Homesteading Wherever You Are » New Life On A Homestead If this post inspires you, please consider clicking the google +1 button above. Thanks so much for your support! The Dervaes Family’s Urban Homestead I think a lot of people have common misconceptions about what the term ‘homesteading’ means. There are common characteristics between all homesteaders, no matter where they live. We want to learn how to live without depending on others to take care of us, in every way possible. There are so many things you can do to homestead wherever you are. How To Homestead Wherever You Are Learn to grow your own food and herbs. So, whadya think? And what other things can we add to this list? A Mad Scientist's 50 Tools for Sustainable Communities - Leah Messinger - Life Marcin Jakubowski's plan to create low-cost, open-source machines that can make everything you can find in a Walmart The "Liberator" Compressed Earth Brick Press, designed by Open Source Ecology. Courtesy of Open Source Ecology In the middle of rural Missouri there is a physicist-turned-farmer looking to redefine the way we build the world. The organization's final goal? As Valentine points out, "Every single one of [the machines] already exist in real life. All of the machines, from the tractors to the laser cutter to the backhoe to the cement mixer, are designed to be modular, require only one engine, and be built with interchangeable parts so that a single machine can perform multiple functions. But there's more. "Marcin is a mad scientist," says Severine von Tscharner Fleming, a farmer in New York's Hudson Valley who also promotes the open-sourcing of agricultural and rural hardware. That appeal is one reason Open Source Ecology's followers have recently been growing in number.
Creating Sustainable Agriculture Without Government Subsidies I first met farmer, author, entrepreneur, thinker, and self-described “Christian-conservative-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic” Joel Salatin at his rural Virginia farm, Polyface, in 2009. We sat in rocking chairs in his home office and talked about everything from food and agriculture to law, regulations, and the Bill of Rights. I’ve seen Salatin several times since—in Washington, DC, and Little Rock, Arkansas and, most recently, back at his farm—and have even invoked his unsubsidized farming practices to argue that he and farmers like him should serve as the model for supporters of sustainable agriculture—meaning farming that eschews government subsidies while both minimizing environmental impacts and also turning a profit. Salatin’s books include Everything I Want to Do is Illegal, probably the best book on the crushing regulatory burden faced by small- and medium-sized farmers in America. Full Disclosure: Salatin is a member and supporter of my nonprofit, Keep Food Legal.
Designing Your Ideal Homestead by Fred Wilson A homestead is neither a farm, nor a rural residence; therefore, it presents design challenges that are different from the others. A rural residence is basically nothing more than a suburban house plunked down on a larger lot, and any outdoor design will be largely concerned with landscaping, with appearances. A farm, on the other hand, is more like an industrial complex. Depending on its type, it will involve several or even many buildings-it must make accommodations for the passage and maneuvering of very large equipment and the handling and storage of many tons of products that might range from seed and fertilizer to hay and grain to milk or meat. Everything You Need to Know About Composting With Worms Following my recent blog post on the Do-It-Yourself Vermipod, I’ve been receiving a ton of questions from folks who built Vermipods and are looking for information on how to manage and maintain their new pets. So here’s a compilation called Everything You Need To Know About Composting With Worms… Common Worm Species Eisenia fetida: Pronounced “iSEEnee a FETid a”, is a worm that can process a large amount of organic material in their natural environment. They tolerate large temperature, moisture and pH ranges and can also tolerate handling well. Eisenia andrei is closely related to the Eisenia fetida and is known as the “red tiger”. Lumbricus rubellus is another worm that can be used for vermiposting. Bedding Materials Worms, like you and me, need both protein and carbohydrates to get a balanced diet. Environmental Conditions Composting worms originate from warmer parts of the globe, typically in wet regions. These are the conditions that the worms thrive in. How Much do They Eat? Amendments
Dutch ‘Repair Cafes’ keep stuff out of the trash by fixing it for free In the Netherlands, there are more than 30 “Repair Cafes” — groups that meet once or twice a month to repair (for free!) clothes and gizmos and tools that might otherwise be discarded. The New York Times visited the original Repair Cafe, which began two and a half years ago, and found that people want to keep their stuff — even cheap stuff, like H&M skirts. They just don’t know how to mend it themselves: “This cost 5 or 10 euros,” about $6.50 to $13, [Sigrid Deters] said, adding that she had not mended it herself because she was too clumsy. The group repairs electronics, too — everything from big-ticket items like vacuums and washing machines to the little gadgets that go haywire, like irons, toaster ovens, and coffee pots. Repair Cafes are mainly driven by the time and efforts of volunteers who pool their skills to fix what needs fixing. This all happening in a country that only puts a teeny portion of its municipal waste (less than 3 percent) in landfills. Crazy, or crazy like a fox?
No Regrets: 10 Key Things To Consider Before Moving To The Country | City To Country | How to Homestead The country lifestyle is not for everyone. Every day I commute into my job in the city I hear at least one fellow commuter complaining about the ferry service. Or about logging on the local mountain. Or the weather. Which always leads me to wonder, “What did you think it would be like when you moved somewhere you can only access by ferry/has a long history of logging/where it rains a lot”? It’s all about preparation. Here are a few things to ponder before committing to the rural lifestyle: Income – What will you do for income? There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before changing your lifestyle so dramatically, but these 10 will help you get some clarity around whether or not a life in the country is for you. Victoria Gazeley lives and works in an 80-plus year old restored heritage log cabin on the wild west coast of British Columbia, Canada. Related Posts:
Index Bhutan Bets Organic Agriculture Is The Road To Happiness : The Salt hide captionA Bhutanese farmer puts her harvest of chilies on the roof of a shed to dry and protect it from wild boars, deer, and monkeys in 2006. James L. Stanfield/National Geographic/Getty Images A Bhutanese farmer puts her harvest of chilies on the roof of a shed to dry and protect it from wild boars, deer, and monkeys in 2006. The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan drew international attention a few years back for saying gross national happiness should trump gross domestic product when measuring a nation's progress. But Bhutan, which has only 700,000 people — most of whom are farmers — has another shot at international fame if it can make good on a recent pledge to become the first country in the world to convert to a 100 percent organic agricultural system. Going all-out organic is a lofty goal for any country given that many farmers — and poor farmers in particular — covet chemical fertilizers and pesticides to enrich their soil, boost production and keep diseases and pests at bay.
Homestead Land: What To Look For When Buying Land HOMESTEAD LAND: Introduction to Buying Land for Farming When we were looking for our own homestead land we had a list of what we wanted. The farm had to have a lovely view, a stone farmhouse with potential, not too far from town but not where we could still hear traffic, the elevation had to be low enough for growing olives and the soil good enough for growing grapes. Where no place may tick all the right boxes, and you will probably need to make some compromises, the bare minimum of what we wanted was a good view, good soil and water. BUYING HOMESTEAD LAND: Know What you Want Before your Buy! Buying good homestead land when homesteading today is the most important purchase you will make and there are lots of considerations to take into account before you make the decision to purchase. When buying rural land never buy land with your heart. There are many other aspects that need to be taken into consideration when buying farm land: Do you want the land to be virgin land or developed land?
Prepper.org Toronto Becomes First City To Mandate Green Roofs Summer is just around the corner, and for those who live in big cities, that means spring warmth will soon give way to searing heat. Green roofs can help regulate city temperatures, giving people, and the electrical grid, a much needed break. Toronto is the first city in North America with a bylaw that requires roofs to be green. And we're not talking about paint. A green roof, also known as a living roof, uses various hardy plants to create a barrier between the sun's rays and the tiles or shingles of the roof. Toronto's new legislation will require all residential, commercial and institutional buildings over 2,000 square meters to have between 20 and 60 percent living roofs. Under the direction of Mayor Richard Daley the city of Chicago put a 38,800 square foot green roof on a 12 story skyscraper in 2000. But lower utility bills aren't the only benefit of planting a living roof. Image via Flickr/pnwra
Buying Country Acreage & Rural Properties - To Buy Or Not? Are you looking for country acreage? Looking for homestead land to live the dream? Buying Country Acreage is a huge step to take, with lots of things to think about. Author: Jody Hudson Almost anyone can become a rural property owner; if you are willing to set goals, establish what your purposes are, plan ahead and set targets that are all aligned toward the same result. There is no more $50-an-acre land; unless you count some of the inaccessible and unusable properties that are sometimes available in blocks of 10,000 acres or more; and even these properties are rare. If you are in a big hurry to find rural property, you will likely not be able to find what you are looking for. If the property really is a bargain it is gone with one of the first ten phone calls the seller makes. Many folks soon discovered that the so called contract had fine print and clauses that were all in favor of the chicken plant and none in favor of the chicken grower. Location: is paramount.
"The Unsung Benefits of Homesteading" by Sheri Dixon Oh sure, we all know the perks of growing our own food, supplying our own energy and being as self-sufficient as we can be, but what about the benefits of homesteading that AREN'T touted from the cover of the latest Men magazine? Back when I lived in Wisconsin, Thanksgiving dinner was taken with my husband's family. They had a tradition that right after dinner, everyone gathered around the TV and they all watched Pay-Per-View "Wrestlemania". As touching a scene as that was, with the little people all hunkered down in front for the best view, I just wasn't into it. Somehow, I suffered through it. When something breaks or otherwise needs mending around the place, city folk get into the SUV and head for the Home Depot for the proper parts and the proper tools for the job. Homesteaders take multitasking to a level unheard of by most folks. There are a number of companies who provide home security. And speaking of romance: forget the Dinner and a Movie nonsense. We are strange. Not normal.