Hi, I’m Carla.
I don't believe your work should define who you are.
I believe who you are should define your work.
So this is who I am:
I grew up in Witbank, a polluted mining town that probably shaved a few years off my old age but gave me something very valuable in return: a well-nourished technical mind and the most refreshingly unpretentious relationships I've ever known. People there say what they mean.
A civil engineering degree in Stellenbosch mostly humbled me. It also ingrained thinking patterns that periodically drive my husband up the wall but are probably what my clients appreciate most about me.
Once again, relationships are what I cherish most from this time.
My career began as a golf-playing structural engineer, working on an international airport and other impressive things very few have asked me about. I worked with some of the most remarkable people … You'll notice a pattern here.
After five intense years of dedication, I registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA, which I'm fairly certain my parents still consider my greatest achievement.
Then, even though my career had begun a decade earlier, my life began.
I walked away from the security of engineering because I felt a relentless need to understand more: more industries, more people, more about what a life well-lived looks like to me.
What followed was one of the most formative periods I could have asked for.
I found a clean mental slate.
I found physical movement outdoors and stimulation through new hobbies.
I found spirituality through nature.
I found my two guiding professional values: adaptability and flexibility.
I found learning through trying, and failing.
Most importantly, I found my incredible husband and his unwavering support in whatever I do.
The world was now my oyster.
This clickable image is one of my favorite posts from the popular podcast host, Steven Bartlett.
Consult Carla came after a level of introspection not many give themselves the time for.
What do I love doing? What am I good at? What does the world need? What can I get paid for?
I became passionate about solopreneurship and the professional value behind individual thinking and lived experience. I noticed that the world was changing in a direction I felt strangely built for. And I saw that small businesses, the ones run by people with genuine passion and no spare time, needed exactly the kind of help I was now positioned to give.
My husband, Hutch, does bird monitoring as part of environmental impact assessments on proposed wind and solar farms across South Africa. This usually follows a cycle: work for 2–3 weeks, rest for 1–2 weeks.
I travel with him. We live in quiet little guesthouses on farms, and when he works from sunrise to sunset, I do the same.
During his time off, we go on adventures, visit friends and family, and catch up on the personal admin that civilisation makes convenient.
When people think of me, they think of this story. And when it resonates with them, they reach out. Lifestyle, travel, conservation, and ecotourism have introduced me to more friends and opportunities than any marketing strategy ever could.
If you've wondered why everything on this website is nature-themed, it's because it’s not a theme.
It's who I am, and it's what Consult Carla is.
I love sharing my experience with the surprisingly large number of people who are curious about it. If you're one of them,