tending the Fire is about looking after that flame, tending to it: making sense through smoke-filled times, to kindle dwindling flames, getting enough ventilation inbetween, putting on solid timber, and directing wild fires for good.

Adri-Marié van Heerden

Founder and currently the only team member

A Bit About Me

I'm a South-African, passionate about sustainable courage: How do we keep our hearts alive whilst doing good? How do I become the truest version of myself in my work and life?

I don't want to write a CV or mention accolades here. I'm an ordinary Afrikaans girl that grew up in a way that I wish for every human: with parents who loved and believed in me, and offered me many opportunities to develop and grow.

I studied to be an accountant but became fascinated by what causes life-change in people, and how to live an authentic life of neighbourly love within a deeply wounded South-African society. So, in some way, my path has been a response to those questions; I've worked in schools, churches, non-profits and training organisations. One question often unlocks another. So lately I've been wondering: How we keep our hearts alive whilst doing good? How do I become a more true, undivided version of myself in my work and life? How is God active in my life, and the world around me?

I stay in Sedgefield, Western Cape, South-Africa with the love of my life, Brett.

Adri-Marié van Heerden

Founder and currently the only team-member