Urban Homesteading: Green Home
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You know there’s a trend afoot when you’ve heard a new phrase more than once in a 48-hour period. The latest words getting trend-dropped? Urban Homesteading. Part response to toxins in our food, homes and toys and part eff you to corporate control, Urban Homesteaders are growing their own vegetables and finding their own renewable energy sources. And they‘re doing it without the extensive acreage of our foremothers and fathers.
Back in the days of government land runs, the homesteading family had the chance to put their stakes down and start making the earth do what it does best: provide food and shelter. But when you’re living on the grid, especially in a small space that happens to be grass and tree free – the challenges discourage even the most eco-conscious of us.
Some hardy souls are making it happen whether by committing to eating only what they grow and raise, or the smaller (but effective) actions of buying bulk when things are on sale and in season.
Harriet Fasenfest raged against the machine in her manifesto, “Self-reliance in the City” on Culinate. Fasenfest inspires by saying, “My question is, aren’t there others out there nearly choking on the smut of corporate logic?” all the while teaching people how to make their own soap.
But the post that really sold it was the ode to UH on Oh My Aching Debts. By offering practical information (check out 12 Vegetables You Can Grow in a Pot) Oh My will be teaching us how we too can tame the urban environment and live eco-friendly through tips for the urban homesteader. Check out the movement and start living environmentally friendlier while fattening your wallet. Then you can go binge on a high-end eco-vacation. Mmmmm, organic mud baths…
Comments
Thanks for mentioning my post. It’s funny that URBAN homesteading has been so popular on my site as I live on 9 acres in the country. Although I live in a rural area, I have found square foot and container gardening really works for me because I don’t have the time for a big garden. Or the equipment. I am currently hoping to involve the neighbor’s kids in their own square foot garden as they need the food.
Cindy - we loved your suggestions - and because we DON’T live on 9 acres in the country, we found they were plans anyone could adopt! Thanks for all the grean ideas!
Much oblige. I agree, the concept of urban homesteading is quickly becoming a generational meme.
Harriet
It’s great to see urbanites take control of their lives and make changes towards food security, self-sufficiency and independence. I know that reading the Dervaes website at pathtofreedom.com and urbanhomestead.org/journal has inspired me to look at things differently and start seeing what is possible where I am now. The family purportedly coined the word “urban homesteading” years ago (early on around 2001 I think because that’s about how long I have been reading their journal). This amazing family has literally “written the book” on urban homesteading by walking down the sustainable path and have become the model urban homestead for so many of us who want to follow in their steps. They have made me see (and now others ) that it is possible to do something without moving out of the city. It’s good to see that their longtime outreach efforts and inspirational lives have had made such an impact on the lives of others.
Check out their amazing journal at http://www.urbanhomestad.org/journal and be inspired to be the change by living the solution.