Why Homestead?

Before I answer this question you must understand that, like most things in life, there are extremes to homesteading. There are people who call themselves "urban homesteaders". By choice or not, the do not live in the country but homesteading still appeals to them. They may grow a small garden in their backyard, can their produce, grow their own herbs, and might even have a chicken or two. When Regina and I lived in Louisiana, I considered us to be "urban homesteaders". On the other extreme, there are people who literally live like we're still in the 1800s. I'm not talking about the Amish or Menonites. They reject technology for religious reasons. These "extreme homesteaders", as I call them, literally live in a cabin in the woods with no heat, air conditioning, running water, or flushing toilets. They cook on woodburning cookstoves, plow their fields with horses, and use outhouses. Then there's everyone in between. We're one of those. I'm all about rediscovering our heritage, but there's some modern conveniences I won't do without.

One thing homesteading is not is a rejection of technology. That has never been the basis for the philosophy. What homesteading is is self-sufficiency. Everyone is self-sufficient to a certain degree. We can all dress and feed ourselves (hopefully), we can cook meals, and do basic repairs around the house. Homesteaders desire to move further.

Part of it is an attempt to get back to a simpler way of life ... a life not so inundated with busyness. Instead of doing a million plus things outside the home, we try to create a lifestyle that centers around "home". Instead of running to endless PTA meetings, basketball games, and dance recitals, we'd rather sit outside and watch the sunset together, or feed the animals together, or work in the garden together. The point is that instead of us all going off and doing our own thing, we're together.

But I digress. Homesteading is not as much about "togetherness", as it is about self-sufficiency...doing things for yourself. It's not that technology is bad, but there is a sense of pride and accomplishment in hard work that people are forgetting. Hard work is one of those things that has been used to build character in people for centuries. It used to be the backbone of our society. The difference between then and now is that, back then, hard work was something you HAD to do. You didn't have a choice. During the depression if the garden wasn't growing or the cow wasn't milking, you didn't eat. I'm reading a gardening book written by a guy who grew up during the depression. He said that without the family garden, his family would not have been able to put food on the table, and you'd better believe every member of the family was out there helping. But as technology advanced, people naturally grabbed on to things that could make their lives a little easier.

The tragic thing is that our lives have become so easy, that we hardly have to do anything for ourselves anymore. We fill the extra time in our lives with "stuff". More and more it seems to be the kind of stuff that means less time together and not more. Now that we have mechanisms in place to do everything for us, homesteaders recognize that there was in inherent value and goodness to that hard work. Not only did life center around the home, but the work itself taught character, responsiblilty, and an appreciation for the things you have.

Like I said in my first post, we started homesteading to save a little money and eat healthier food. It has moved so far beyond that. It's more about the lifestyle and experiences now than anything else. For instance, having meat chickens actually saves us nothing. We probably spend a little more per chicken growing them ourselves than buying them from the store. But the pride and sense of accomplishment of knowing that you are filling your family's freezer and putting food on the table from the sweat of your own brow is so rewarding. That's what I want our children to take away from growing up here. Even if they decide not to live the "country life", they'll still build valuable character that will serve them well in life.