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Urban Homestead
Urban Homesteading
As the economy slips further into the hole many Americans are focusing on things that they can do to provide for themselves. For many individuals and families trips to the grocery store, higher utility bills and increased taxes threaten to break the bank account. When you say the word homestead many people a vision of a home in the woods will, pop into there minds, however, what if I told you that you could homestead right where you are now. Let us look at how we can live in town and not have to rely on society for everything that you have.
The best way to define a homestead is a home where a person or family provides for themselves with out having to rely on others. If a family or a person has the money to go out and buy acreage that is great, however the reality is that most people live in an urban or suburban environment. That is where urban homesteading comes into play; you might be asking your self what you can do on an Urban Homestead that will help you to be more self reliant, here are some suggestions. Gardening: Often when we think of a homestead style garden, we think of a garden that will supply all of our vegetable style needs for a whole winter. However, the Urban Homestead is not usually that fortunate due mostly to the size and availability of usable property. When you are considering an Urban Homestead I believe it is important to make goals that are realistic to the size of property that you have, in other words instead of having a garden large enough to supply your needs for a year you may only be able to supply one quarter or half of those needs. Meat: Meat is one of the most difficult things to raise on an urban homestead, due mainly to town and city ordinances regarding livestock. If your town or city will not allow you to raise meat animals on your urban homestead, you still have some choices that will allow you to at least provide for some of your meat. The first choice I would pick are rabbits, once rabbits are established they will become good meat producers because the reproduce quickly and they do not make noise to upset your neighbors. Another choice is pigeons, before you turn your nose up it is important to remember that pigeons raised in a pen are very tasty unlike the diseased pigeons that are flying around most cities. Another good choice for the urban homestead is hunting. If you live in an area where there is plenty of game you may not even need to raise any animals or birds at all, this will give you more room to raise garden crops. Money: On a full size homestead it is sometimes possible to raise extra food to sell, however, on an urban homestead you will be lucky to be able to raise enough food to keep your own family eating. There are things that you can do to make extra money, Years ago I learned how to make soap, now I sell soap. My wife owns a janitorial business and I make traditional frontier style products for people occasionally. Even with all of this, it is still necessary for me to have outside employment, however one day when we are out of that rut called dept, my outside job will not be necessary. There are many options with an urban homestead, you can go off the grid, make your own water collection system etc. The important thing to remember is that having an urban homestead is a lifestyle and not a way to get rich; however, you will be freer than you ever hoped. By Brian Schultz - I have done a lot of things in life, I have been a welder, Pastor and I am currently serving in Law Enforcement. Although life has taken me down a lot of roads I have always been a modern day Mountain Man, I...|
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