The better half directed me to this fantastic article on homesteading called A Realistic Plan and Time Line for Your Survival Homestead by Todd Detzel over at the Oil Drum blog. It is a pretty comprehensive essay, and will likely burst the bubbles of dreamy types (like me!).
Sláinte!
Laurel
Definitely food for thought there, although I finished reading still with an optimistic feeling overall!
ReplyDeleteI think there are many of those things (esp the psychological / making do side of things) that you can 'do' while you're waiting (and saving very hard in our case!!)
Really interesting - thanks for the link :)
I'm glad you liked it Bek and you are most welcome! :)
ReplyDeleteHe definitely covered some things that other folks don't talk about in their articles (like having a good relationship with your partner and even the gender binary!). And I am glad that someone in the comments suggested the Canadian horse as a good option for a plough horse.
It's also really neat to see another couple out there at around the same stage that I and the better half are at.
Just out of curiousity, what has been the most challenging for you folks so far (i.e. saving, having space to grow and preserve food, time to learn the required skills to homestead, et. al)?
That covers a lot. I look forward to reading it. Thanks =^)
ReplyDeleteYour questions there started quite a conversation in our house! We wondered whether we'd even actually 'qualify' as urban homesteaders...
ReplyDelete(We both really liked the non gender specific aspect too, btw!)
The hardest bit for us is really being patient and saving money to maybe buy land, as we've been 'there' psychologically for years and have no doubt that we could survive living in the way described in the Todd article. We're used to going without and resisting the temptations of trying to live in such a way whilst still being in a city and socialising with people that do have well paid jobs and the lifestyles to match.
We kind of see it as: at the moment we're living that very strict yet simple life but without the benefits of living somewhere quiet and beautiful - and whilst still having to go to jobs. The simple life of cooking from scratch, repairing and building etc takes time. We also have a teenager to consider!
But... we could go on forever here and are also really interested in where you're at, similarly, (if you wouldn't mind us being nosey!) so maybe we could continue via e-mail? We'd love to talk to you more!
Permie: I hope that you enjoy it! :)
ReplyDeletebek: Well, I am sure others would disagree with me, but I think to 'qualify' as a homesteader, you need to maximize the resources available to you to be a self sufficient as possible, regardless what your current living situation is. So that might be less if you are in an apartment than if you live on a nice size piece of usable land.
Then you have wildcrafting and hunting, preserving, making your own clothes and needful items, and I think that using a barter and trade system with others is a part of that as well.
Heh, I hope that I made sense first thing in the morning! I need more coffee!
You will be getting an email shortly. :)
Thanks for the e-mail - was so interesting to hear about your similar situation!
ReplyDeleteI've posted a rather epic reply I'm afraid - unlike your perfectly succinct sentiments about homesteading there, which I agree with entirely - well put :)