Exton Ladies Group
April 2015
‘One woman, a harem and a thousand cows’ by Jane Brunt
What would you do if your young husband announced he wanted to apply for a post developing a pilot farm for 1000 cows in the
Saudi Arabian desert? Well, if you happen to be Jane Brunt you give him your full support and travel with him and your two young
sons to the Rub al Khali desert even though you know that your accommodation was still incomplete!
In the late 1970’s, after seeing a programme about a farm being developed to provide milk to Saudi populations, Derek Brunt wrote
to the BBC for further information. Three months later he found himself and his family on the way to Riyadh to manage this groundbreaking development. Despite being promised a fully equipped bungalow the family arrived to no accommodation. Crisis! What
were they going to do? Their rescue came in the form of Prince Mohammed who invited them to stay with his family in their summer
palace. Derek spent the next four months in the Bachelor Block while Jane and the children stayed with his four wives and twenty
two children in his harem! Jane quickly built a relationship with this extended family and amused and interested all of us with
anecdotes about a life rarely glimpsed by those outside the Saudi royal family.
Moving into their bungalow on the farm meant Jane was the only woman amongst 41 men most of whom were from Ireland working
for the Irish company commissioned to set up the farm. The bungalow was equipped with all ‘mod cons’ including fitted carpets (not
the best flooring for the sandy environment), washing machine and tumble dryer (which proved more useful than she imagined as
the hostile environment was not good for keeping clothes clean). The men spent these early months drilling wells to access water
contained in aquifers, creating irrigation systems, growing crops, building access roads and enormous barns to house the expected
cows. The cows arrived and the real work of the farm began. Milk was produced and transported to the nearest supermarket which
was totally unprepared so initially at least the milk was sold from the back of the lorry!
Jane described her daily life, home schooling her two sons, removing spiders and snakes that entered the bungalow through any nook
or cranny, taking day trips to Riyadh or out into the desert, making friends with local Bedouin families, hosting Prince Mohammed
and other members of the Royal family during their visits to the farm, devising games and activities not just for Matthew and Robert
but also for the young Irish workers. Exton Ladies were so impressed by her vitality and ingenuity and couldn’t help wondering what
we might have felt in such circumstances. Jane told us that such was the success of this first farm that the scheme was extended and
currently there are 120,000 cows in five farms in Saudi Arabia selling milk throughout the Middle East. The current biggest threat to
continued success is that rainfall has been so low that the aquifers contain only very limited water.
A three year contract was extended to four years after which Derek and Jane decided that was long enough for the children to be
taught by their mother so they came home to Devon. Their passion for adventure was still alight and within eighteen months (and
one more son) they were on their way to set up another farm; this time in Libya. And that, as Jane would undoubtedly say, is another
story!
The afternoon finished with tea, biscuits and conversation during which members had the opportunity to talk to Jane and ask their
own questions.