Modern Homesteading
Homesteading. It’s a term that’s associated with the expansion of the United States in the 1800’s but a new generation of self-reliant entrepreneurs has adopted the term and lifestyle and turned it into an attractive option for a broad number of people who are willing to work hard towards providing for themselves and their families. With the current pandemic, it’s become increasingly apparent how reliant our society has become on outside food, resources, and essential items that we need and want everyday. It’s exposed weaknesses in our food and other supply chains that are ultimately felt on an individual level. Today’s instructor, Anne Briggs of Anne of All Trades, has been working for years towards building a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and has a big head start on the rest of us. She started her own homestead in Seattle years ago and has recently moved to the Nashville area where she’s starting from scratch with a new homesteading project. From gardening to raising livestock, woodworking to blacksmithing, Anne has learned on the fly with a fearless do-it-yourself attitude that has made her not only a successful homesteader, but also a social media sensation who shares her can-do attitude with her large following. By the end of this class you’ll have an idea of what it takes to create your own homestead, how you can identify things around your yard that you could add to your diet, and how you can start with some small changes to create a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Class is in session. Gardening isn’t as hard as you think! Anne mentioned: Raised beds, hugelkultur and planting simple beds with wood chips as examples of easy gardening. Check out the tutorials on her site. Check out this app to identify plants: Picture This Can you afford to homestead? Anne makes sure every investment pays for itself. Some things she does to offset costs is participating in a heard-share, selling eggs and using social media for extra income. Have a tiny space? You can do so much with a balcony or window sill. Grow plants on your kitchen counter! Get involved in your local CSA’s, visit farmers markets and join your local homesteading and gardening groups on Facebook. HOMEWORK: Go outside and plant something edible! FIND ANNE: WEBSITE INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK