For many homesteaders, it started as a dream, then progressed to a plan and finally became a lifelong passion. For others who are just starting to toss around the possibility, I would like to share my reasons that I wanted to homestead.
Freedom: Everyone is a slave to something, whether it is a boss, money, power, prestige or something else. They key is being able to choose what dominates you. If you are trapped in a 9-5 job with a great view of the skyscraper next to you for 8 hours a day, you would likely be a slave to a boss, a paycheck and feel like a prisoner at your desk. I remember the pressure of running a business. Although I had freedom from a boss, my clients could dictate my appointments and what had to be done. I traded one boss for many demanding clients...the upside was that I was free to be with my children more than if I was at a 9-5 job. I had more money than working for an employer but much more pressure and responsibility. For me homesteading is a freedom that allows me to be free from grocery store prices because I raise my own food, I can be free from rat race schedules and deadlines and enjoy a more slow and simple pace of life. For me that is freedom. I am able to watch my children grow up and be a part of their education through homeschooling. I am free to take time to watch the sunrise and sunset instead of driving to or from a client at that time of the day. Of course, I am tied to the farm and I can’t just hop on a plane or take a drive 10 hours away whenever I want to but most people in a 9-5 job can’t either. The satisfaction of being self-sufficient is so affirming to me!
For the Kids: Living on a farm is amazing!!! Watching a calf being born, collecting eggs, seeing seeds sprout in the garden and running around in the grass in your bare feet or better yet, lying on a blanket watching the clouds go by with your kids is truly a gift. The work ethic that you can pass on to your children on a homestead is priceless. I read an article not long ago on Facebook that said children who learn a work ethic from a young age, have more success in life. My children may not decide to live on a homestead when they are older but I hope that the skills and work ethic they learn on the farm will be valuable to them no matter where they end up. I also don’t have to worry about them being outside...much less of a chance that they will be snatched in our very large backyard in an isolated area than on a city playground.
Organic Living: There is much debate on the internet about the ‘organic-ness’ of organically labeled veggies in a store. The veggies and fruit grown on my homestead, there is no question as to the freshness, quality, and organic-ness of it. You come to appreciate your food all the more when you work hard for it from seed to harvest and beyond (if you store it). The health problems arising from GMOs and pesticides and herbicides is still ongoing but this much is already clear...it is not good for your health. You can have all the money in the world but if you are not healthy, you will not be happy so what good is your high-paying job then?
Preparation: If you are like me, you have the sinking feeling that the economy is not going to hold up for much longer. Government spending is out of control, the baby boomers are retiring and there are not enough millennials to support their government pensions. Food prices keep rising and jobs keep shrinking - now many jobs are being replaced by machines. Our economic model is unsustainable - that is not paranoia, that is simple math. During the Great Depression, the farmers continued to do well and employed many people. People always have to eat but they don’t always need their nails manicured or their grass cut. If you have a way to provide food & water for yourself without depending on another person for it, you will have a better chance of riding out an economic storm. In my humble opinion, the further away from the city you can be, the better as the city dwellers would be hit the hardest in an economic crisis. It would be absolute anarchy when the food runs out or they can’t afford to have water pumped into their homes or electricity run to it. In the rural area, you can use a bucket to get water from a well, can eat your own produce/meat and can survive without hydro by means of a woodstove or wood cookstove.
Education: This is the final point. Life is the best education and I am sad that many people, for all their university educations, don’t know where their food comes from or how it feels to watch an egg hatch or a baby calf being born. I am not downplaying the University education and I certainly don’t mean to imply that homesteading life is the only life worth living. Rather, I am saying that it is a shame that we are, in general, so disconnected from where our food comes from. We are disconnected from the earth that sustains us and from our neighbours. We have chosen technology over touch and automation over fascination. We have everything but feel that we have nothing...something is very wrong! The disconnect from a simpler, more organic way of life is robbing us of our chance to be truly happy. For me I wake up so happy each and every day and with a sense of purpose and peace. I believe that this comes from 2 things...my relationship with the Creator of this earth and my relationship to what He has created (other people and the earth).
Knowing WHY you want to homestead will keep you going in the difficult times. I suggest that you write out your reasons and frame them on a wall. Maybe make them a desktop background on your phone or computer. Put them where you will be reminded of your reasons you are doing this or will be doing it in the future.
What would be your reason(s) for homesteading? Please Comment below.