Rural Jobs: Make a Living in Your Rural Community or from a Homestead Business

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Take a giant leap toward fulfilling your homesteading dreams by finding (or creating!) an income source far from the 9-to-5 urban grind.
Take a giant leap toward fulfilling your homesteading dreams by finding (or creating!) an income source far from the 9-to-5 urban grind.
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Welding can be a part- or full-time job and requires some experience. Try an apprenticeship!
Welding can be a part- or full-time job and requires some experience. Try an apprenticeship!
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Many farms hire seasonal labor during harvest season, when produce must move quickly from bush to basket.
Many farms hire seasonal labor during harvest season, when produce must move quickly from bush to basket.

The readers of MOTHER’s pages are drawn to simpler, hands-on lives that reimagine the 9-to-5, cubicle-enclosed lifestyle. They choose instead to find fulfilling work by repairing a trusty piece of equipment, clearing a garden of weeds, or creating a functional table from scrap wood. Care to join them? You may desire to live in the country on some acreage or in a small, quiet town. We hear from many of you, however, that making the switch to living out your rural homesteading dreams is a challenge. Often, the biggest obstacle is a lack of dollars and sense — you need money and inventiveness to support a homestead.

This feature is dedicated to exploring the diverse methods of making ends meet — whether you’re way out in the sticks or settled in a rural community. We’ve compiled the research and experience of several successful modern homesteaders who have made it work, each by following a unique path.

Beginning with jobs in small towns and rural areas, Ann Larkin Hansen provides an overview of full- and part-time positions, along with seasonal employment opportunities that rural residents can patch together to make a comfortable living. From elder care to grain mill operation, there’s something for everyone.

Next, author and DIY expert Steve Maxwell explains how digital-savvy readers can make a living from their laptops. He calls these homesteading technophiles “digital peasants” because of their ability to couple old-time skills with modern technology.

Cam Mather, another longtime MOTHER EARTH NEWS contributor, details how he and his wife make ends meet by running a 50-member community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. Finally, we round out the article with advice from the exemplary entrepreneurial couple John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist. Co-authors of nearly a dozen books and innkeepers at Inn Serendipity, this team tackles how to make a living from your kitchen with a cottage food enterprise. We hope these stories and practical pieces of advice will inspire ideas for how you, too, can earn income creatively and independently.

  • Published on Jan 7, 2016
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