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Close connections with animals are among the many benefits of homesteading.
BRYAN WELCH
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Homesteading is all about living in a more hands-on,
meaningful way.
Many of us dream of finding the perfect piece of land where
we can grow big gardens, raise chickens or goats, build a
solar-powered home or otherwise pursue our individual
visions of “the good life.” This kind of
self-reliant lifestyle is sometimes called homesteading.
It’s all about choosing to live in a more meaningful,
hands-on sort of way.
Growing healthy, nutritious food is a vital part of the
homesteading life. Rather than relying on food from a
supermarket, produced by strangers thousands of miles away,
we can enjoy the bounty of our own gardens and share it
with friends and neighbors. By growing food in a greenhouse
and preserving it by canning or freezing, we can eat
homegrown food year-round.
Many homesteaders want to build their own homes. Some want
to create their own energy from the sun, the trees and the
wind. This kind of work can be deeply satisfying because it
allows us to learn new skills, and to live more
conscientiously?— and more consciously.
Although homesteading is often associated with rural
living, you don’t need to buy land in the country to
enjoy a more self-sufficient life: You can create your own
food, shelter and energy wherever you live. Even with a
small yard in the city or suburbs, you can plant a garden
and learn to preserve food. Fruit trees can be planted
almost anywhere, and many towns and cities will even allow
you to put up solar panels, try out new building
techniques, or raise chickens and rabbits.
This issue includes six articles to help you pursue your
homesteading dreams:
• “Plan the Perfect Homestead,”
• “Build a Pond,”
• “Fish Farming,”
• “Our Far-out Free-range eggs,”
• “Discover Versatile Compact
Tractors,”
• “Choosing and Training a Watchdog,”
In our interconnected world, no one is completely
self-sufficient, but living a more self-reliant lifestyle
can be a rich and rewarding experience. Where better to
focus your time and energy than on the particular place you
call home
—Mother