You Could Be a Homesteader and Not Even Know it!

in #homesteaderscoop5 years ago (edited)

Good day friends... @thistle-rock here with another contribution to @homesteaderscoop

photo © Heather Johnsgaard

It’s funny, but I never really considered myself a homesteader...

…that is until I joined the Steem platforms and somehow found myself drawn into a few communities, with a some of them being eco and homestead related. Who knew, I thought to myself.

All my adult life, more so in the last twenty+ years, I had essentially been living a homesteader's lifestyle. For me it was just my everyday existence, but I soon came to realize there was a name for it, a community for it, and a growing attraction to it.

I am now part of several homesteading groups. Each one teaching me new things, allowing me to learn and grow within my chosen way of life, and I am thoroughly embracing it.

Most members cross over and you can be sure to find many familiar names within each group, fostering that true sense of community. While I find myself trying to participate within most, I tend to be most active within @homesteaderscoop as of late. It is wonderful to be able to relate to other homesteaders who are actively seeking to increase their own sustainability through not only creating wonderful products, but also offering them for sale to the general population. Yes, you too can purchase wonderfully hand made or natural products and seeds using US dollars, Steem or SBD at the Homesteaders Co-op.

But, perhaps you are still wondering,

what is homesteading and what does it really mean?

This, is not a simple question to answer, like everything in life, it is subjective to who is asking the question and who is answering it. Every definition and each response may have a different flavour; some sweet, some bitter, some profound, some simple.

Recently, I happened to be a guest on the Discord channel “The Ramble” @ramblingradio for their Creatives Coffee Hour hosted by @ArtemisNorth. This program, with its relaxed atmosphere, is a place for creatives to drop in and chat about projects they have going on. As a guest, this episode focussed on myself.

Along the way during the interview, @ArtemisNorth happened to ask me if I was a homesteader. Thankfully as I sat behind my computer screen in complete anonymity, no one saw the blank look on my face before I quickly answered that, yes, I believed I was.

it’s just my life… no label…. just me living life as best I can

Now, here I sit, a day later going over some parts of the interview in my head, wondering if I answered the question truthfully; wondering if anyone else may have seen comparisons to their life.

Thinking on it now… I can honestly and emphatically respond to her question and say, “Yes, I am a homesteader”!

So what does it take to be a homesteader?
Do you need a farm and livestock and a huge crop growing?

My answer to this may not be the same interpretation as someone else, but I believe you are a homesteader if you try to incorporate several activities or standards into you life on a regular basis wherever you are, which may include, among others, self-sustainability, ethics, handmade, and natural.

Breaking it down, it could look something like this but not limited to it:

  1. Being conscious of your own sustainability so you are not relying on others to survive. This may include:
    • providing your own power
    • growing your own food
    • making your own clothes
    • making your own tools
  2. Fostering ethical standards in the choices you make for what you buy, use and dispose of. Such as:
    • Purchasing quality handmade over mass produced
    • Purchasing ethically sourced, sustainable, organic and natural products
    • Purchasing items which will have the least ill-effect on the environment and planet
    • Making your own natural products, including cleaning supplies or remedies, rather than buying chemicals
  3. Trying to choose organic over genetically modified foods and seeds
    • Support local farmers when you can, or from other homesteaders who foster a “caring for the earth” attitude. Their foods and seeds have probably not been sitting on the shelves for long, if at all, because they use what they sell themselves
    • When you support your local farmers, you are supporting a neighbour or a friend rather than an unknown manufacturer
    • Organic and non-GMO is much more healthy for you and your family
  4. Leaving as little an imprint on the earth as you can through reducing waste, recycling, reusing, and upcycling
    • Using reusable produce and grocery bags keeps a lot of plastic out of landfills and from blowing around in the wind
    • Choose glass containers over plastic if possible, if not, use reusable plastic rather than one time use plastics
    • Turn old towels into rags or dusters or use them for spills instead of paper towels
    • Compost what waste you can, recycle others and reuse or upcycle the rest into useable objects or decor
  5. Growing your own food sources
    • If you don’t have land upon which to grow, use pots; many herbs, spices, veggies and fruits can be grown in pots
    • If you consume meat it could include raising your own lifestock for meat and dairy or purchasing directly from organic and ethical farmers
    • Trade your abundance with that of neighbours and friends for things they grow that you don't
  6. Storing your own food
    • Canning and preserving
    • Freezing
    • Dehydrating
  7. Crafting your own clothes, tools, accessories, crafts
    • You can make your own clothing, produce bags, reuseable bags, tea towels, pillow cases and more from fabrics you currently have on hand, recycled sheets, vintage, lace, or from newer sustainable, organic, and eco-friendly fabrics
    • Fashion home and garden furnishings from scrap wood like pallets or deadfall, twigs, rocks and pebbles, homegrown gourds
    • Dried wreaths, handmade papers, and hand dyed textiles make wonderful gifts
********

As I mentioned above, I don’t like labels. Doing what you can, whether it be big or small, all in or just a little invested, we can all be homesteaders if we put our mind to it and take small steps. It can be challenging at times, but without challenge we can never grow or learn.

We can't all always choose where we live, but we can choose how we live


I decided to see what the dictionary said a homesteader was. According to Wikipedia, this is what they have to say (take note of the last line):

photo © Heather Johnsgaard
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. Pursued in different ways around the world—and in different historical eras—homesteading is generally differentiated from rural village or commune living by isolation (either socially or physically) of the homestead. Use of the term in the United States dates back to the Homestead Act (1862) and before. In sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in nations formerly controlled by the British Empire, a homestead is the household compound for a single extended family. In the UK, the term 'smallholder' or 'crofts' is the rough equivalent of 'homesteader'.

Modern homesteaders often use renewable energy options including solar electricity and wind power. Many also choose to plant and grow heirloom vegetables and to raise heritage livestock. Homesteading is not defined by where someone lives, such as the city or the country, but by the lifestyle choices they make.
.

According to this, it looks like I am right on track, and you may be too but just never knew it. If you find you are actively seeking out similar values and choices, I encourage you to look into it further, perhaps you will find yourself making changes for a more self-sustainable life no matter wherever you are, no matter how big or small.

Homesteaders Co-op has been invited to participate in the Curation Corner at The Ramble (@ramblingradio) hosted by @ArtemisNorth and @shadowspub on January 29th; founder of the Homesteaders Co-op, @sagescrub will be there, and if I can make, I’ll be there too.

~Until next time this has been @thistle-rock ~



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What a fabulous summary of the homesteading lifestyle! I thought It was wonderful to hear your interview on the show and then read this post to recap some of it! 😊

Thanks @thekittygirl, glad you popped by and thanks for the kind words! 💕

Great article! This list with the bullet points and all should be taught in school!

What I'd really, really like to see is a follow-up post in your own context - which one of the points you can check off your list, your daily or seasonal life and more photos of what looks like a great garden!

Thank you @bobydimitrov,I will keep a follow up post in mind!

...and sorry I missed your reply until today!

Loved this @thistle-rock ive always felt a bit detached from what i feel are "real" homesteaders but im very much in my mind a urban homesteader and was pleased to see i can tick off a lot of your list 🙂

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Awwww.....that is super @digitaldan.

As I mentioned to @sagescrub below, every topic is subjective and there is value in seeing many sides. What works for me may be different for someone else, and there are so many more things I could mention, but then the post would be even longer, lol....

Fifty years from now, homesteading will look completely different again, just as it was different fifty years ago... we all have to learn, adapt and grow!

Keep on being an urban homesteader, every little effort we take makes a difference in so many ways.... and honestly, I would suspect being an urban homesteader is so much harder to achieve when you are surrounded by advertising, stores, and manufacturers who may not be as conscientious of our grande earth 😉

I reeelly want to be a part of your marketplace because it looks AWESOME, but even though I’m more or less a homesteader, my trade is music, and not anything tangible. :/ Boo.

Our vendors can sell virtual/downloadable goods in our marketplace. Since you are a homesteader, I encourage you to learn more and see if you may still want to apply. If you are making some concerted effort to be sustainable in your lifestyle and/or your products (preferably but not necessarily both) you may be a good fit in our co-op :) For more info: https://homesteaderscoop.com/sell

Thanks! I’ll check it out! 🙂

So glad you are apart of our community as well @thistlerock! And you are right...it's not where you live but how you live!


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Thank you 😊

I really like this definition of a Homesteader @thistle-rock. It still leaves it open to interpretation but it also helps to define some of our sometimes vague notions of what a homesteader is. I think its important to be inclusive rather than exclusive when there are so many of us that are learning one step at a time and didn't grow up living off the land.

Thanks @sagescrub...there is always subjectiveness in many topics, and there is value in seeing many sides. These are only a part of my thoughts and how I live as a homesteader based on my beliefs and desires, and I am sure there are many more thoughts and ideas from other more or less experienced homesteaders. 😊

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