What kind of homesteader are you? With so many terms out there the lines can seem to blur. The farm… A homestead…An urban homestead… Naturalist/ the health nut… Permaculture…. Preppers/ survivalists, the list goes on. In homesteading circles, these questions seem to come up, and most people tend to associate with their niche and disregard the rest. The truth is they can all be great and all have their place. It is really just about discovering your homesteading style.
Homesteading
This may not reflect the correct history of the word but homesteading today has become more about tending to one’s own needs. Raising chickens for eggs, cows or goats for milk, and plenty of gardens for fresh fruits and veggies. This differs from the average farm in the fact most farms specialize in something specific (corn, wheat, beef etc) so they still get most if not all food and products from a grocery store (this may also differ from region to region, no offense intended).
Related Reading:
Getting Started with Goats
Easy Ways to be more Self-Reliant Wherever You Are
Urban Homesteading
This is a fairly new trend and one I would say we started at. So it has a special place in my heart. For the people who are city bound but still have that little piece of them that wants to connect with the earth. For people who think hauling food from all over the world sounds crazy. These people have taken to the ingenuity and out of the box thinking, creating rooftop gardens, and greenhouses that double as chicken coops and so much more.
Creating a vision and value where no one prior had seen the value. Many larger cities have urban homesteading changing the face of urban neighborhoods. If homesteading is in your heart but so is the city check out what’s happening in Kansas City, or Detroit. Everyone needs food, so homestead on!
Homesteading for the Health
Many homesteaders and aspiring homesteaders start here. Be it a health crisis or a desire to be healthier, they want more control over their own health. Store bought eggs, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy can go through so much that we are unaware but our bodies are not. Be it weight, hypothyroidism, allergies, asthma, or learning disabilities so much is connected to our food, if not entirely at least in part.
Health is a big one, for us, but also for so many people in the homesteading movement. We thought we were already healthy but soon began to realize how many chemicals surrounded us. Homesteading for health is huge! Everyone deserves and needs healthy food. Food that is healthy connects us to the earth, food we raise, we know, we cared for, we ultimately ate for nourishment. Wanting to be part of the world that surrounds us and the food that feeds us is an inspiring goal.
Related Reading:
What the Heck is a Chicken Saddle
Best of Breeds | Top Chickens for Egg Laying
Permaculture Homestead
Permaculture is really a belief behind the lifestyle. “Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems”. Basically observing nature and applying that to the way something can be used. Can chickens keep your garden pest free? Can companion planting help your garden produce? It’s more of an attempt to learn from nature rather than to try and control it. Out are the ways of chemicals to kill (bugs, weeds etc) and in are the ways that try to understand the issues to begin with.
If a permaculture based homestead calls out to you I wholeheartedly suggest you read this book, it is absolutely on the mark and inspirational to anyone who reads it!
Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World
Homesteading for security
Many people today are moving to the homesteading movement for a sense of security. With things like gas prices, food prices and employment shifting around in the last several years security is often found in those things which we can control. Gardens can still grow, chickens can still lay eggs and the sun will still shine no matter what the economy is doing. And while we can never feel completely comfortable anywhere (things always happen) there is a lot of comforts found in knowing where your food is coming from, and that you are in control of that.
Related Reading:
What kind of homesteader are you?
Take the quiz and find out
For homesteaders and aspiring ones, the truth is there is no two cut from the same cloth. We are all different. Maybe you are an urban homesteader, and that exactly the way you want it. Maybe you felt called to the country but were raised a “city kid” your homesteading style will be all your own. Whether homesteading for food, for health or for peace of mind discovering your homesteading style is part of the journey. Trust your intuition, it will lead you home. What kind of homesteader are you? The exact right kind you are supposed to be♡♡♡
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Beth
Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.
