What Is REAL Homesteading Anyway?
Today, Ernie was told that some local people who live off grid are doing “real” homesteading.
Now see, that ticks me off.
If we’re talking about REAL homesteading, my great-grandparents were “REAL” homesteaders.
They came to this country (Canada) with NOTHING, got crappy land and built a life from NOTHING.
That is”REAL” homesteading.
What people do today is also homesteading but you can do it however you darn well please. Homesteading today is using some (or all if you wish) of the traditional ways of our ancestors when they came to this part of the world, incorporated with new ways of living such as solar energy, newly developed seeds and plants and perhaps working at a really good job.
There is no one way to do it.
There are no such things as “real homesteaders” anymore. Homesteaders are people who decide that they are homesteaders. It can be in mind or in physical reality. It doesn’t matter.
I just wanted to clarify that.
9 responses to “What Is REAL Homesteading Anyway?”
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Grin … most, well many of those that claim to be homesteaders really are not and say they are living off the grid really don’t.
Understand I don’t want to live like my great grand parents or their children.
I don’t want to chop and cut wood all summer to stay warm this coming winter.
I don’t want to be dependent on my garden and to spend the summer months canning meat, fruits and vegetables to feed me through the long cold winter months.
I don’t want to be dependent on kerosene lamps to light my way in the dark nights of winter.
I don’t want to be dependent on wind, sun power or rely on batteries to power my lights and refrigerator. I don’t want to hope everyday the wind blows or the sun shines, that my solar panels are not ice or snow covered preventing them from producing the trickle of power provided by solar panels.
The best thing about the ‘good old days’ is they are in my past.
Happy Gardening
Exactly my point. It’s your choice. Thanks!
I hear ya! Homesteaders come in all different shapes and sizes and abilities and preferences. We now live on 40 acres and have a flock of 32 chickens. But I was no less a homesteader when I lived on land measured in feet, not acres and had only three chickens. The great thing about homesteading is that you get you do it your way.
I recently wrote my own blog post about this very subject. All because of laundry. Check it out if you want. https://castlerockhomestead.com/2017/10/22/do-yo-own-thang/
Thanks! Yes I actually read this post but I read it from my email and couldn’t “like” it from there! Great post. Glad to hear I’m not the only one thinking like this.
Awesome!
I consider modern homesteading any home based lifestyle furthering the individual/family away from energy intensive means to a declining energy existence. I view the world with a Permaculture lens, attempting to use the least amount of resources for the greatest amount of return while integrating systems throughout.
Very nice explanation. Thanks for you comment!
Wow, those pictures make me ache to live in the middle of nowhere with miles of land all around me and the great big sky over my head. Such wondrous freedom.
I love that description! It is freedom.