Any *TOTAL* Homesteaders out there?

There's Homesteaders and there's Hermits. That guy is a Hermit...

even our most 'hermit' Amish advertise for carpentry work around here. why? because (sad..but true) people need cash for things that the land simply cannot provide. is that horrible? NO. it's one thing to decide MOST things the 'Joneses' crave, you don't. it is quite another to be an 'island'. so...we are weak when we need to stray outside our world for 'things'.? or are we strong because we decide to do the very BEST we can to provide without outside help? you can only do so much on your own. if you don't acknowledge that you sometimes need things from the outside world.........well, then....you are not being realistic. yes..even in frontier times a trip to the Mercantile meant fabric for clothing, etc. it's not like I have sheep...weave the wool into cloth...etc. but...........what I DO is simplistic compared to the greed of most people that think they have to work to compete. for........material......nothing......things...... that society dictates are the 'norm'. a 'TOTAL' homesteader? hardly possible. a slave to society's pressure for all the 'pleasures that make them feel whole'? no way...THAT is homesteading in this day and age. that you simply don't NEED the dribble society dictates, and you are still living happy...and fullfilled lives.

Can you be a 100% homesteader and not be a hermit? Good gosh, we all can't keep up with all we have to do now. If you had to do all that stuff this guy does to live and survive, you wouldn't have time to be out visiting and socializing!

And what's wrong with being a hermit anyway?

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"Challenges are what make life interesting -- overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

I'm afraid the "purist" elitism thing completely baffles me. If someone has the "handed down from God" engraved stone tablet with the definition for homesteading I'd be really interested in how you came by it.

Even some of the earliest "homesteaders" had societies. They had small towns with stores even. They had blacksmiths, saddlemakers and other skilled people. They all depended on each other to a point. And... heaven forbid! They even would on occassion get shipments of things from "back east". They were still homesteading. Even the Native Americans traded with other tribes. Being a homesteader does not mean the same thing as being a complete hermit.

Kaza

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Very true.
And it would seem being a homesteader does not mean being completely self-sufficient. (Which I thought was what Shrek was driving actually...)

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

I own 108 acres in what the newspapers reported as an extremely remote area when they were looking for a crashed plane. Taxes are less than $80.00 and I keep them there buy filing for farm use exemption. We do have building codes but there isn't anyone to enforce them. There are no inspectors except you can get an electric one if you want.
No jobs either. So it's best to have another source of income. You have to travel pretty far to any town. So gas costs are up. But it sure is beautiful and peaceful and without very many people.

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Raising grass-fed beef and lamb.

For the record, my postings here were not meant to raise any hackles nor convey the notion that any here are "failures".
My intent was to honor the simple word, "total", along with those rugged men of old who DID pioneer all of the technologies that I mentioned as well as the many more that others here are familiar with. If my perceived beliefs are so important that they need be defended against or belittled, then perhaps I should clarify them....

I believe that no one is a failure who steps off the beaten path, whether by miles or millimeters. Soon enough we may all get the chance to see what we are truly made of.
Every single skill that we can master is going to be crucial.
The real key is to put mental and physical effort, every day, toward becoming more proficient all around, and to instill those skills and the values that make them crucial into our children.

For those who feel offended or belittled, know this-- the critic can only magnify what is already a soft spot in your own self-perception. Electricity can only flow through those circuits that are receptive to it.

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

With sattilite photography and property taxes anybody trying to go primitive would not be able to do so for long.

As soon as property was built up or a small community were to be established and showing on imagery, the governing body would begin collecting taxes, evicting squatters and enforcing social regulations per the area laws.

There were a small group who apparently squatted in the forest here in Alabama for a couple years and when some cabins they built showed up on aerial photos, the game wardens went in and evicted them and charged them for illegal squatting , hunting and fishing on federal lands.

As long as you have to deal with government regulations and pay taxes, you are part of society. As long as you are part of society, you are never off grid regardless of how primitive you choose to live. You are simply in the dead zone separating one society grid from the social grid next to it.

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"I didn't have time to slay the dragon. It's on my To Do list!"

I like J.D. Bellenger's definition of "modern" homesteaders (as being a state of mind)....you'd just have to read some of the older copies of COUNTRYSIDE magazine to find some of his longer columns....

We have 15 acres and while I do still write a once a month column for a statewide farming newspaper, my husband has a business that is based at home and I sell "farm fresh eggs from happy chickens," homemade goat milk soap, homemade jellies, herbal products, baby and lap quilts, and just about anything else I can make or grow on my little farm...and I sell it directly from here in my tiny "farm store."

We are still on the grid but heat with wood. I don't have a clothes dryer (except those wires out back.) And yes, I do consider myself a homesteader.

WOW, I didn't know that there was an article written about John and Victoria! They are friends of mine and I go up to their place about every other year for their 4th of July party!

They are really really awesome people!

Margie

"I can't think of any period in time (even prehistory) that individuals purposefully went out "carrying nothing but the tattered cloths on his back and loins, (let's make him barefoot, even)".

My family has lived on the same piece of land for well over 200 years. My ancestors first settled the valley where the current farm is located in the 1770's. At that time, there were few if any other Europeans here. As a matter of fact the Cherokee had already left this valley to go further south and west, though they did return to hunt annually (according to some diaries we have).You better believe those hardy folks came prepared. It would've been suicide to have done otherwise. We know from the diaries that they traveled with salt,flour,water skins and barrels,dried fruit and meat, and set live traps and snares alongthe route they took, brought along 3 suits of clothes for each family member save the 4 month old infant ,etc.

We currently live on and maintain over 100 acres of the original claim (my grandmother,step-grandfather, uncle and his family, my brother and my husband and 2 kids). We have our own homes and some garden space as well as sharing a huge vegetable garden. We have cattle,sheep,horses (which my brother and my family use on our horse powered produce farm on land that we lease), grow corn to feed livestock as well as hay production, we have grape vines here for own use and the uncles family runs a vineyard on his wifes families land in a neighboring town. We have chickens both for own use and a larger flock for commercial use. All are pastured though not free range due to predator problems. A cousin recently started growing perenial woodland herbs commercially. We are not certified organic since we try and avoid certified anything.... but we use sustainable agriculture practices and/or organic methods throughout the farm.
We all heat with wood, some of us are planning to convert to solar power (or some other means, still researching), we can and preserve the majority of our vegetables and fruits...can't remember the last time I bought produce except head lettuce and strawberries. I always buy strawberries when in season since I never can seem to grow enough to put any up...I say as I sit here eating a bowl of them fresh. There are always fish, rabbits,squirrels, turkeys ,deer and bear in the freezer or smoked/ canned. We do sometimes slaughter a beef (and often trade a dressed beef to a neighbor for a pig) or two and the chicken culls are pretty tasty.
We are soon opening a rabbitry with angoras, and I'm learning to spin now, so that'll be another facet.
My uncle, his wife and my husband all hold jobs off the farm (my husband is actually an over the road truckdriver), so we are far from "self sufficient" but we sure do take less than we leave. We buy clothes since I cannot sew for instance, but we thrift store shop and barter as much as possible.
Sorry to ramble, its early ...but my point is...the word homesteader can encompass a number of things and is simply (IMO) a mindset that calls for taking less than one leaves and not bowing to what society says we must have/do to be successful. It isn't something my generation of my family has come recently to either, we were raised this way. Sure,we have conveniences our parents etc did not, such as internet access...but for us the internet took place of television (which we do not have), and daily newspaper subscriptions. My husband and I homeschool and hope to raise children even more self suff. than we are. My dd can already sew better than me....