If the numerous natural disasters in recent weeks have taught us anything, it’s that the more citizens are self sufficient, the better they fare when Mother Nature runs amok. When this self sufficiency is pursued as a lifestyle, it is known as homesteading.

Have you noticed that in the aftermath of unexpected and devastating disruptions to modern life, it is frequently the homesteaders who rise up as the everyday heroes? I know I have.

The Cajun navy is a great example of homesteaders in action. These are folks whose self sufficiency skills gave them the ability to reach out and and help others in need during the direst of circumstances.

Why Homesteading Helps (whether urban or rural)

Let’s take a look at the top 7 reasons why homesteading is becoming a “thing” today no matter whether a family lives in a rural or urban setting. In fact, the more our society modernizes and becomes dependent on technology, the more critical these traditional life skills become.

To learn more about incorporating homesteading skills at your own modern homestead, check out the educational website Steader. You can best support this valuable homesteading initiative by participating in its Kickstarter campaign.

1. Stuff happens

Snow storms, hurricanes, and so much else. Extended power outages. Downed trees. The better prepared and skilled you are, the less it HURTS and the more you can HELP others.

2. Skills for life

Especially for kids, homesteading instills work ethic, problem solving, use of a wide variety of tools and so many other skills. It is also the best and most fun way to learn! From how to grow broccoli to fixing the brakes, steading creates life skills that cannot be lost or replaced. They are skills that serve as a safety net for children for their entire lives.

3. So beautiful!

Homesteaders turn resource consuming areas into resource producing paradises. Homesteading can save money and time, while turning your land into something worth living in! A homestead can be a haven in the modern world, a place to rejuvenate mind, body, spirit, and even your microbiome!

4. Simple Education

A few recent studies show that many Americans not only don’t know where there food comes from but don’t even know how it grows! Kids (and adults!) who think potatoes grow on trees and chickens poop tomatoes! A friend of mine once told me how her co-worker, disgusted by hearing that her eggs came from chickens, said, “my eggs come from Kroger.”

Cultivating an appreciation for real food and farmers needs to begin at home, including your backyard or back porch if possible. Even the most urban or apartment dwelling homesteader can show the beauty and value of growing food and redeeming spaces.

5. Exercise the Traditional Way

Most Americans spend money (and lots of it!) to get exercise. Homesteaders get it for free, seriously. But instead of getting it in crammed indoor gyms with stale air at five or six AM before work, we get it under gorgeous sunrises while collecting fresh eggs and herbs, smelling lovely flowers and fragrant plants, and listening to the birds and the bees pollinate our plants. It is just a free part of the homesteading experience, no monthly fee required, just a backyard or a back quarter acre or more!

6. Security

Finances suddenly tight? Job lost overnight? When you have no slack in your system, such things can be devastating, or at the very least, incredibly stressful. But if you have a garden full of food, a cellar full of foodstuffs, a large stack of firewood to heat and cook with, things don’t seem so bad. Many families we know (ours included) got through sudden tough times because homesteading insulated us from the shocks and stresses of sudden, even extreme financial changes.

7. Resilience

The more people in a community who have skills, grow food, catch rain water, have gardens, and so on, the better prepared that community is to take care of itself and others during hard times. Homesteaders become part of the solution rather than the problem when things go wrong, both for themselves and for others. We want to be the kind of people who can assist our neighbors near and far, when times are tough. Let’s face it, homesteaders can be real everyday heroes like the Cajun Navy after Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey.

These are just a few reasons you should consider becoming a Steader, whether urban, rural, or something in between. Because that is what Steader is all about, helping you, your family, and community have the skills to live abundantly, no matter what the world throws at you.

Please support Steader’s Kickstarter by clicking here.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/homesteading-self-sufficiency-lifestyle/

On – 21 Sep, 2017 By Healthy Home Economist